Pilots, astronauts and their wristwatches, right? There is something about a nice wristwatch. From the beauty of its design to the beauty of it's engineering to the combination of elegance and functionality, a wristwatch to many of us is more than a practical tool.
I recently did a detailed interview and podcast with Jake Ehrlich, who is a Rolex afficianado. You can check out his blog and my interview/podcast at:
http://rolexblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/story-of-nasa-astronaut-leroy-chaio-his.html
I've worn a few different watches in space, including Rolex, Omega and Breitling. But, it is a Rolex GMT Master that I own. That watch flew with me on every space mission. I acutally bought the watch in Davos, Switzerland, before I was selected as a NASA astronaut.
After leaving NASA at the end of 2005, a friend of mine at Rolex had it inscribed for me with my name and space mission designations.
Do you have a favorite timepiece?
Leroy Chiao
Devon Island Expedition
This blog features educational updates on my Devon Island Expedition of July 14-20, 2007. Other sites: spaceref.com/blogs/earthclassroom, www.marsonearth.org
2 comments:
A friend of mine owns a Breitling that everybody was really impressed with, but I found most of them to be a little "too functional", if that makes any sense. My favorite watch is a titanium Citizen with a black band and dial. Tells the time, never needs winding, and it goes with just about every outfit.
Not in the same order of magnitude as Rolex..but I like it!
I have several nice watches but my everyday “combat” watch is a Casio G-Shock G-300 that is charged by the sun and synchronizes with an atomic clock every night. In the dark it lights up with a simple turn of the wrist. No buttons need to be pushed. I think I only paid about $90 for it several years ago. From kayaking to mountain biking to lab work it has proven flawless. If I were headed for the space station it would be on my wrist. Form follows function in this case.
Post a Comment