What makes it great?- Survived some major watch-sadist's dream tests in a showdown wif some other chronos of the time
- Was cool looking 40yrs back and is still cool looking today
- The whole non-marketing department driven NASA association origins(back then) and the space flight / walk / moon thingy
- A great classic column wheel chrono movement in the lemania 27 CHRO C12
The Survivor
Nasa
tested this and other watches it had bought off the shelf to find a
chrono that could withstand the harsh conditions of space. What exactly
were these tests? The following bears repeating…
1962 Test Program
In
1962, NASA began the search for a wristwatch that could be worn by the
Gemini and Apollo astronauts. a watch should be able to operate in the
vacuum of space where there exists wide variances in temperature and
pressure. To be "flight-qualified by NASA for all manned space
missions", a wrist chronograph must pass all of the following tests
numerous times without failure of any kind:
1.
High Temperature - 48 hours at a temperature of 160° F (71° C) followed
by 30 minutes at 200° F (93° C). For the high temperature tests,
atmospheric pressure shall be 5.5 psi (0.35 atm) and the relative
humidity shall not exceed 15%.
2. Low Temperature - Four hours at a temperature of 0° F (-18° C).
3.
Temperature Pressure Chamber - pressure maximum of 1.47 x 10exp-5 psi
(10exp-6 atm) with temperature raised to 160° F (71° C). The
temperature shall then be lowered to 0° F (-18° C) in 45 minutes and
raised again to 160° F in 45 minutes. Fifteen more such cycles shall be
completed.
4.
Relative Humidity - A total time of 240 hours at temperatures varying
between 68° F and 160° F (20° C and 71° C, respectively) in a relative
humidity of at least 95%. The steam used shall have a pH value between
6.5 and 7.5.
5.
Pure Oxygen Atmosphere - The test item shall be placed in an atmosphere
of 100% oxygen at a pressure of 5.5 psi (0.35atm) for 48 hours.
Performance outside of specification tolerance, visible burning,
creation of toxic gases, obnoxious odors, or deterioration of seals or
lubricants shall constitute a failure. The ambient temperature shall be
maintained at 160° F (71° C).
6. Shock - Six shocks of 40g's each, in six different directions, with each shock lasting 11 milliseconds.
7.
Acceleration - The test item shall be accelerated linearly from 1g to
7.25g within 333 seconds, along an axis parallel to the longitudinal
spacecraft axis.
8.
Decompression - 90 minutes in a vacuum of 1.47 x 10E-5 psi (10 E-6 atm)
at a temperature of 160° F (71° C), and 30 minutes at a 200° F (93° C).
9. High Pressure - The test item shall be subjected to a pressure of 23.5 psi (1.6 atm) for a minimum period of one hour.
10.
Vibration - Three cycles of 30 minutes (lateral, horizontal, vertical,
the frequency varying from 5 to 2000 cps and back to 5 cps in 15
minutes. Average acceleration per impulse must be at least 8.8g.
11. Acoustic Noise - 130dB over a frequency range from 40 to 10000 HZ, duration 30 minutes. NASA
performs the tests several times on the various wrist chronographs it
obtained.
The Speedy survived these gruelling tests better than other
watches they had purchased and was the chosen one. “really really ridiculously good looking” – Zoolander ... ok it’s a good looking watch and a design that’s
coming on 40years and going strong…
NASA flight qualified and the first watch worn on the moon It
was no marketing association driven by $$$ which a lot of present day
stuff is about ie the numerous and some gag-inducing tieups wif sports
teams and personalities, movie n fashion stars ad nauseum “A
requirement exists for a highly durable and accurate chronograph to be
used by Gemini and Apollo flight crews as an essential adjunct, or as a
backup for spacecraft timing devices and for accomplishing time
critical operations and experimental tests. In order to select a
chronograph which best meets our overall requirements, it is necessary
to accomplish a comparative evaluation of the better quality "off the
shelf" chronographs under realistic operational conditions.” Deke Slayton The Omega Speedmaster
was first flight tested in space by Walter Schirra aboard Sigma 7,
October 1962. The Speedmaster becomes the first watch to be worn into
the vacuum and temperature extremes of space strapped to Ed White on
Gemini IV in 1965. To commemorate its success at NASA, Omega added the
word "Professional" to the title of the Speedmaster in October 1966. It
was strapped to the outside of the space suit of Buzz Aldrin when he
and Neil Armstrong made man's first lunar landing during the historic
Apollo 11 mission in July 1969. During Apollo 13 in April 1970,
Commander James Lovell had to use his Speedmaster Professional for both
the timing and interval of thrust for critical engine burns as they
rounded the moon and set a course for home saving their lives. Nuff
said.
Of some fine caliber… Lemania 27 CHRO C12 aka Lemania 2310 …
the pics do the talking for this one… it still keeps great time
Why i recommend the pre-moon Speedy with the cal 321? For
something below US$3k you get a truly great watch. Its good to have
something that’s not so marketing / hype driven like a lot of whats out
there… its something of real value which is saying alot these days.
(Disclaimer time: Of course there
is a lot of great stuff out there right now don’t get me wrong and I
will probably end up getting another new piece if something nice comes
out from this years basel/sihh releases J Hope you enjoyed the short review. Cheers ).
