On April 17, 1970, the Apollo 13 crew landed safely on Earth after some incredibly scary moments onboard the module. The Speedmaster played such an important role on the return trip, that NASA decided to give a Silver Snoopy Award to Omega on October 5th of that same year. Some think the Snoopy cartoon on […] Visit Why Is There A Snoopy On The Dial? to read the full article.
@Robert-Jan what would be really interesting is shedding light on why Omega is presently making this Snoopy marketing push? Obviously they’re nearly impossible to get even if you’ve been on the waitlist, and as of yet I’ve not heard of a single OB/AD taking new reservations. Is it really just the April 17th connection? Seems odd
PS: seriously? “By pressing the chronograph start button, the module with the famous beagle on board can be seen flying in space. The module is attached to a transparent hand, that is connected to the chronograph seconds hand. The Earth revolves as well, as it is geared to the running seconds hand. This explains why the production of this watch is not as easy as the regular Moonwatch and why it takes time to deliver them to the boutiques.”
Omega have extended the post of the fourth wheel for the rotating earth disk (which Omega classifies as a hand), and they also extended the post from the chronograph wheel for the Snoopy capsule hand. The movement requires just 2 different parts - a fourth wheel and a chronograph wheel - that's it. It's not like Omega has to disassemble an existing movement to install these parts, so there's no extra time required for building the movement. The only extra time is to press the Snoopy hand and the earth disk hand on those posts, and that is the total sum of the modifications. Of course there's some insert inside the case back that covers up how simple all this is, but that's it. This seems like propaganda from Omega, fed to us via Fratello...
“Since 2020, Omega has stopped doing limited editions. Therefore, just like the Speedmaster Calibre 321, this Silver Snoopy Award 50th-anniversary edition is part of the regular collection. The demand is so incredibly high, though, that it might take a long time before you get yours. It took a year and a half for me to receive mine, and I ordered it on the day of release. So in the end, it will come.”
Many reasons have been used as to why products have been in short supply the last couple of years; Covid was first, then it was supply chain issues. Now with Snoopy it's because it's harder to assemble. I think Omega likes the razzle dazzle feeling that the animation is some super complication and they are using that perception to explain why production is so slow. Many buyers on the lists probably are buying it, though. They are doing the same with the 321, "it's just so complicated and unique we just can't make more than 1,000 or so per year. And each assembled by highly qualfied gnomes in the super special 321 workshop in Bienne".
I guess the fact one is currently in space will help :0) https://omegaforums.net/threads/spa...ega-speedmaster-in-space.144482/#post-1972154
Here is a link to a great podcast 13 Minutes to the Moon - Earth in View hosted by Kevin Fong a former member of the NASA medical research group, and now a practicing British doctor, that gives a riveting narration of the Apollo 13 14 second engine burn. In this episode the focus is on the 14 second burn and how Jim Lovell's wrist watch was used to time it. When I first listed to it I was confused by the fact that Fong says Lovell's watch was used for the burn. I assumed since Swigert timed it, it was his watch used. I reached out to Kevin and asked him for more information and he told me that Lovell told him that of the all the Speedmasters the crew had his was the most recently serviced, and because of that, he believed his would be the most accurate watch to use for the burn. Lovell removes his watch and gives it to Swigert to time the burn with. It is also interesting to hear Fred Haise describe how smoothly the burn and control of the LM was while keeping the Sun and Earth's terminator aligned in the window. It runs contrary to the portrayal in the Apollo 13 movie that depicts the maneuver as a wild ride with the LM rolling and rocking almost out of control. The narration combined with the onboard audio is really fantastic. I would encourage you to listen to the whole 32 minute episode, but if you don't have the time or interest, the first 10 minutes will lay out the story of the Speedmaster and the burn. The whole BBC World Service - 13 Minutes to the Moon series is fantastic as well if you have the time or inclination to listen to it. Edit - As a side note, Lovell's Apollo 13 watch is not part of the current NASM collection. It was stolen while on loan about 20 years ago.