BREAKING NEWS: Felix Baumgartner Jumps From The Edge Of Space, And We Go Hands-On With His Watch

October 14, 2012

Add one more record to the list of those broken this afternoon when FelixBaumgartner stepped out of a pressurized capsule at nearly 128,000 feet and became thefirst human to freefall at Mach 1. Strapped to his wrist, outside of his spacesuit,was the Zenith Stratos Flyback Striking 10th, making it the firstwristwatch to be exposed to such a velocity outside of an air- or spacecraft. This is officially the fastest watch in the world. With this feat, the Stratos joins anelite list of legendary space watches, such as the Breitling NavitimerCosmonaute and the Omega Speedmaster Professional. During the lead up to Baumgartners mission to the edge of space, we got our hands on one of thesehighly capable watches.Nowadays, there arent a lot of high-end sports watches thatare proven in real world conditions or used as standard equipment (RichardMille and the Rolex DeepSea Sea Dweller notwithstanding). Theyre typicallyjust strapped on at the end of a tennis match or given a limited editionengraved caseback. But Zenith was confident enough in its Stratos Flyback Striking10th to strap one on to Baumgartners arm and to expose it to the harshenvironment and shock waves of a supersonic skydive from 24 miles high. Thewatch Baumgartner wore was a stock Stratos Flyback, with the exception of a solidcaseback in place of the transparent sapphire back. Thecaseback of this edition features an engraving of Baumgartner in his spacehelmet and commemorative text around the outer edge. Zenith has told usthat this is not a limited edition watch. The Stratos Flyback Striking 10th featuresZeniths vaunted high-frequency El Primero self-winding calibre with foudryantecomplication, capable of timing events to 1/10th of a second, thanksto a center seconds hand that traverses the dial once every ten seconds. It isthe first Striking 10th to feature a flyback complication, allowingfor one-touch resetting and restarting of the chronograph. The dial is virtuallyidentical to the standard El Primero Striking 10th, with thetrademark tri-color subdials that echo the original El Primero A386 from?1969. TheStratos case is 14mm thick, 45.5mm across, and features a chunky uni-directionalratcheting timing bezel with a ceramic insert. The chronograph pushers arerectangular and low-profile, providing protection for the screw-down crownnestled between them. This is one big watch and it wears heavy, even on astrap.? Speaking of straps, the Stratos Flyback Tribute to FelixBaumgartner has two available options. The first is an excellent thick blackrubber strap with fitted steel endlinks (which provide a flush fit to the case) and a foldover deployant clasp. The deployant has a pushbutton closure and asmall foldout extension that allows the watch to fit over your wrist - butcertainly not enough for a spacesuit sleeve. For that, youd need the extra-longnylon hook-and-loop strap that Zenith is not selling as an option, since, presumably, there isnt a huge market requiring that kind of wear.Most members of the Red Bull Stratos project team were wearing theirwatches on the three-link steel bracelet, with polished center links anddouble pushbutton deployant clasp. We didnt get our hands on this one, but onecan imagine the heft of that configuration. A third strap option is a lovelywide alligator strap fitted with the same steel endlinks as the rubber strap. Thegator strap is actually standard on the non-Baumgartner version of the watch, but can be ordered separately as well.? The Stratos Flyback Striking 10th Tribute toFelix Baumgartner is brimming with technology and refinement, yet it comes inunder $10,000. On the rubber strap, the price is $9,200, though if you opt for thesteel bracelet, youll move into five figures at $10,400. Sure, thats a lot ofmoney, but for an innovative manufacture column wheel flyback foudryantechronograph movement, it may be the best value haute horlogerie watch on earth in addition to the fastest.? For more information on the watch and the mission click here.For a detailed "Week on the Wrist" review of the Zenith Striking Tenth Chronograph, click here.