50th Anniversary Silver Snoopy Award Speedmaster

Transcript

Apollo 13 Edition 18^th April 2020

On April the 11^th 1970, astronauts Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon blasted off from Cape Canaveral atop a Saturn V rocket destined for the 3rd moon landing. But things didn’t go quite to plan. Eerily, this mission was designated Apollo 13. …….sorry, what…? It actually happened..! ……It wasn’t just a film…? Blimey…..Welcome to the English Watch.

Kevin Bacon, Tom Hanks, and Bill Paxton in a scene from the film ‘Apollo 13’, 1995. (Photo by Universal/Getty Images)

Hi I’m Andy and in this edition of the English Watch we will look at the events of Apollo 13, but more importantly for a watch channel the role the Omega Speedmaster played and the subsequent special editions. As we pass the 50^thanniversary of the mission, we ask…WHERE THE HELL IS THE NEW SILVER SNOOPY?

On April 13^th Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert were 56 hours and 200,000 miles into their mission to the moon, when one of the oxygen tanks exploded following an electrical fault. The astronauts survived the mission by quick thinking on their part and that of the ground crew by closing off the command module and moving to the lunar lander. This enabled them to preserve power in the command module so they could make the final approach to earth. During their time in the lunar module they endured freezing temperatures and cramped conditions. Using all of their training and their trusty Omega Speedmasters, the crew were able to make it home safely. The astronauts used their standard issue Speedmasters to time a number of important engine burns to ensure the sling shot around the moon and subsequent angle of return allowed them to successfully splash down with very few course corrections. This brings us on to the Snoopy Award.

In 1968, NASA chose the famous beagle as an icon to act as a sort of “watchdog” over its missions. In the same year, NASA decided to use a sterling silver Snoopy pin as a sign of appreciation to NASA employees and contractors together with a commendation letter and a signed framed Snoopy certificate. Each of the sterling silver Snoopy label pins has been flown during a NASA mission. Cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, who created the “Peanuts” comic strip, was a supporter of the NASA Apollo missions and agreed to let them use “Snoopy the astronaut” at no cost and even drew the Snoopy figure for the sterling silver label pin.

Unusually, the Snoopy Award is awarded by the Astronauts themselves. This is in appreciation for dedication, professionalism and outstanding contributions in support of the first United States Manned Lunar Landing Project. For Apollo 13, this award went to a number of contributors and contractors who supported the safe return of the crew, including the Omega Watch Company.

So what have Omega done previously to commemorate this achievement? Well, up until the early 2000’s Omega didn’t do much to capitalise on the whole Moonwatch thing. There would be collectors and people who know these things, but as a young space nut myself growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, never once did I come across anything that lead me to the Speedmaster. When I look through my books now, it’s been hiding in plane sight all this time.

2003 Silver Snoopy Award Reference 3578.51

In 2003 Omega launched the Snoopy Award edition to commemorate, WELL, no specific milestone, but none the less at 5,441 pieces this edition was a hit with collectors. The odd number of pieces available refers back to the mission duration of 142 hours, 54minutes and 41 seconds. This is a discrete special edition of a standard manual wind Speedmaster Professional with the 1861 movement. With just a Snoopy in a space Suit replacing the constant seconds dial and an enamelled image of Snoopy with “Eyes to the Stars” in gold print on the reverse.

2015 Silver Snoopy Award Reference: 311.32.42.30.04.003

The 45^th anniversary watch was released in 2005 at Baselworld and marked 45 years since the Apollo mission and stood out from the 2003 model in a number of ways. The first being that the dial is Snoopy White. And instead of the space Snoopy on the seconds dial, there lies a dreamy, eyes closed Snoopy with a thought bubble and the famous NASA words “Failure is not an option”. Not wishing to miss out on the significance, Omega draws attention to the first 14 seconds with the words “What could you do in 14 seconds?” to give some context to the purpose the watch played in the safe return of the crew by accurately timing those critical engine burns.

There are a few extra details that make this watch more a novelty and not just a custom Speedmaster Professional, and that may explain it’s now unicorn status with prices in excess of 3 times that it’s original $7,000 price tag. Firstly, it’s far more limited than the 2003 edition at 1,970 pieces. And even though it has the regular 1861 movement beating at it’s heart, it has a sapphire crystal and ceramic bezel with luminova inlays making it more durable and upscale than the standard model. On the rear there is a hand engraved Silver Snoopy set on a blue enameled medallion.

So where’s the 50^th anniversary Snoopy award Speedmaster? Well, Omega released the previous editions in the Spring Baselworld show, close to the Apollo dates in April, but these releases aligned more to the show than the actual anniversary. Given that Omega pulled out of Basleworld in 2019 and is now staggering it’s launches through the year, there’s no reason why we can’t expect the special editions to land on the actual dates or very close. With the Apollo 11 50^th anniversary in 2019, Omega released a number of special editions in the early part of the year ahead of the July anniversary date. We saw the Steel and Gold 50^th Anniversary edition with additional models, from the platinum edition with the re-imagined 321 movement and meteorite sub dials, the 18k Moonshine Gold with red ceramic bezel and the Ed White edition with the 321 movement and smaller case.

So the dates of Apollo 13 have now lapsed, with only a reference to the missions on the Omega web site. But wait..!, if you’re a follower of Omega on Instagram, you may have noticed the Snoopy badge appear on their profile page and on clicking, Omega have put together a 3 panel story saying they wish to salute the 50^th anniversary of their Snoopy Award on the 5^th October.

So, let’s consider the significance here. Previously, Omega have released special editions to celebrate the success of others who have used their tool watches to be successful in their endeavours – such as the Apollo missions, but it looks like this next anniversary will be more a celebration of Omega themselves, having played their part in the successful return of the 3 Apollo 13 astronauts by providing a reliable and accurate piece of flight gear that fulfilled it’s role exceptionally, and is a testament to the way Omega engineers it’s time pieces to this day and why I remain a fan of the brand. This reminds us, that without that standard issue Omega Speedmaster Professional, the outcome could have been different. Just imagine if Hamilton, Breitling or god forbid, Rolex had beaten Omega in the flight qualification tests back in 1962.

So what could Omega offer us? It would be easy to do another version of the 2015 piece, but this would be a little cynical and I expect, given the 2019 releases, some gold will be involved. I also believe this could be around the same time Omega launch the updated Speedmaster Professional as discussed in my previous video, link in the description. So this could be a platform to shout from and let the world know there’s a new Speedmaster in town. I believe the watch will be similar in design to the Apollo 11 and have the 3861 movement as will all Speedmaster Professionals going forward. It will have a ceramic dial and sapphire crystal, and will undoubtedly have a commemorative medallion on the back with the “Eyes to the Stars” text and a Snoopy figure featuring somewhere. Other than that, expect to see a subtle reference on the seconds register involving Snoopy in the ‘dancing astronaut’ pose, similar to the 2003 version, albeit using some of the modern techniques Omega have adopted with Laser engraving. It will be fitted with a steel version of the Apollo 11 bracelet which I believe will be the new standard fit bracelet as well as an accessory strap or two.

How many will they make? All 3 Apollo 11 editions were limited numbers, with the 50^th having the highest run of 6,969 pieces. Given the alignment to the anniversary year, we could expect as many as 7,070 pieces, but this appears a little high to me, so could be aligned to the 2003 edition of ‘only’ 5,441. I think Omega will definitely release more than the 1,970 pieces of the 2015 edition and may make it a limited run as the Apollo 8 instead of limited edition, but I see this as less likely.

Apollo 8 Dark Side of the Moon Speedmaster

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed watching this eddition of The English Watch. I certainly enjoyed researching and finding out about the Apollo 13 mission and the Snoopy Award. Let me know how excited you are about the upcoming October release. Will you be putting your name down as I will?

Please leave comments at the end, and don’t forget to subscribe and check out my other videos, especially my Speedmaster trilogy. Please also check me out on Instagram.