Liège watchmaker Col&MacArthur is creating an event to mark the 50th anniversary of man's first steps on the Moon.
All their watches tell a story: one was created for the centenary of the Armistice in 2018, another for the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death. Now, the Apollo saga is being recounted and embedded in a watch. An actual fragment of lunar meteorite (with supporting certificate) is set alongside a choice of other symbols, such as the coordinates of Apollo 11 or Neil Armstrong's famous foot print, engraved in the sapphire on the back of the watch. Better still, on 16 July, 50 years to the day after the launch of the Apollo 11 mission, 1969 of these accessories will be launched to an altitude of 35,000m - at the frontiers of space.
The temperature will drop to 60° below zero and atmospheric pressure will approach 1hpa, conditions in which no human could survive. "These mechanical constraints will also prove the quality of our work and the materials used," said Sébastien Colen, CEO of Col&MacArthur. The LUNAR 1969 watches will be on sale in Europe and the United States for the festive season at a price that will range from €399 to €1,299, depending on the options chosen (setting of the meteorite fragment or even launch).
