Some watches are historically significant, while others become pieces of history themselves. Omega’s Speedmaster “Silver Snoopy Award” watches are one of the few modern Speedmasters that fit into both categories. For decades, the Speedmaster developed an intimate relationship with the story of human spaceflight, solidifying its place in watchmaking lore as NASA’s official moonwatch. The Snoopy watches took that history and spun it into something more meaningful, intimate, and surprisingly playful.
If you want to know why this Speedmaster is so special, you have to dig deeper than the stainless steel case and chronograph hands. You have to dive into a story that starts with the darkest days of human spaceflight and ends with a cartoon puppy wearing a spacesuit. It’s this perfect blend of seriousness and lightheartedness that makes the Snoopy Speedmaster earn its elite status in the watch world.
A Mascot, an Award, a Mission Saved
Snoopy from Charles Schulz’s Peanuts became NASA’s unofficial symbol for mission success and safety during the 1960s. Snoopy popped up everywhere at NASA, from posters to training materials, and even influenced mission code-names. NASA would later create a special distinction called the “Silver Snoopy Award” to recognize Snoopy’s contributions towards the safety and success of manned flight.
Awarded by astronauts, it would go on to become one of NASA’s highest honors you could receive for supporting flight safety and mission success. NASA presented Omega with the Silver Snoopy Award in 1970 due to the Speedmaster watch’s performance during Apollo 13.
After an explosion crippled the spacecraft’s electronic systems, the Moonwatch became a primary flight instrument. Astronauts used their Speedmasters to time critical rocket burns that would ultimately bring Apollo 13 home safely. Forever etched in NASA and horological history, the episode solidified the Speedmaster’s reputation as more than just a precision chronograph.
The First Snoopy Speedmasters
Omega watches originally placed Snoopy on the dial of a Speedmaster back in 2003 as part of a limited edition celebrating the award received many years prior. The watch featured Snoopy wearing his astronaut suit on the subdial, and established a caseback motif that would heavily play into flight lore. There have been other limited releases since then, notably the one in 2015 commemorating Apollo 13’s 45th anniversary, and the 2020 limited edition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Silver Snoopy Award.
Omega expanded upon that idea with the 2020 edition (reference 310.32.42.50.02.001) by including meaningful design elements and a feel that is borderline movie-like. Currently still in production and the subject of many watch forums and articles, this timepiece is more than just another collector’s-only limited edition. It’s an enduring celebration of the Speedmaster’s storied legacy with space, while embracing the art of storytelling and humor.
What Makes the Snoopy Edition Special
Collectors and enthusiasts point to several reasons why the Snoopy Speedmaster stands out, even among other special editions of one of watchmaking’s most iconic lines.
1. NASA Provenance and Emotional Weight
Every Moonwatch tells a story of the Apollo 11 moon landing; one of exploration and discovery. However, with the Snoopy Speedmaster, Omega reached for the heart of Apollo 13’s failed mission that miraculously ended with a safe return to Earth. Due to an accident en route to the Moon, mission control had to improvise with limited tools to safely recover the astronauts who were floating helplessly in space. The feeling you get from wearing this watch isn’t that of excitement and pride over man’s first step on the moon. Rather, this timepiece holds an emotional significance that recalls the themes of teamwork, determination, and mechanical triumph over life-threatening adversity.
2. Playful Yet Meaningful Design
A cartoon dog dressed up on a high-end chronograph can easily come off as gimmicky. Omega sidesteps this by placing Snoopy in significant places on the Speedmaster. On the dial: sterling silver Snoopy is embossed in relief, wearing his matching space suit, poised on the subdial at 9 o’clock. The rich blue dial and PVD-treated markers are equally clever in terms of modern aesthetics while paying homage to a milestone in both animation and human spaceflight. On the caseback: micro-structured metallisation animation and Snoopy flying over the moon in the Command and Service Module with a rotating Earth disc that rotates in sync with the seconds hand at 9 o’clock. This is one of the coolest mechanical novelties we’ve seen on a recent Speedmaster release.
3. Horological Substance Beneath the Story
The Snoopy Speedmaster isn’t simply a cartoon drawing on your everyday watch face. Inside is Omega’s Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 3861, meeting today’s standards for precision and anti-magnetic performance. This movement also preserves the lineage of the Moonwatch’s manual-wind chronograph structure and improves upon its accuracy and robustness. When people discuss the 3861, they always end up asking another question: how often should you service an Omega Speedmaster? Thanks to the Co-Axial architecture and Master Chronometer certification, many owners find the Snoopy Speedmaster requires less frequent servicing than vintage Moonwatch calibres, though proper care from a qualified Omega watch repair specialist remains essential over long-term ownership.
4. Limited Editions and Market Behavior
Rarity and narrative matter to collectors. Omega produced prior Snoopy iterations in small batches, limiting secondary market availability. Although the 2020 anniversary edition is not limited per se, there were low quantities available at launch, shipments were staggered for quite some time, and there was a backlog of customers on the waiting list. As a result, you’ll see sellers listing above retail on the secondary market.
A Watch That Means Something
Part of what sets the Snoopy Speedmaster apart from other collectible timepieces is its multi-layered meaning. It isn’t simply a character-driven watch. This is a story about how a mechanical device built to help humans keep time actually saved human lives. This sense of narrative connection is what keeps collectors talking about the Snoopy, and it’s the same storytelling thread you find carried forward in models such as the Omega Speedmaster Grey Side of the Moon.
The watch also evokes feelings of our childhoods. Snoopy is one of those icons that everyone, young and old, knew and loved long before smartwatches. That connection makes the watch meaningful on an emotional level to not just hardcore space enthusiasts and watch collectors, but to regular people who used to read Peanuts comics on Sunday mornings. Merging that pop culture icon with a precision instrument gives it more meaning.
The Bigger Picture for the Speedmaster
The Snoopy iterations underscore another collecting trend: when watches have a narrative beyond the telling of time, enthusiasts become fiercely loyal. In today’s world of many trend-driven luxury brands, Omega’s Snoopy watches reinforce why the Speedmaster has become one of the world’s most admired chronographs of all time. They also demonstrate that serious watchmaking can- and should- leave room for personality and humor.
Stop by our luxury watch showroom in Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania, to try on an Omega Speedmaster yourself. As an Omega authorized dealer, we’re happy to walk you through modern Moonwatch references, special editions, and pre-owned examples, whether you’re just learning the history or considering your next addition.
In our short video filmed in-store, we walk through the Snoopy Speedmaster in hand, highlighting the details that make it so distinctive and what stands out when you see it in person.
