The image of a watch floating in zero gravity might feel familiar by now. The kind of visual that seems pulled from a movie set or high-budget campaign.
But more often than not, it wasn’t created in a traditional studio. It didn’t require casting, styling, props, or even a real watch. It was completely rendered using 3D visualization.
In this example, the Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 becomes both subject and symbol. In the rendered scene, it floats on top of an astronaut’s hand. The reimagined color palette takes inspiration from the iconic Pink Floyd album of the same name, particularly the rainbow prism refracting from the famous triangle. What stands out isn’t the effect, but the process. Variations in color, material, and lighting were all adjusted in real time, without limitations. Not approximated. Not imagined. But rendered with precision, using physically accurate materials and lighting, using a so-called 3D twin of the Omega Speedmaster. An exact digital replica of the real physical watch.
In a conventional setting, you’d need a studio day, a human model, an astronaut suit, prop handling, and post-production wizardry just to make the watch hover for the final video. And if, partway through, you wanted to explore a different dial color or strap? In the worst case, that would mean reshooting, recoloring, or completely restarting the creative process.
With 3D visualization, it’s possible to:
- Launch visuals before a prototype even exists.
- Experiment quickly with different design options.
- Explore materials, lighting, environments, and finishes in photorealistic quality.
- Create launch-ready visuals in parallel with product development.
- Eliminate the cost and complexity of reshoots & logistics while staying sustainable.
3D isn’t just a tool for marketing. It enables the pace and flexibility that design now requires. When the model can be rotated, recolored, relit, in seconds, the barrier between vision and output becomes very thin. However, it’s not only about speed and costs. It’s about creative freedom.
When you remove the friction, something happens: creative momentum builds. Curiosity becomes a priority. And the best ideas get the space (no pun intended) they need to grow. Space to try new things. Space to get it wrong and right. Space to wonder, what if we did it differently?
It’s about the possibility of saying “maybe” to a new idea. The strange one. The unexpected one. The one that doesn’t fit the usual template or that was not initially planned.
The sole process of asking “What if?” and answering it in form, texture, light, or maybe even scenery.
This doesn’t replace traditional craftsmanship. It complements it. It creates a new front end to creativity, faster decision-making, and easier communication.
A new workflow where ideas can stretch a little further, where decisions don’t have to wait for materials to ship, and where feedback isn’t delayed by logistics or production costs.
You can test it, tweak it, and decide. “Any Colour You Like.”
By Philipp Hana Studios / IG @philipphanastudios.
Disclaimer: This project is a personal, non-commercial creative exploration and was not commissioned, endorsed, or affiliated with Omega SA, the Swatch Group, or NASA. All product names, logos, and brands are the property of their respective owners and are used here solely for artistic and illustrative purposes. The astronaut glove featured in the visualizations was modeled and textured by Albin Merle.
