Astronaut Wally Funk spotted wearing a Omega

On July 20, 2021, Wally Funk strapped into Blue Origin's New Shepard alongside Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, and Oliver Daemen — and on her wrist sat an Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional ref. 310.32.42.50.01.001, a commemorative piece gifted by Omega to each crew member to mark the historic flight. The caseback of each watch was personally engraved with the owner's name, the flight number, and the Blue Origin feather emblem, making every example a one-of-a-kind artifact of commercial spaceflight history.

The Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional ref. 310.32.42.50.01.001 represents the most technically rigorous iteration of an icon first introduced in 1957. Beating inside the 42mm stainless steel case is the calibre 3861, a manually-wound movement that traces its lineage directly to the calibre 321 used on Apollo-era Speedmasters. The 3861 is METAS-certified as a Master Chronometer, guaranteeing accuracy within 0/+5 seconds per day and resistance to magnetic fields exceeding 15,000 gauss. The asymmetric case, hesalite crystal, and black step dial remain faithful to the NASA-approved aesthetic that has defined the model since the 1960s.

For collectors, the Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional occupies a singular position: it is one of the very few watches where the current production reference carries as much emotional weight as its vintage predecessors. The calibre 3861, introduced with this reference in 2021, resolved long-standing debates about the 3861's legitimacy by delivering measurably improved precision and magnetic resistance without abandoning the manual-wind discipline purists demand. Grey market demand for the ref. 310.32.42.50.01.001 has remained robust since launch.

Wally Funk's relationship with this watch carries exceptional biographical resonance. As the last surviving member of the Mercury 13 — the group of female pilots who passed NASA's astronaut tests in the early 1960s but were barred from the program — Funk waited nearly sixty years to reach space. At 82, she did so aboard New Shepard, becoming the oldest human being ever to achieve spaceflight. Omega, whose Speedmaster has been aboard every crewed NASA mission since 1965, clearly recognized the symmetry in placing this watch on her wrist.

The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional ref. 310.32.42.50.01.001 retails at approximately $6,300 USD. On the secondary market, standard examples trade close to retail, though crew-gifted, engraved examples from significant missions — like Funk's — would command a substantial premium at auction, given their unique provenance and the extraordinary story behind the wearer.