Breitling launches £9,500 Artemis II watch as Moon crew returns to Earth

The luxury watchmaker has released a 450-piece Cosmonaute edition to mark NASA’s record-setting Artemis II mission, which ended with a Pacific splashdown on Friday after the first crewed journey around the Moon in more than 50 years

Breitling has launched a £9,500 limited-edition watch tied to the Artemis II mission, just days after NASA’s four-person crew returned safely to Earth from the first crewed flight around the Moon in more than half a century.

The astronauts splashed down in the Pacific at 8.07pm EDT on April 10 after a mission that took them 252,756 miles from Earth at its furthest point, setting a new record for the most distant human spaceflight.

Breitling’s new model, the Navitimer B02 Chronograph 41 Cosmonaute ARTEMIS II, is limited to 450 pieces and features a meteorite dial, a 24-hour display and a hand-wound manufacture movement.

The company says the caseback carries the Artemis II mission patch, while the watch is engraved “Artemis II” and “One of 450”.

The launch ties a contemporary Moon mission to one of the brand’s oldest space-age designs.

Breitling says the original Cosmonaute was created for astronaut Scott Carpenter’s 1962 Mercury-Atlas 7 mission, when it became the first Swiss wristwatch worn in space. Its 24-hour dial was designed to help distinguish day from night in orbit.

“The limited-edition Navitimer Cosmonaute Artemis II pays tribute to that historic mission while looking toward the future of space exploration coming off of its namesake mission Artemis II,” it adds.

The new edition is housed in a 41mm stainless-steel case and powered by the Breitling B02 calibre, with an advertised power reserve of about 70 hours. 

It is fitted with a blue alligator leather strap and rated water-resistant to 3 bars, or 30 metres.

Breitling says the galaxy-blue dial is cut from meteorite, composed mainly of iron and nickel, with each watch showing a different natural pattern.

READ MORE: ‘Artemis II crew break Apollo 13 record for farthest human spaceflight’. Four astronauts aboard NASA’s Moon mission have travelled farther from Earth than any humans in history, overtaking the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970 as Orion continues its loop around the Moon.

Do you have news to share or expertise to contribute? The European welcomes insights from business leaders and sector specialists. Get in touch with our editorial team to find out more.

_{Main image: The Breitling Artemis II (left), and the Moon and Earth align in the same frame, each partially illuminated by the Sun, on Artemis II’s lunar fly-by. Credit: Breitling/NASA}