Omega watch:One thing left out of the Apollo 11 moon landing
The Omega watchcompany boasts to have created the only watch (Omega Speedmaster) that has visited another planet. This year they released a commemorative addition in honor the 40th year anniversary. However Omega watchwasn’t the first choice for the astronaut’s Omega watch, The Bulova Watch Company was.
The Bulova Watch Company was founded and incorporated as the J. Bulova Company in 1875 by Joseph Bulova (1851-1936), an immigrant from Bohemia. It was reincorporated under the name Bulova Watch Company in 1923, and became part of the Loews Corporation in 1979.
Bulova established its operations in Woodside, New York and Flushing, New York, where it made innovations in watchmaking and developed a number of watchmaking tools. Its horological innovations included the Accutron watch which used resonating tuning forks as a means of regulating the time keeping function.
During 1969 Bulova was in fierce competition with the Omega watchCompany on whose watch will be worn on the moon. Bulova submitted the Accutron watch with a tuning fork and Omega submitted the Speedmaster Chronograph.
NASA was skeptical on how the tuning fork within the Accutron would work in the low gravity environment of the moon and selected the Omega Speedmaster Chronograph. However all the clocks within the lunar module were made by Bulova (with the tuning fork movement).
So Bulova wristwatches didn’t make it to the surface of the moon however Bulova clocks did. I wonder what will happen on the next trip to the moon.