The Flik Flak 3-2-1 Liftoff — A Gateway Into The World Of Horology And Space, And A Perfect Moonwatch Companion For Kids

In this article, I won’t be waxing poetic over our beloved space-flight-qualified chronograph, the Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch. That may well be the lowest hanging, possibly even ground-dwelling fruit for an article on Fratello. Instead, this article is about a watch made by a brand directly related to our esteemed Swiss luxury titan. I’ll be sharing the Flik Flak 3-2-1 Liftoff, a perfect NASA-themed and child-friendly complement to any Omega Speedmaster. I recently gifted this watch to my daughter. I’ll sum up why it was such a fun purchase and give some general insight about the watch itself.

If a Flik Flak feels like a miniature Swatch for kids, that’s because it’s essentially what it is. The Flik Flak 3-2-1 Liftoff (ref. FPNP094) has a metallic-colored, vertically brushed dial. It features blue hour numerals matching a blue hour hand, red five-minute numerals matching a red minute hand, and white seconds/minute markers matching a white seconds hand. I’ve been trying to teach my four-year-old daughter how to read analog time, and this color scheme is a lifesaver! It’s incredibly easy to explain which hand corresponds to what. This is a very well-thought-out execution by Flik Flak indeed!

The Flik Flak 3-2-1 Liftoff

The watch’s case is a perfect circle made of white “bio-based” plastic with a 31.85mm diameter, including the crown. Its white strap is made from recycled PET and is accompanied by strap hardware in the same material as the case. The strap features a prominent NASA logo on the longer side and stripes in the second and third signature colors of NASA, red and blue (the other being white). This watch runs on a Swiss-made quartz movement and is water resistant to 30 meters. The Flik Flak 3-2-1 Liftoff retails for CHF 40 on the official Swatch Flik Flak website.

Most of us watch enthusiasts have that one watch that kicked off our fascination for horology. It might have been a Casio F-91W, a Rolex Submariner, a Seiko SKX, or whatever else. But have you ever asked yourself which watch you’d love to own if you could be a toddler again? For me, the answer was clear. The first thought I had when I saw the Flik Flak 3-2-1 Liftoff was, “Now this is something I would have loved when I was a kid!” Many of us have memories of when our schoolteachers asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. My answer — and I bet I’m not alone here — was, “an astronaut.”

If someone had asked me back when I was a toddler, “What is an astronaut, and what does one do?” my answer would’ve been, “An awesome person that flies to space and does super-cool stuff!” To be fair, my answer hasn’t changed much after all these years.

Starting them young

A wise man once said, “People who aren’t into watches just haven’t discovered them yet.” My daughters, aged two and four, know me as a guy who likes watches. They’ve asked me about the ones I wear and have spotted me deliberating about which ones to wear when I’m getting ready to leave the house. I definitely don’t want to force watches on them or bore them with what it means for a watch to be COSC-certified during breakfast. Those are probably effective ways to make them stay away from watches. But I do want my children to learn to read the time before they enter kindergarten. What better way to get them to learn than to gift them a watch?

As a huge fan and proud owner of a Speedmaster Professional, when I saw this NASA-themed Flik Flak with its no-nonsense, simplistic design, I had to pick it up. I’m sure many other parents out there also enjoy matching their kids’ stuff with their own, be it shoes, T-shirts, or, in this case, a watch. Now, I know the Moonwatch and the 3-2-1 Liftoff aren’t an aesthetic match, but it goes without saying that these watches share more than just their brands’ parent organization. These watches also share a link to the agency that handles arguably the most difficult and important tasks that humans have ever faced.

Final thoughts

If there’s something I’ve learned as a parent, it’s that if I think something is cool, it doesn’t necessarily mean that my children will too. I think we should definitely embrace this because making simple yet genuine personal choices is part of what defines us as human beings. Having said that, I do think it’s also quite fun to expose our children to things that we might have liked at their age to see how they react. If they dislike watches, for example, that’s perfectly fine. But if watches put smiles on their faces when they wear them, then who’s to say we can’t get a little bit of enjoyment from that too?

The educational aspect of learning to read the analog time is what made me choose this Flik Flak over various digital counterparts. Though the holiday season has just passed, this or any other Flik Flak model could be a great choice to gift to a young loved one for an upcoming birthday or even next Christmas. With the Flik Flak website being as easy to navigate as it is (just select your country from the top-right menu) and the prices of these watches being as affordable as they are, the only thing separating you from your Flik Flak is a small number of clicks and a couple of bucks! Personally, I’ve never had such an easy time purchasing a watch!