The Fifth Fratello × REM Strap For The Speedmaster: Houston, We’ve Had A Problem

The May 2023 edition is now available

May 23, 2023

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I am very excited to announce our fifth Speedmaster strap collaboration with REM. This month’s “Houston, We’ve Had A Problem” strap will perfectly suit your Omega Speedmaster Professional Silver Snoopy Award 50th Anniversary edition. This watch debuted on October 5th, 2020 (exactly 50 years after Omega received NASA’s Snoopy Award) and has been in production since. It was one of the first special Speedmaster models to be available upon request rather than a numbered limited edition.

Silver Snoopy Award

Therefore, the Speedmaster Professional Silver Snoopy Award 50th Anniversary is also a bit controversial. This is because, despite being not a limited edition, it’s very difficult to buy from Omega. That said, the demand has been incredibly high, and remember that the previous Silver Snoopy Award from 2015 had a limited run of only 1970 pieces. The 50th Anniversary has probably had a much larger production already.

In any case, as always, those who have it seem to be incredibly happy with this Snoopy edition, while those who are on the waitlist are getting more frustrated by the day. It’s a long wait for many (who ordered it in October 2020) since production of this watch with an automaton on the case back is slow. We’ve covered the watch and the backstory several times here on Fratello, including my long-term review here. We also did a video on all three Snoopy editions here.

Despite the frustration, the Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 50th Anniversary is a very popular watch. It seems that many even regard it as one of the nicest Speedmaster variations. So together with REM, we designed a new strap for this Snoopy edition. As many of you know, every month this year, we will come up with a special strap for the Omega Speedmaster. Thus far, we created five straps, including this new “Houston, We’ve Had A Problem” version. Due to the limited capacity at REM in Sweden, we can only order a few every month. However, REM can also restock us with versions from the previous months, so make sure to keep an eye on the shop if you prefer one of those.

Houston, we’ve had a problem

This new Fratello × REM strap is a great companion for your Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 50th Anniversary. The blue tones match the dial and bezel of the watch incredibly well. Actually, if there’s one little bit of criticism I have towards the watch, besides its availability, it is about the fabric strap that comes with it. It looks nice, but it’s incredibly stiff, and it doesn’t seem to break in, even after lots of wear. The Fratello × REM “Houston, We’ve Had A Problem” strap is made of this premium organic vegetable-tanned leather supplied by Swedish tannery Tärnsjö Garveri. It’s soft and supple, and therefore, it’s incredibly comfortable on the wrist.

No Snoopy on the strap

As you might have noticed in last month’s Fratello × REM collab, while we did target the Speedmaster “Tintin,” we didn’t use any images from the Tintin comics. Likewise, we didn’t use any Snoopy images on this new strap either. The reason for that is that we don’t want to run into legal trouble with the owners of these brands, images, and trademarks. What we did use, however, was the trajectory of the Apollo 13 mission and the text “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” These were the words said by Jack Swigert and echoed by Jim Lovell, two of the Apollo 13 astronauts.

055:55:19 Swigert: Okay, Houston …
055:55:19 Lovell: … Houston…
055:55:20 Swigert: … we’ve had a problem here. [Pause.]
055:55:28 Lousma: This is Houston. Say again, please.
055:55:35 Lovell: [Garble.] Ah, Houston, we’ve had a problem. We’ve had a Main B Bus Undervolt.

Although we designed this strap for the Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 50th Anniversary, it can also be paired with the two previous Speedmaster Snoopy models. The first Speedmaster Snoopy Award model from 2003 also has some blue tones, for example. The 2015 edition for the 45th anniversary has a white dial and a black bezel, but you can still give it a shot. The width of the strap is 20mm, so it will fit all classic 42mm Moonwatch variations.

It’s available now

Unlike the watch itself, the strap is available as of now in the Fratello Shop. Although we can only have a limited quantity produced, we may restock it later if there’s demand for it. If it’s sold out by the time you read this, don’t hesitate to contact us if you’re interested in one. That way, we can reach out to you when there’s new stock. The price of the strap is €107 excluding VAT. You can order yours here.

In the meantime, make sure to check out the REM Straps website.