Omega Speedmaster Professional Apollo II Reviewed With a Gallery of Luxury Watches

“Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch Apollo 11 50th Anniversary” is a long name. But Omega Speedmaster reference 310.20.42.50.01.001 lives up to its bombastic billing. For the half-century anniversary of the Apollo XI moon landing, Omega launched a limited edition Moonwatch unlike any other. The Apollo 11 50th both marked a special occasion and pointed the way to Omega’s next generation Speedmaster Professional. While all three Apollo XI astronauts were equipped with Omega Speedmaster chronographs, the famous stopwatch’s primary role is as a trophy for watch collectors. Enthusiast owners appreciate the Speedmaster’s combination of historical importance, ongoing connections to the NASA space program, durability, and relatively affordable price. For 2019, Omega launched the 6,969-piece limited edition Speedmaster 310.20.42.50.01.001 to mark half a century since Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon. Each example of this Speedmaster includes a bezel and dial features in yellow “moonshine” gold, a special alloy that is designed to look pale and vintage. Unlike a standard Moonwatch, all of the hour indices are applied, and they are yellow gold to match the hands. At 11 o’clock, Omega replaces the hour index with the number “11” in honor of the Apollo program’s ground-breaking mission. At nine o’clock, the image of the astronaut descending from the lunar module is engraved in gold. On this luxury model, the crystal is made of sapphire, and the caseback image of the “footpring” o