This Space-Tested Chronograph Watch Looks Like It Literally Just Got Back from a Mission

The Omega Speedmaster may be the world’s most readily identifiable space-worn chronograph watch, but it’s far from the only one.

Some of the most notable examples outside of Omega’s Moonwatch are those made by Swiss watchmaker Fortis, which began supplying its Cosmonaut chronographs to the Russian Federal Space Agency — Russia’s NASA equivalent — back in 1994.

Nearly three decades later, in 2022, Fortis introduced its next generation of space chronograph: the Stratoliner. Unique among space watches, it houses a movement that was actually tested on the edges of space before going to market, instantly making the Stratoliner one of the best-equipped watches for outer space exploration we’ve seen.

Now, Fortis has launched a new edition of the Stratoliner with a unique dial treatment that makes it appear as if the watch has literally just returned from a mission.

Fortis

Burn bright

The new Stratoliner is called the Reentry Edition, and for good reason.

You’ve probably heard of objects “burning up” in Earth’s atmosphere. This occurs when an object from outer space traveling at high speed enters our atmosphere and interacts with the gases found there. This interaction compresses the atmosphere’s gas and air particles against the surface of the object, producing immense levels of friction that result in aerodynamic heating, where the object becomes extremely hot and loses mass as a result.

Spacecraft are designed to withstand the rigors of atmospheric reentry, but the high speeds and temperatures involved — up to 17,500 mph and 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit — still take a massive toll. On failed missions without a controlled reentry, spacecraft can be burned to smithereens.

Fortis

It was this intense and destructive process that inspired Fortis’s new Stratoliner. The watch features a titanium dial that has been heated by hand with an open flame, resulting in a one-of-a-kind “heat signature” showcasing various shades of blue, purple and gold. It’s hauntingly beautiful and symbolizes the extreme dangers involved with space travel — and the toughness of the tools involved, such as the Stratoliner.

The burned portion takes up the upper left quadrant of the dial, with the rest of the watch face resembling raw titanium. Markings are mostly in white, with a retro rocket replacing the 6-hour marker on the 6:00 chronograph hour subdial. Chronograph minutes are tracked at 12:00, with running seconds occupying the register at 9:00. A day-date window fills out the space at 3:00.

Fortis

Light “Space Blue” printing is reserved for the first 1.5 hours of the chronograph hour totalizer, the first 15 minutes of the chronograph minute counter and an extra 30-second ring found inside the 60-second chronograph seconds track. The centrally mounted chronograph hand is also finished in the same “Space Blue” shade.

All of these blue bits also glow blue in the dark courtesy of Super-LumiNova X1 and are a holdover from the original Stratoliner, which was designed to be used on Virgin Galactic missions, where those lumed markings correspond to the missions’ 1.5 hours of climb, 15 minutes of zero gravity time and 90 seconds of boost.

Fortis

Powering the watch, as always with the Stratoliner, is the Fortis Manufacture Calibre Werk 17. The famed “space-tested” movement spent part of its development time in a specialized gondola in the stratosphere, where it was exposed to extreme cosmic conditions and monitored by Fortis for performance.

In addition to passing its space testing, the automatic movement is also pretty impressive here on Earth, with a column-wheel chronograph, chronometer certification from COSC, and a solid power reserve of 60 hours. The movement is visible behind a smoked sapphire crystal caseback, complete with a “space window.”

Fortis

The Stratoliner’s case is made of recycled stainless steel and measures 41mm across, 14.5mm thick and 50.5mm lug-to-lug. It’s paired with the brand’s retro Block Bracelet, which is held together with screw-pin links and is equipped with an on-the-fly microadjustable clasp. The Stratoliner also boasts 200m of water resistance courtesy of a screw-down crown and triple gasket system. I suppose that’s for your craft’s splashdown recovery.

Pricing and availability

With its unique space-tested movement and Fortis’s long-established history in space exploration, the Stratoliner was already an intriguing proposition for watch collectors who moonlight as space nerds — which, to be fair, is most of us — and the addition of the burned “Reentry” dial only serves to make the watch a more attractive proposition.

Due to the nature of the hand-burned dials, each Stratoliner Reentry Edition is one of a kind, but that doesn’t mean they’re limited in number. Fortis has launched the watch as part of its permanent catalog, and you can pick one up on the brand’s website for $5,300.

Fortis

Fortis Stratoliner Reentry Edition

Specs

Case Size	41mm
Movement	Fortis Cal. Werk 17 automatic chronograph
Water Resistance	200m

• $5,300 at Fortis

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