This year, the iconic timepiece reaches a new horological milestone as it turns 60. In commemoration of the occasion, Omega launched two new models

hronographs—a stopwatch merged with a display watch invented by Louis Moinet—have been around since the 1800s. But it was only in 1957 that the luxury watch brand Omega introduced its chronograph line under the Speedmaster name and marketed it to the public as the ideal timepiece for athletes and racecar drivers. It later became the timepiece of choice for space explorers; astronauts who were part of the Gemini 4 and Apollo 11 voyages travelled to space with a Speedmaster Moonwatch Chronograph. To date, it remains one of the few watches NASA has deemed qualified for space flight.

This year, the iconic timepiece reaches a new horological milestone as it turns 60. In commemoration of the occasion, Omega launched two new models—the Speedmaster 38mm Cappuccino and the Speedmaster Moonwatch Automatic—in January. The timepieces are to be formally unveiled at Baselworld 2017, which takes place on 23 to 30 March in Switzerland.

The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Automatic’s minute-track style is a throwback to a 1968 Speedmaster model. This handsome timepiece is given a modern update with orange markings and bevelled 18K white gold arrowhead indexes filled with white Super-LumiNova® on a sleek matte black dial. The polished ceramic bezel makes use of Liquidmetal®, an amorphous metal alloy, for its tachymetre scale. The striking orange wording matches the colour of the varnished hands.

The subdials (chronograph hours and minutes counter at 3 o’clock, small seconds at 9 o’clock) have been slightly expanded for improved readability. The 44.25mm case is also thinner than that of its previous iterations due to a reduction in thickness of the sapphire crystal. Its black leather strap has micro perforations, which reveals the orange rubber inside as well as provides the benefit of aerating the wearer’s skin.

This Speedmaster timepiece is the latest recipient of the Master Chronometre certification. Powered by Omega’s CoAxial Master Self-Winding Chronometre Calibre 990, it has achieved the Swiss Federal Institute of Meteorology’s highest standard of precision, performance, and magnetic resistance—not at all shabby for the timepiece that accompanied astronauts on their space odysseys.