In July 2021, a page of history was turned when a Dutch teenager became the first paying customer to travel into space. That small step for one young man has marked a giant leap in making space more accessible. As of the end of this year, there have been 70 commercial astronauts. By the end of this decade, it’s forecast that hundreds of tourists each year will experience space, carried there by SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and up-and-coming Chinese firms. Meanwhile, almost 70 nations now have their own space agencies.

Which means the terrain that Omega once held as its own is becoming increasingly crowded. No other brand – save for NASA – is as synonymous with space. The Speedmaster Professional was the first watch worn on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. When an oxygen tank exploded during the Apollo 13 mission in 1970, astronaut Jack Swigert used his Speedmaster to precisely time the 14-second engine burn that was necessary to align the spacecraft so that it could safely re-enter Earth. The exploration of space is a heritage that Omega continues to trumpet. One of its most notable new releases in 2024 was the Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 9, with a laser-engraved lunar surface and a Saturn V rocket-inspired second hand.