Omega’s Speedmaster Dark Side of The Moon ‘Apollo 8’ Dawns a New Lunar Mission

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Omega jolts up their Speedmaster Dark Side of The Moon ‘Apollo 8’ series, six years after its debut. With a 3D rocket-shaped seconds hand inspired by the Saturn V – NASA’s iconic Apollo launch vehicle, new Lunar surface dial finishing, and an updated movement, it bears a new black ceramic case and a slew of nifty tweaks.

Firing up our horlogerie time machine and rewinding to the Space Race – Omega’s racetrack-bred Speedmaster, revered as a Bastian of accuracy and technicality, also became one of NASA’s most trusted space wrist gears. A title earned amidst a daunting exploration battle with the Soviet Union, haste, and a prayer-bound leap to the skies, NASA’s Apollo 8 crew of Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders became the first humans to orbit the moon successfully, on Christmas Eve, 1968. This historic feat was accomplished while the astronauts in space wore an Omega Speedmaster – allowing them to hereby badge their Speedmasters with ‘Flight-Qualified By NASA’ and ‘The First Watch Worn On The Moon’. This spaceflight dawned a new legacy for Omega, and their Speedmaster cemented its name as the ‘Moonwatch’ of the century.

Marking the Apollo 8’s fiftieth anniversary in 2018, Omega unveiled a special edition tribute piece dubbed the Speedmaster Dark Side Of The Moon ‘Apollo 8’. Omega has always been prolific with their endorsement of the Moonwatch – line up the litany of Speedmaster editions through the years beside each other, and it may well cover the length of the Saturn V rocket itself. However, the DSOTM was fantastically unique, dripping in Lunar suave. Setting on a new mission six years later, Omega refreshes their Moonwatch tribute, adding in a brand-new movement, a micro, Saturn V rocket for small seconds, and retaining its signature contrasting yellow accents.

Cased in 44.25 millimetres of black ceramic offering 50-meter water resistance, it stretches 50 millimetres lug-to-lug with a thickness of 13 millimetres. Up front, in trademark Speedmaster style sits a tachymeter bezel – you can tell the new edition from the old by the use of white enamel engraving instead of yellow. The main attraction here is the skeletonized black anodized aluminium dial, which depicts the rugged, asteroid-scarred surface of the moon. The lack of numerical indexes focuses the attention of this timepiece on its vibrant yellow second’s hand which struts a “Grand Feu” enamel. Much like its predecessor, this piece features a triple sub-dial layout, however, the small-seconds dial at nine o’clock, adds a brilliantly geeky detail to the mix – a Saturn V rocket-shaped hand. This micro-artistic 3D structure crafted out of grade 5 titanium was developed by laser turning and painted with white varnish, ablation, and laser blackening.

Powering the Omega Speedmaster Dark Side Of The Moon ‘Apollo 8’, is the (METAS) Master Chronometer-certified Calibre 3869 which is built upon the blueprint of the Calibre 1869 used in the 2018 edition. Not only does it reach the industry’s highest standard of precision but is now also capable of resisting magnetic fields pushing 15,000 gausses, including a free-sprung balance wheel using a silicon balance spring. The timepiece’s caseback shows off the updated moon surface detailing, which is obtained by laser ablation, representing the Lunar side of the moon. This workhorse is manually wound with a Co-Axial escapement, offering 50 hours of power reserve. Also engraved on the rear end of the case is “WE’LL SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE” – an ode to the final transmission message to ground control, sent by the Apollo 8 crew before they began orbiting the dark side of the moon. The timepiece is strapped in black rubber with yellow detailing featuring a ceramic foldable clasp.

All In all, the DSotM editions are simply modern takes on the Omega Speedmasters that graced the famed Apollo missions. As a horological accessory to humanity’s greatest triumphs, they immortalize these moments and embrace the details of their story with these timepieces. Given the fancy new movement, titanium small second’s hand artistry, and enhanced surface detailing, the price of the Omega Speedmaster Dark Side Of The Moon ‘Apollo 8’ has received a hefty raise from $9,750 to $14,300 (approximately INR 11,90,000).