posted 09-08-2014 06:58 PM               

Astronaut helps launch watches designed for private space explorers

A new wristwatch designed to be worn by the future crew members of a commercial space station has received the signature of approval of a former NASA astronaut.

"I especially like the signature on the back!" wrote retired astronaut Clay Anderson, describing on Facebook a photo of his autograph etched onto the stainless steel caseback of Giorgio Fedon 1919's new "Space Explorer" watches. "I am proud to be [their] Global Ambassador."

Anderson, who in 2007 spent five months living aboard the International Space Station, was at the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair on Sept. 4 to help launch the timepieces, which feature day and date dials, stopwatch functions and eight hours of luminescence.

The Space Explorer chronographs come as the result of a partnership between Modern Concept Watches Limited, a licensee of the Giorgio Fedon 1919 brand, and SpaceTek, which plans to operate an upgraded Soviet space station under a joint venture with the private spaceflight company Excalibur Almaz.