Marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission, history’s first ever journey toward the moon, OMEGA is proudly releasing its new Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8
timepiece.
The unique design is instantly clear when you view the dial, which has been expertly
skeletonized to reveal the blackened movement inside. The movement itself has also been laser-ablated to precisely decorate the bridges and main plate with realistic imagery of the
lunar surface.
Just like the moon, the movement reveals two unique sides. The dial-side is a light shade to represent our view of the moon’s surface from Earth, while the back of the watch shows the dark side that only astronauts get to see.
Elsewhere in this new creation, OMEGA has embraced its popular “Dark Side of the Moon”
innovation, producing the entire watch in black zirconium oxide ceramic. To contrast this
dark tone, the brand has chosen chronograph hands that are varnished yellow, while the
watch’s tachymeter scale and crown are filled with Super-LumiNova. The black and yellow
theme extends to the perforated leather strap, which contains a section of yellow rubber
through the middle.
On the case back, the special words, “WE’LL SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE”, have been
engraved. These were spoken by Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell on board the Apollo 8
mission at the start of the crew’s pioneering orbit to the far side of the moon. Seconds before the spacecraft disappeared beyond the range of radio contact, Lovell spoke these final reassuring words to ground control.
Few people will ever get to view the moon’s mysterious distant surface but to wear them
OMEGA Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 is to make an authentic connection to
space exploration history. Its blackened and decorated version of the Calibre 1861 – called
1869 as a tribute to the first moon landing – is a reminder of the original Moonwatch
movement and OMEGA’s legendary story in space.
