One of the most whimsical - and collectable - modern Omega Speedmaster variations, the “Snoopy Award” is most easily identified through the prominent presence of beloved cartoon character Snoopy on the dial and case back. A limited edition piece launched in 2003, its apparent lightheartedness in fact hides a very serious, and incredibly important, part of Omega history.

The Snoopy Award has been granted by Nasa since 1968 to institutions and individuals which have proven particularly valuable to NASA’s space exploration efforts. Of course, Omega had been official NASA timekeeper since the 1960s but in 1970 it played a truly crucial part in one of the most famous life-or-death situations in human history. When Apollo 13 malfunctioned, causing the abortion of its trip to the moon, the astronauts onboard had to first repair the craft - which had suffered an explosion - with material salvaged onboard, and then use the rockets to return to earth. Without advanced computing, the engine activation time had to be managed manually. Too short or too long bursts - with minimal tolerances - would have caused an inevitably tragic end of the mission.

Using their officially issued Speedmaster chronographs, the crew manage to successfully re-entry on earth - as immortalized by the 1995 Ron Howard movie - and NASA granted Omega a Snoopy Award in recognition of the vital part it played during the crisis. The Snoopy Award Speedmaster is a commemoration of such a remarkable milestone in the history of the company.