Summer Rewind: Five Space-Worthy Releases Of 2020
The sky’s the limit, and space is the place. Here are five watch releases from 2020 with stellar potential.
By Watchonista
The 50th anniversary of the lunar landing may have been in 2019, but the space race remains as strong as ever. After all, is it really much of a surprise that people are looking to take a break from life on Earth right now? Sarcasm aside, 2020 has seen major moments in tackling the final frontier.
Chief among these is the launch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon craft in late-May with two NASA astronauts aboard. The launch represented the first successful foray of private business into space travel and breaks down a considerable barrier for competing firms such as Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and many more.
As watch nerds, we can’t help but think of the implications this holds for the industry we love. Pan Am pilots made the Rolex GMT a household name with the romance of intercontinental travel. Now imagine that equivalent for intergalactic travel.
To help you (and any watch brand executives reading this) get started daydreaming of the possibilities, we at Watchonista have rounded up five space-worthy releases from 2020 alone. Onward and upward!
Citizen Titanium Technology 50th Anniversary Limited Model SATELLITE WAVE GPS F950
This new watch from Citizen, released in June 2020, is the direct descendant of the first titanium watch ever created: 1970’s Citizen X-8. The new watch (let’s call it the F950 for brevity’s sake) features the brand’s proprietary Super Titanium™ that is considerably easier to work with than its untreated counterpart, allowing for never before seen possibilities in color and shape. This material that forms the case and bracelet for this watch might even land on the moon in the near future with the help of a Japanese space exploration startup. Check out the link below for all the details on what could be the next moonwatch.
Hermès Arceau L'Heure De La Lune Editions
First unveiled in 2019, the Hermès Arceau L’Heure de la Lune caught the watch world’s attention with its unique moon phase complication that put the phases of the moon center stage. This year, Hermès enriched the collection with extremely rare meteorite dials that come from both the Moon and Mars. These limited editions (with 36 pieces at most) represent the rare opportunity to own a watch with materials as old as time itself.
Ulysse Nardin Freak X Ice & Freak X Magma
Wearing a Ulysse Nardin Freak watch is like having an R&D lab on your wrist. Forever avant-garde, the contemporary watchmaker is never afraid of juggling extremes and reinventing itself. This time, Ulysse Nardin plays with two polar opposites: Ice and Magma. The result is a seemingly gravity-defying creation that could well pass as the work of far more advanced life forms.
Breitling Chronomat B01 42
With its aviation history, classic design, and robust build quality, it’s no wonder Breitling’s 2020 Chronomat made our list of intergalactic contenders. Fit with a column wheel, vertical clutch, and chronometer-certified in-house movement with a 70-hour power reserve, the B01 42 has what it takes to be a space watch of the future. The bezel even transitions from “count up” to “count down” formats, the latter of which is often associated with regatta timing. This may seem unrelated to space travel, but we did, after all, find water on Mars.
Hamilton PSR Digital Quartz
Should we encounter intelligent life in our extraterrestrial travels, we might as well dress to impress with one of the watch world’s greatest hits. When the Hamilton Pulsar was first released in 1972 (five years before the first Star Wars film), it took the world, and dare we say the galaxy, by storm. The first digital watch landed on the wrists of James Bond and US President Gerald Ford and heralded a tectonic shift in the watch industry. Now the new Hamilton PSR, released in March of this year, embodies that same 1970s funk with upgraded LED technology.
(Photography by Liam O'Donnell & Pierre Vogel)
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