Today marks 56 years since those infamous words cracked through television screens, “That’s one small step for a man…” Almost half a century ago, Apollo 11 and its astronauts left footprints on the moon. Tethered to that moment, and to astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s wrist, was the Omega Speedmaster.

The Speedmaster became a witness to a feat that redefined what was possible. As Armstrong and Aldrin navigated the Moon’s surface for about 3 hours of exploration, the Speedmaster ticked on, unchanged by space. Omega helped define time in a place so far away from time zones. 

This year, Omega celebrates 56 years since the Apollo 11 landing, but also a smaller milestone, 60 years since NASA officially qualified the Speedmaster for spaceflight. In 1965, the agency, led by Flight Crew Operations Director Deke Slayton, subjected watches from across the globe to an array of testing—temperature extremes, shocks, vibrations, vacuums. Out of all, only the Speedmaster passed. On March 1, it was declared flight-ready for all manned missions.

That vote of confidence was a turning point in the story. The Speedmaster was already traveling with astronauts through the Mercury and Gemini programs. In 1969, when 600 million people tuned in to watch the Moon landing live, Omega was on board, literally.

In the decades since, Omega has remained connected with space exploration, a tool for astronauts and engineers alike. But while it honors the past, the brand is still looking forward, toward new missions, new discoveries, and the next “giant leap.”