The Alaska Project

The story

In 1969 NASA asked Omega for a watch that could survive the lunar surface's temperature extremes — roughly −148°C to +260°C — and the project was codenamed “Alaska.” What followed was a decade of prototypes, each stranger than the last.

Alaska I (1969–70) was the moonshot: an oversized titanium case wearing a red anodized-aluminum thermal shield, white dial, and capsule-shaped subdial hands. Only five prototypes were built; the cost of production stopped it cold.

Alaska II (1972) retreated to the standard steel ST 145.022 case with calibre 861, but kept the white dial — micro-abraded to a matte finish to kill glare — and the capsule subdial hands, with numerals printed radially around the subdial perimeters. Omega reissued this design in 2008 as ref. 311.32.42.30.04.001, limited to 1,970 pieces.

Alaska III (1978) returned to a black dial on a standard steel case, kept the radial subdial numerals (the origin of the “radial dial” term among collectors), and wore a fully brushed case made in America by the Star Watch Case Company to satisfy NASA's domestic-manufacturing rule — no “Swiss Made” on the dial. It was adopted into the Space Shuttle program and used into the 1990s.

And yes, there was an Alaska IV — real, not marketing. A 1979 quartz prototype, ref. 186.004, based on the LCD Speedmaster with tritium gas tubes behind the display for illumination, built in a run of about 20 for NASA testing with Shuttle pilots.

At a glance

How to spot one

• Alaska I: oversized titanium case, red anodized-aluminum heat shield, white dial, capsule subdial hands.
• Alaska II: standard 145.022 steel case, white micro-abraded matte dial, capsule hands, radial subdial numerals; some with minute-indexed bezels.
• Alaska III: black dial with radially printed subdial numerals, fully brushed case, no “Swiss Made” text, often NASA-inscribed caseback without moon references.
• Alaska IV: LCD quartz display with tritium tubes, thicker case than the production 186.0004, no “Light” text on the dial.

Why collectors care

These are Speedmasters as engineering exercises rather than products — NASA's actual thermal brief, answered in metal. Alaska III's Shuttle service gives it genuine flown-program history.

For the collector, the Alaska line is also the key to two rabbit holes: the 2008 Alaska II reissue (1,970 pieces) and the 2017 Speedy Tuesday edition the Alaska III inspired.

Alaska III production of “just over 50” is a WatchBase estimate, unverified by Omega. Alaska IV's ~20 prototypes is likewise an estimate.