Founded in 1912, Fortis has been producing a variety of timepieces from some of the first mass-produced automatic wristwatches to fliegers and most notably “space” watches. As the official supplier for the Russian Federal Space Agency since 1994 with its Cosmonauts series, Fortis has a long history of air and space travel.

The Official Cosmonauts Chronograph AMADEE-20 is a special edition model made in tribute to the upcoming AMADEE-20 program, a simulation to be held in the Negev Desert, Israel: its purpose is to test the technology and tools in preparation for future exploration missions on Mars. In commemoration, the mission logo can be seen at the six o’clock position of the stardust gray dial. As with all Official Cosmonauts, the case is made 200m water resistant at 44mm in diameter, with an anti-reflective coated sapphire crystal. Dissimilar is the titanium case and bracelet, asymmetrical dial design, and “Mission Control Bezel” with two lume indicators at the sixty and fifty mark, providing an easily tracked ten-minute window in low light conditions.

Inside the Official Cosmonauts Chronograph AMADEE-20 is the UW-50 automatic movement, based on the ETA Valjoux 7750. This Swiss-made movement features 25-jewels, a frequency of 28,800 bph, and a 48-hour power reserve. A unique, “Big Eye” thirty-minute elapsed timer is featured at twelve o’clock, with small running seconds at the nine and just opposite a day-date complication. Much like the brand, this movement is sure to be a reliable companion whether traveling through land, air, or space.