Speedy Tuesday – Omega Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 Solar Impulse Limited Edition

The watch I am about to discuss today is not new to this website at all. Over the years various generations (3 to be precise) of X-33 have been discussed on the pages of FratelloWatches. We did reviews; covered watches worn by astronauts and even did write-ups on personal stories connected to this model. Some love this watch, some say it’s not true to the heritage of the Speedy Pro and I say it is a very interesting piece with a lot to offer. It’s the perfect tool watch, for me something very similar to the Tissot T-Touch. Since you can find many in-depth articles about the various functions and models of the Replica Omega Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 I will not go into details. You are free to browse the page for related content, where my fellow Fratelli explain each and every function of this time piece. The model we are about to take a closer look is different in its looks and there is a reason behind it. Please meet the Omega Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 Solar Impulse Limited Edition.

Speedy Tuesday – Omega Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 Solar Impulse Limited Edition

The project started 12 years ago when Solar impulse initiator, chairman and pilot Betrand Piccard, presented his idea of a solar-powered airplane to the école Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne), a research university in Lausanne, Switzerland. The idea found its way to an official project launch, which took place on the 28th of November the same year. Omega joined the mission in 2006 as the main partner. This partnership, however, was more than a great PR stunt as Omega developed certain instruments for the project and equipped the team with their watches. These technological innovations helped the Solar Impulse Mission greatly. Machines like the “test bench” an equipment that simulated the electric system of the future-to-be plane on the ground, or warning systems like the Omega Buzz, a 20-minute countdown alarm that made sure the pilot never falls asleep during airborne. With these and many other contributions to the project, the first Solar Impulse test flight took place in 2010 over Switzerland. Then, in 2012, the first intercontinental flight and in 2013, the first flight across the USA marked milestones in this mission. In 2014, a new Solar Impulse 2 (or Si2) was introduced and with this plane the round-the-world Solar Impulse flight took off. The project is still ongoing with another flight started in March 2015. Hopefully, it will continue in April 2016 after an unexpected emergency stop due to technical difficulties forced the team to pause the mission and work on a few problems the plane experienced.

The aim of this limited edition is to “celebrate OMEGA’s unique partnership with Solar Impulse project, whose ambitious aim is to circle the globe in an airplane powered only by the sun.“ I couldn’t have said it better. The watch is made of grade 2 titanium and weights less than 60 grams. With a blue ceramic bezel and Super Luminova coated indexes it is easy to read for the pilots even during night flight. Adding to the lightweight properties, the watch is strapped around the wrist with the aforementioned NATO strap resembling the blue and lime green colors of the watch. It is limited to 1924 pieces. This was the year the first aerial circumnavigation performed by a group of American Army Air Service (predecessor of the Air Force) pilots.

Speedy Tuesday – Omega Speedmaster Skywalker X-33 Solar Impulse Limited Edition

The watch is powered by Omega’s quartz chronograph caliber 5619, which is the same caliber you find in the non-limited version. The interesting feature on the watch, however, is the case back. In the center you see the official Solar Impulse logo with the text “Around the world” on the bottom of it and Solar Impulse above. The top of the case back bears the name of the watch “Speedmaster Skylwaker X-33” while under the Solar Impulse logo you can read the following: “Tested and qualified by ESA”. ESA stands for the European Space Agency, another institution closely connected to the project and of course to the Omega brand. At the very bottom of the case back you see the unique (limited) number. These cool details continue to appear on the strap. If we take a closer look the 3 keepers on the NATO each have a special engraving related to the project such as Omega, Solar Impulse and Si2.