Piaget Possession, Hermès Arceau L’Heure de la Lune, Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Limited Edition

A pleasing reminder of the fleeting nature of time; Two nods to the moon and its mysteries, plus orbiting diamonds.

The Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Limited Edition.

Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th anniversary limited edition

Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1969, NASA’s Apollo 11 mission touched down on the moon, and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on its surface.

The watch of choice was the Omega Speedmaster, a utilitarian, manually wound steel chronograph that’s since become one of the enduring icons of the modern age.

Watch companies love celebrating an anniversary with a limited edition, and Omega is no different. What is different is that Omega is marking the anniversary of the humble steel Speedmaster with a very gold watch indeed.

One small step for man ... astronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on the surface of the moon during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. Picture: NASA

But just because gold wasn’t the metal of choice on Apollo 11, it doesn’t mean this piece isn’t a faithful reproduction of a historic watch. In November, a few months after man walked on the moon, Omega released a solid gold Speedmaster with a distinctive burgundy bezel. These watches were given to the Apollo 11 crew, the US president and vice president, and to other astronauts, and it’s this very special Speedy Omega is paying homage to.

Even though its form is fundamentally unchanged, several details show just how far watchmaking has come in 50 years. The watch (including the dial) is made from a new, proprietary alloy called Moonshine Gold, which is a little paler than yellow gold and a lot less prone to discolouration. The rich bezel insert is now made from ceramic. The movement is also an update of the original, plated with Moonshine Gold and updated to Omega’s strenuous Master Chronometer Standard. There’s a ring of commemorative text and an inset view of the earth from space, and opposite it, a tiny sliver of lunar meteorite. A fitting tribute to one of our greatest accomplishments. RRP $46,350

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Hermes Arceau L’Heure de la Lune

Hermès Arceau L'Heure de la Lune.

This year the venerable French Maison Hermès has looked to the sky for inspiration. Not the bright light of the sun, but rather the beguiling, ever-changing moon. Moon phase complications, which show the passage of the moon across our skies, are a favourite, and somewhat romantic complication, typically shown in the guise of a happily smiling moon peering out of an arc-shaped aperture on the dial. That’s not the case here. Hermès has opted for something different: two realistic moons, one for each hemisphere, dominate the dial. And around them rotate two elegant subdials, one showing the time, the other the date. The motion of these discs obscures the moon, and demonstrates, in an inverse manner, the current state of that celestial body. Clever and poetic, as only Hermès can be. POA

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Piaget Possession

Stunning timepiece ... the Piaget Possession.

Piaget’s Possession is a timepiece with a party trick up its sleeve. The outer bezel freely rotates, adding a tactile quality that’s a pleasing reminder of the fleeting nature of time along with the watch on your wrist. And what a watch. This version is cased in 34mm of white gold, jam-packed with 181 brilliant-cut diamonds as well as another 239 stones pavé-set into

the dial. All told, these stones clock in at a hefty 3.33 carats. And if the stones aren’t attention-seeking enough, there’s also a fetching pink alligator strap to complete the package. RRP $49,400