Omega Speedmaster Ladies 3815.79.40

The Speedmaster Ladies is becoming increasingly popular as a larger and sportier type of ladies’ watch. Derived from the legendary Omega Speedmaster Professional, the only watch to be worn on the Moon, it has an excellent pedigree and offers a perfect combination of mechanical watchmaking art and fashionable chic. A highly original new piece with a red alligator leather strap is now added to the existing collection, which is enhanced with an elegant new feminine bracelet.

May 1st 2004 – read more below the gallery

The original gents’ Speedmaster was launched in 1957 to meet the needs of scientists and sportspeople who needed to be able to record time accurately. So well did it fulfil its mission that when NASA devised the most severe tests ever for the chronographs it had (anonymously) purchased for its Apollo lunar landing missions, the Omega Speedmaster was the only timepiece to emerge from all of them unscathed and operational. It was this simple fact that led to the Speedmaster becoming the first and only watch to be worn on the moon. Even today, the Speedmaster is the only chronograph flight-qualified by NASA for manned spaceflight missions and the only watch chosen by the Russian Space Agency for its cosmonauts.

The feminine appeal of the ladies’ Speedmaster is achieved by reducing the case size to 35.5mm and replacing some of the Professional model’s masculine traits with more emotional, feminine touches. Thus the sober matt black dial and trademark tachymeter scale on the bezel of the gents’ model are exchanged for the luxury of mother-of-pearl on the dial of the ladies’ model, with the sparkle of 49 diamonds around the bezel. Coloured Arabic numerals also help to establish a clearly unique identity for the ladies’ Speedmaster models.

The models are available with a black or white mother-of-pearl dial, each with a choice of rectangular hour markers set with 30 diamonds or Arabic numerals in white, grey, blue or red. The hour, minute and chronograph hands are the same luminous baton hands as those found on the original Speedmaster, as is the Hesalite crystal. A new stainless-steel bracelet with a striated central section adds a further distinctive touch to these models, with the undoubted star in the collection being the model with red Arabic numerals on a white mother-of-pearl dial with a matching red alligator leather strap and stainless-steel foldover clasp.

The heart that beats inside these models is the Omega calibre 3220 self-winding chronograph calibre. With 47 synthetic rubies as bearings, it has almost as many jewels inside the movement as there are on the watch’s bezel and its luxurious finish of special waves, circular graining and gold-plated engravings is the perfect inner reflection of the watch’s exterior beauty. The Omega calibre 3220 also has a high-performance winding system that ensures a power reserve of 40 hours.

Regardless of the model they choose, whether it be the cool look of steel or the audacious bright red bracelet, ladies can have the ultimate confidence in this feminine interpretation of a long-standing legend.

For ladies who have certain expectations in terms of the internal workings and dimensions of a watch, but who nevertheless do not want to surrender feminine aesthetics as a result, OMEGA has created a new generation of mid-sized chronographs with a breathtaking design:”Speedmaster Automatic with diamonds” – a contemporary, and above all feminine, interpretation of traditional mechanical watchmaking.

April 4th 2002 – read more below the gallery

Originally conceived to meet the technical demands of high-speed motor racing drivers, the Speedmaster was a byword for robust, sporty and masculine wrist chronographs. As the only watch to pass all the strict tests for NASA spaceflight qualification for all manned space missions in 1965, the Speedmaster became the first and (as yet) only watch to be worn on the moon when Man took his first steps there on 21 July 1969, turning this humble chronograph into a legend in watchmaking.

With a case diameter of 38.8mm, the Speedmaster was designed primarily to be worn by men. However, its legendary status and universal appeal were such that the first series of the “Speedmaster Reduced”, with slightly reduced dimensions, was equally popular with ladies. The obvious demand for such a watch led OMEGA to adapt the design of these mid-size (35.5mm case diameter) watches to feminine tastes. The result is the OMEGA Speedmaster Automatic Reduced for ladies, a collection of exclusively feminine models in stainless steel.

The stars in this collection are undoubtedly the two contrasting models with white or black mother-of-pearl dials and matching calfskin straps. They have a bezel paved with 49 diamonds, with a further 30 diamonds being used to encrust the hour markers. Other model variations are available in the same colours with a choice of two further calfskin straps in light blue and light grey with the white mother-of-pearl dial. With diamond-set bezel or polished steel bezel with tachymeter scale, Arabic numerals with or without 12 additional diamond hour markers… Whatever the preference, the heart that beats for those who love mechanical watches: a self-winding mechanical chronograph movement, OMEGA calibre 3220, with rhodium-plated finish, Geneva wave decor and a power reserve of 40 hours.

This collection, which mixes the timeless elements of black, white, mother-of-pearl and diamonds with the trendy appeal of pastel colours, naturally comes complete with all the top-quality features of the Speedmaster, including luminous painted hands, a hesalite crystal as used on the original Moon Watch and water resistance to a depth of 30 metres.