#TBT André Le Marquand’s Timeless Spaceman Audacieuse

It’s safe to say that 1969 was a strong year on all fronts, including for the watch industry. If the Moon landing is not enough, think of the first automatic chronograph conquering wrists or quartz watches waving their hands to them with a sneer of the coming revolution. That was the general context when Swiss designer André Le Marquand put pen to paper and started to design the Spaceman watch.

As much as I like bizarre watches, I like the underdog stories. And that’s what Le Marquand’s Spaceman was. It was a hit-or-miss concept that the public would love or hate. The large oval case had a conical domed crystal half hidden by a colored metal visor — yes, just like a space helmet. If you wanted to strap it to your wrist, it would hug you with its triple-forked Corfam strap. I don’t need to highlight that you could choose one of six striking colors to underline the out-of-this-1969-world design.

Not for me

After the Spaceman rushed the Basel Fair gate in 1972, it became an instant success. According to Peter Doensen, author of the simply titled Watch book, “Nobody thought these strange watches could ever be sold. Nevertheless, within ten years, 150,000 Spacemans were sold all over the world. The watches were very successful, especially in the Far East and in Hollywood. Many fake copies were made in Hong Kong.” Whether it was successful or not, I was never struck by its design. Its curves felt a bit too feminine to me, and I could not imagine wearing it.

The men behind the watch

It was not a one-man project. The design was commissioned in the late 1960s by Claude Lebet, the owner of the Swiss watch brand Catena. He approached Le Marquand, an architect from Neuchâtel, to create a timepiece that would encapsulate the astonishing Moon landing. When Felix Huber from Zeno spotted it during his visit to Lebet, he ordered 5,000 of them instantly. Over the next 10 years, the Spaceman watch also hit the market under Harlem, Tressa Lux, Fortis, Jupiter, Jules Jurgensen, Octo, Omax, and Vialux branding.

The Spaceman Audacieuse is the one for me

In 1974, the second series, designed again by André Le Marquand, hit the market. While the first colorful fiberglass and chrome version was intended for free-spirited youngsters, the second execution, the Spaceman Audacieuse, had a more classic design to attract the conservative audience. Well, when I say “classic,” I mean as classic as that striking design can be.

Specs

The Spaceman Audacieuse has a chromed square case measuring about 38 × 38mm. I would say that’s on the edge of what is acceptable for me; a few millimeters on top, and it would be unwearable. On the other hand, the spacious design makes the watch relevant even by today’s standards. The way the crystal folds in a triangular shape on the edges is unbeatable. If there is any watch that made the helmet-inspired design look right, it would be second-execution Spaceman Audacieuse.

The dial is pretty clean, with only four black indexes and thin lumed lines dividing the white space into four sectors. The date version, like this one, has the index at 6 o’clock turned into a date window. It’s the same size as the marker across from it at 12 o’clock. The numbers in it are super squeezed and printed on a striking orange background. All the lettering, including the Spaceman branding, is nicely brick-laid at the bottom of the dial.

On the wrist

A dial is printed centrally, but when you look at it from the top, you get an asymmetrical dial experience. When you check the time when working on a computer, the layout changes a bit. The white field hidden under the helmet of the frontal view is visible, and you get a richer experience. The plasticity created by the heightened edge of the helmet is quite interesting. So is the crystal around the edges where it folds.

Doensen, in his book, says that the metal case has four variations — chromium-plated, gold-plated, shiny black, and dull black. The strap you see on my watch, which is the original one, even an asymmetric shape. It is a bit stiff but still wearable. I find black cases more interesting than shiny ones, but on the other hand, bracelets are good! Do you want one for the Spaceman Audacieuse? Well, those are out there too.

Image: Crazywatches.pl

Last thoughts

To puzzle you even more, you should also check out the Spaceman Audacieuse Light. As a big lover of electrically lit watches, such as the Tourist Everlight or Ernest Borel Flash, that’s the execution I would love to have. Well, it’s certainly not easy to procure one. As the electric part takes up a lot of space, the watch had to be equipped with a smaller movement. If you want one, be ready for the dial setup. While the standard Audacieuse came with a bunch of dial options and combinations, the Light model was available only with a striped mirror-white dial. Happy hunting!