In 2018, Omega introduced the first Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8, with its lunar surface dial adding character and historical storytelling to the collection. NASA’s Apollo 8 mission, conducted at the end of 1968, was the first manned mission to leave the Earth’s orbit and the first spaceflight to the Moon. Taking six days in total, astronauts Borman, Lovell, and Anders successfully orbited the Moon and in doing so became the first humans to observe the far side of the moon.
This year, Omega has updated that watch. The new Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 (RM68,150) retains all the key characteristics of its predecessor. It is a three-register chronograph with a black a ceramic case of 44.25mm diameter, yellow accents and, of course, a partially skeletonised dial patterned after the Moon’s surface. Visible through the display caseback, the METAS-certified manually wound Calibre 3869 has also had some of its plates and bridges blackened and with a Moon-relief texture. The laser-engraved surface has been executed in greater detail compared to the previous version. The dial side of the watch thus represents the lunar surface as seen from Earth, while the caseback side represents the ‘dark’ side that can only be seen via spaceflight. Said caseback also features the phrase ‘we’ll see you on the other side’—the words said by Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell just before Apollo 8 disappeared out of radio contact behind the Moon for the first time.
The patent-pending small seconds indicator at 9 o’clock has a rather playful surprise. The seconds hand itself is in fact a tiny representation of the Apollo 8’s Saturn V rocket—a 3D sculpture in laser turned titanium with white varnish sections. Surrounded by a deep cutaway, it forms a miniature spaceflight diorama all on its own—and it gives the wearer the chance to quite literally have a rocket on the wrist.
