{"id":213862,"date":"2025-06-25T18:53:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T18:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/213862\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T18:53:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T18:53:09","slug":"this-new-watch-is-being-purpose-built-for-space-exploration-and-its-not-an-omega","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/213862\/","title":{"rendered":"This New Watch Is Being Purpose-Built for Space Exploration\u2014and It’s Not an Omega"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bachand even threw out the industry-standard rubber gaskets used to seal a watch case against water. \u201cThat will start to degrade below -40\u00b0C,\u201d he says. \u201cWe looked at the airlocks for the ISS and found a partner that can make an O-ring seal with a similar chemical makeup\u2014an aerospace grade fluorosilicone that won\u2019t get brittle when it freezes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every single component has been considered for properties that wouldn\u2019t even be considered on Earth\u2014such as the phenomenon of \u201coutgassing\u201d, the emission of absorbed gases into the surrounding atmosphere. \u201cIf you’ve ever opened up a plastic product off Amazon you’ll remember being greeted by a harsh chemical smell, commonly known as VOCs [volatile organic compounds]. On Earth, we can just crack open a window and air it out, but the ISS does not have that luxury,\u201d says Bachand, explaining why the Monolith uses only materials that don\u2019t emit VOCs.<\/p>\n

As well as reimagining the idea of a space-going watch, Barrelhand says that in the process (more or less by default) it will create a tool watch that can cope with anything on Earth. For instance, the Monolith is pressure-tested to depths of 580 meters. Bachand says that here, too, the use of 3D printing is key, and that, slowly, they are changing perceptions of a technology generally only associated with design prototyping.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used Project One as a research platform to test new metal 3D printing. For watches, it’s kind of the holy grail of engineering: It’s super small and super precise,\u201d says Bachand. \u201cIf you can make a movement bridge<\/a>, you\u2019ve really shown the maturity of the technology. When I show that [to watchmakers], it\u2019s exciting for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photograph: Barrelhand<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the end goal is to see the Monolith used in space\u2014and that may prove to be a challenge that goes beyond pure engineering ability. Bachand says that submitting equipment to NASA is a bureaucratic, timely process, and that Omega\u2019s half-century of investment will present its own obstacles. While he follows the official route, Barrelhand is simultaneously taking a \u201cgrass roots\u201d approach, courting individual astronauts and scientists who can potentially be more easily convinced of its merits.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone that we’ve spoken to really understands the mission and sees the need for it, the need for innovation and to continue improving on any tool,\u201d says Bachand. \u201cA lot of astronauts are watch collectors, but they\u2019re also just interested in tools and innovation. They don\u2019t always care about history or the status quo; they just want whatever’s the best. When people get it in their hands and understand the specs, and the thought behind it all, I think it\u2019s going to be a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bachand even threw out the industry-standard rubber gaskets used to seal a watch case against water. \u201cThat will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":213863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1829,4022,70,413,16,15,61080],"class_list":{"0":"post-213862","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-apparel","9":"tag-design","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-space","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-watches"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114745521656722623","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}