Awake Concept Mission to Earth Hands-On Review

It’s no secret that we here at Wrist Enthusiast love us a cool space themed watch. In building out some of our guides, we came across a French brand called Awake Concept - Who were doing some really unique things with materials and designs. We found the watches they were designing to be a fresh take on independent watchmaking with a unique attention to sustainability and helping the planet you rarely find in brands fitted into this price category. In fact, you don’t really find it in many brand’s at all.

Let’s start with what this watch is, in that, it’s only a watch on the surface and sure it tells time, but lets be honest, the watch is so much more “just a space watch”. The Awake Concept Mission to Earth uses some high concept technology for the watch industry. Inside the sapphire crystal is an NFC tag that the wearer can scan with their phone, stamp their ownership to the blockchain (which guarantees authenticity), and access an app called the Awake Earth Observatory. What’s in the app? Well the app taps into the cameras of the space station, and opens up to view those cameras and emulate the “Shock” that astronauts have in seeing earth for the first time from space through a panoramic observation window. Pretty freaking cool.

And that’s not really even getting into where the NASA collaboration steps into play. The Mission to Earth was approved by the famous (infamous?) organization and their HERA Group (Human Exploration Research Analog). HERA is a really cool wing of Nasa to prepare Astronauts for the isolation and rugged conditions of space exploration. Spread over two floors and a loft, the facility utilizes a number of technologies and concepts to get Astronauts “In the Element” of space. So a watch that fits well into those conditions, is necessary. It’s actually quite a feet that Awake Concept was approved by the HERA team (and it is cool that it is a brand from France that accomplished this).

So, high-concept information, as cool as it is, this is still a watch that can be worn on your wrist. So how’s the actual watch part of this entire project? The watch will have 3 chapters total in it’s conception, I have the Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 here, with a third being released in March (keep an eye out for that, it’s pretty awesome). The first chapter is the Mission to Earth and the second Chapter is called Mission to Earth “Nightfall” a blacked-out version of the Mission to Earth.

The 70% recycled Titanium case measures in at a modest 40mm, and is superbly light and wearable. They’re brushed texture provides a more brooding look (especially on the Nightfall with it’s PVD coating) and the step bezel is a nice added touch. The hexagon crown is an added attention to detail that reminds me of the rivets used on the space shuttle gaskets. And then, of course, the NFC injected sapphire crystal is an added feature that gives the watch an entirely new life when scanned - Which I often found myself doing and showing friends. It really ends up being quite a conversation piece at the end of the day. One that I enjoyed discussing with friends and family and others interested in the technology.

The dial however, was a real standout in terms of design queues and quality. Peering through the NFC Crystal, the dial is textured in a few different “Rings” inspired by the “Cupola” on the ISS. The Cupola is the little window astronauts can look through to see Earth from space. It’s associated with the feeling of absolute shock and awe the first time it’s viewed, and that’s what Awake has tried to encapsulate with the entire project. The handset is thick, easy to read and contrasting against the dial, though I did find that the Nightfall was a bit more legible. This was largely due to the white-on-white handset of the Chapter 1, which is always a challenge in the sun. As an added touch, along the Rehault, you’ll find the forever engrained in our minds countdown from 10 to “Ignition” - A lovely touch for us space nerds.

The watch is fitted with a proprietary rubber material Awake calls “Biopoly” - A castor bean derived composite that reduces the need for fossil fuels, providing a more sustainable alternative. I must admit, I was nervous of that texture at first, but it is incredibly soft and wears really well. It wasn’t scratchy or stiff and when paired with the titanium case, you can almost forget the watch is on your wrist because of how light the whole package is. The Mission to Earth comes on a White Strap while the Mission to Earth Nightfall is fitted on an orange strap.

Inside the Mission to Earth is the Miyota 9015 with a completely custom rotor. The movement itself is fairly standard fare but the custom rotor is clean, and viewable through the sapphire caseback. The Miyota 9105 is a tried and true automatic movement that beats at 28,800 VpH, features 24 jewels, and a 42 hour power reserve. While it’s nothing fancy, it’s reliable. The watch carries a modest 100 meters of water resistance.

I’ll end this review with a story about how the daily wear of the Mission to Earth worked out. When I first got the watches in for Review, we went out to dinner with some first time friends we met at an event. As that can tend to be awkward, we got to talking about pop culture and what we do for a living and I learned that, like myself, they loved the Star Wars universe. We got to talking about that and eventually I learned he’s been following SpaceX’s missions really closely. We nerded-out on the possibility of SpaceX launching a crew to the ISS (UPDATE: That actually just happened this week!) and with the progression of conversation from me being in the watch industry to space, I pulled out my phone, scanned my watch and pulled up the “Overview Experience” with a live view of the Earth from Space. After the whole “What, that’s live?” we spent some time going through the cool stuff the Awake Mission to Earth actually has to offer beyond the watch itself.

And if that isn’t a testament to the progression being made in these “High Concept” watch circles, I don’t know what is. Awake Concept has created a really unique watch for a specific niche of the industry that loves utility, loves space, and loves watches. The Mission to Earth is more of hyper-toy for us space junkies and that’s why we absolutely love it. Price for the Mission to earth is $990 USD.

While both released version of the Mission to Earth are sold out, we have it on good authority the team is ready to release something new in the near future. So make sure to check out Awake Concept’s website to stay informed.