George Clooney and Astronauts Honor Omega Watches
An airport hangar in Sugarland, Texas, may seem like an unlikely place for a star studded event but the tequila was flowing and celebrities mingled with astronauts as watchmaker Omega was honored for creating the legendary Speedmaster watches.
The occasion was the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, the third manned landing on the moon for the United States. This historic mission took place in 1970, the year after NASA astronauts began wearing the Speedmaster timepieces by Omega. On hand for the festivities was Omega brand ambassador George Clooney who gave his own memories of the Apollo 13 landing to the Houston Chronicle.
“It was a huge part of the optimism at the time when you really believed that anything was possible,” the actor recalled. “And I remember the idea of landing on the moon and I remember [thinking], ‘If we could do that, honestly we could do anything.’”
“If you go and look at that actual space craft, the idea that anyone got into it is crazy,” he added. “It’s like getting into a ’57 Chevy and saying I’m going to take it to the moon and back. It’s just the bravest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Of course Clooney wore his own Omega watch as he shared the stage with Omega president Stephen Urquhart and Apollo astronauts James Lovell and Tom Stafford. Lovell presented the Silver Snoopy Award to Omega while showing off his unique vintage watch from the brand. The watch had spent 75 hours in space and looked a bit worse for wear as Lovell commented, “The bezel is gone and the crystal is cracked.”
Also present was 81-year-old Gene Cernan, one of the last astronauts to walk on the moon. Obviously the sky is the limit when it comes to honoring our legendary men in space!
