India’s First Space-Qualified Watch

What does it take for a watch to reach space? 

Wearing a watch on Earth is straightforward, but conditions change completely once you go beyond 100 kilometre's above sea level. This point, called the Kármán Line, marks the beginning of outer space. 

In space, there is no air, no pressure, and temperatures drop to extreme lows. It’s a vacuum environment that most watches are not built to handle. Traditional mechanical watches are designed to work on Earth, where there is gravity, oxygen, and stable conditions. 

Only a small number of watches have ever gone beyond Earth’s atmosphere, and even fewer have worked outside pressurized environments. In 2024, we developed the Apogee Karman Line, India’s first space-qualified wristwatch to meet these challenges.

Our story began with the launch of the Apogee Collection in 2021, watches inspired by space, designed for dreamers. But we weren’t content with inspiration alone. We wanted proof. Real qualification. Real space. 

That dream became reality with the Karman Line, launched in 2024. 

Making a watch that works in space is not just about design, it involves precise engineering, testing, and accuracy. It took us three years of development to ensure the Apogee Karman Line could perform reliably in extreme conditions. 

Before the actual launch, the watch was tested in the lab using simulated space conditions. These tests included exposure to low pressure, very low temperatures, and vacuum environments like what the watch would experience outside Earth’s atmosphere. The goal was to confirm that the movement and materials would hold up under stress. 

After passing lab tests, the watch was launched inside a carbon fibre capsule attached to a high-altitude hydrogen balloon. It reached an altitude of 114,000 feet (around 34.75 km), where the temperature dropped to -60°C and the air pressure was extremely low. 

Most automatic watches stop working in such conditions, as they are made to function within the stable environment of Earth. It met the conditions required for a watch to be space-qualified. 

Since Yuri Gagarin’s historic orbit in 1961, we’ve seen the importance of precision timekeeping in space. NASA’s Apollo missions made the wristwatch a critical tool for survival. But most watches worn in space operate inside controlled environments. We wanted to go further. We wanted to prove that our watch could face space head-on. 

And we did.

The Apogee Karman Line is made with a Cerasteel™ case, it is our proprietary new case material built after extensive R&D, designed to handle extreme environments. The dial is made from Muonionalusta meteorite and finished with a blue PVD coating, matching the shade the watch reflected during its journey to space. Each dial is unique, thanks to the natural Widmanstätten pattern formed as the nickel-iron structure cooled over millions of years. The Karman Line is a limited edition watch of just 50 pieces. It runs on a Swiss automatic movement, chosen for its accuracy and consistency. 

The Apogee Karman Line is the most advanced watch we’ve built, more than just inspired by space, it’s fully space-qualified. Alongside it, our other collections like the cricket-inspired Cover Drive, India’s aviation watch Mach 1, and the outdoor-focused Peninsula Professional are all designed with the same focus on quality and craftsmanship. 

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