Monday, January 12, 2009

The spirit of the Omega Speedmaster.

Since 1957, Omega Speedmaster has accompanied man on many missions from an inspiring six round trips to the moon, one Apollo-Soyuz test project to a future project aimed to take flight this year. A Speedmaster will take to the skies on board an entirely solar airplane. This solar impulse prototype with a wingspan like that of an airbus A340 and weighing only 1.5 tons will try to circumnavigate the earth solely utilizing solar energy to power of the aircraft. In great human accomplishments, Speedmaster is the timepiece to withstand the elements and witness the spirit of achievement.














It was with a Speedmaster strapped to his wrist ,Ralph Plaisted, a St. Paul, Minnesota insurance man and amateur explorer set out on Wednesday, February 21st, 1968 to be the first undisputed expedition to travel overland and stand on the North Pole. (Robert Peary claimed to be the first in 1909, although his claim is fraught with decades of skepticism). It took Ralph Plaisted and 3 fellow explorers, 44 days and 474 mile trek across the polar ice cap to arrive at the North Pole. They traveled by four gasoline powered snowmobiles with a horsepower of 16. The party spent a day at the Pole to allow a US Air force C135 weather reconnaissance plane to confirm their position and take pictures. It was Ralph Plaisted second attempt that was successful, his first in 1967, was a failure, as he was forced to turn back just 370 miles from the pole as a result of storms and open water.
His pioneering spirit was unstoppable and he tried again in 1968. Once asked why he would try the dangerous arctic journey a second time, Ralph Plaisted said,

" It's there and the challenge is ours. Even if we fail, we have more satisfaction than those who remain in the gray area - the warm house, the television set- of those who never try and can never know success or failure."

It is amazing to note that an Omega Speedmaster accompanied Ralph Plaisted on his frigid voyage to the North Pole. The Omega Speedmaster is still manufactured with the same attention to excellence. It is still in a class of its own. Each timepiece is manufactured over a 14 month period whereby all the 195 separate parts are carefully crafted. It takes 80 hand held operations to create the main plate for a single Speedmaster. Just like the pioneering spirit of those that surged forward and into the light, Omega Speedmaster has kept up with cutting-edge technology in terms of digitization and new man-made materials.
To own a Omega Speedmaster is to own a touch of humankind. It is with the Omega Speedmaster that man will finally step on the red dust of Mars and it is with the Omega Speedmaster that mankind's next greatest achievement will be documented in time.

Omega Speedmaster Date Chronograph Automatic Men's Watch

Omega Speedmasters are crafted for voyages of discovery and the strive to stretch man's survival to the limits. The hands and hour markers are luminous useful in the face of darkness. The movement is an automatic chronograph chronometer. To achieve the title of Chronometer, a watches movements has to undergo rigorous testing by the COSC (The Official Swiss Control Office for Chronometers) The movements are individually tested for 15 days, in 5 different positions at 3 different temperatures. The Watch has a power reserve of 44 hours to and scratch resistant sapphire crystal.

If ever you would like to embark on that voyage of a lifetime, take an Omega Speedmaster along, it will ensure your success.

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