Lunar Lander

Omega reveals its latest timepiece, the Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8

Have your own moon landing with Omega’s Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8

In 1968, the apollo 8 crew became the first humans to ever see the dark side of the moon. Fifty years later, Omega has produced an incredible chronograph in tribute to that very mission. During Baselworld 2018, Omega presented the latest crew member of this collection, the new Apollo 8.

Presented on a perforated black leather strap with yellow rubber through the middle, the Speedmaster’s unique design remains true to Apollo 8’s pioneering spirit. The entire watch is produced in sleek black ceramic and the dial has been expertly skeletonised to reveal a blackened movement inside. Most impressively, the movement has been laserablated to produce realistic imagery of the lunar surface.

In this new creation, OMEGA has again embraced its popular “Dark Side of the Moon” innovation, producing the entire watch in black zirconium oxide ceramic. To contrast with this dark tone, the brand has chosen a yellow colour coding.

The dial-side of this watch is a lighter shade with a landscape full of craters to represent our view of the moon’s surface from Earth, while the caseback delves into the dark side of the moon that only astronauts get to see. The chronograph hands are varnished yellow, while the watch’s tachymeter scale and crown are filled with white Super-luminova.

Around the transparent caseback, the engraved words “We’ll see you on the other side” refer to Jim Lovell’s final words spoken to ground control just before Apollo 8 travelled to the far side of the moon.

Few people will ever get to witness the moon’s mysterious distant surface at close range, but to wear the Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 is to make an authentic connection to space travel history. Its blackened and decorated version of the Calibre 1861—called 1869 as a tribute to the first moon landing—is a close reminder of the original Moonwatch movement and Omega’s unrivalled legacy in space.