WATCH REVIEW

Borrowed Time: Reviewing the Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8


Most of us can recall what a seismic event it was when Omega released the first Dark Side of the Moon version of its iconic Speedmaster Professional “Moonwatch” back in 2013. But few of us probably could have predicted that this very avant-garde take on one of Omega’s most timeless watch designs would catch fire the way it did, especially considering the very passionate fan base of the vintage model and the general resistance to change (there is a reason that Omega continues to equip many of its Moonwatches with basically the same manual-wind movement as their 1969 predecessor). However, the Dark Side of the Moon has not only thrived but has become a legitimate franchise of its own, spinning off from the main Speedmaster family and used as the proving ground for a number of intriguing designs and technical ideas.

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 - reclining
The Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 features the collection’s first skeleton movement.

In 2018, a year in which Omega devoted much of its marketing muscle not to the Speedmaster but to its dive-watch predecessor, the Seamaster, there was among the flood of Seamasters one very notable return to the Dark Side: the Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8, a tribute to the historic 1968 lunar mission that marks its 50th anniversary in 2018. That mission was the second manned spaceflight launched by the United States and the first to leave Earth’s orbit, reach and orbit the Moon, and return safely to Earth. It paved the way for the more famous Apollo 11 mission in 1969, which first landed men on the Moon and from which the Omega Speedmaster, the watch worn by those men on the lunar surface, earned its enduring “Moonwatch” nickname. The watch is, most notably, the first Speedmaster Moonwatch to contain a skeletonized version of the watch’s storied movement, Caliber 1861. However, as I realized after having the chance to spend two weeks with this timepiece, my personal favorite of Omega’s 2018 lineup, the skeletonization is just the tip of the aesthetic iceberg.

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 - Soldier
The Apollo 8 incorporates design elements from the Speedmaster Racing collection.

To start with the exterior, Omega has outfitted the Apollo 8 in a 44-mm-diameter case, 13.8 mm thick, made entirely of jet-black zirconium oxide ceramic, with a polished ceramic tachymeter bezel, bearing white numerals and indices and the word “TACHYMÈTRE” in bright yellow. The use of this highlight color, which is associated with speed and which we’ll also find elsewhere on the watch’s dial and strap, is a callback to the Omega Speedmaster Racing model from 1968, as is the tachymeter feature itself: as its name implies, the Speedmaster chronograph was a watch built for timing auto races long before it became inextricably linked with space exploration.

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 - Bezel
Yellow highlights on the dark dial include the “Tachymètre” indication on the bezel…
Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 - Dial CU
… and the “Speedmaster” cursive script under the Omega logo.

The case is exquisitely finished, employing both polishing and satin brushing, with the middle curving elegantly into the faceted lugs (though, like most all ceramic cases, it is very susceptible to being marred by fingerprints). The plunger-style chronograph pushers are in polished black, and subtly rounded on the top for tactile comfort. A rather firm push is required to engage the chronograph and halt it with the top pusher and to return the yellow, arrow-tipped chronograph seconds hand to zero with the bottom one. Nestled between the two pushers is the polished black, fluted crown, which does not screw down and is inscribed with the Greek letter Omega.

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 - Dial logo
Laser ablation on the plates and bridges create a lunar-surface effect.

Moving on to the dial, the yellow highlights include the central chronograph hand, which has a varnished finish, the small chronograph hands on the subdials at 3 and 6 o’clock, and the tips of the rectangular, applied indices. Meanwhile, a white varnish is used for the small seconds hand on the 9 o’clock subdial, and white Super-LumiNova coats the hands and hour indices as well as all the indications on the bezel’s tachymeter scale. Between these markers, on a black ring, is a minute scale also reminiscent of the one used on the Speedmaster Racing models.

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 - Dial - Subdial
Bright yellow is also used for the central chronograph hand and chronograph minutes counter.

These slightly conical subdials float like satellites over the front side of the exposed, beautifully openworked movement, upon which laser ablation has been employed to decorate both sides of the blackened mainplate and bridges with realistic 3D depictions of the moon’s surface. From the dial side, the effect is executed in a lighter gray shade and echoes the view of the moon that we see from Earth, while the rear side, visible through a clear sapphire caseback window, is darker gray, aping the eponymous “dark side” that only astronauts have ever viewed in person. As one would expect, these realistic lunar details come to life under a loupe, adding a great deal of individualistic character to this Moonwatch.

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 - caseback
The decorated elements on the back of the movement represent the moon’s “dark side.”

Legibility-wise, the effect of all this detail is a mixed bag. The white hour indices and especially the prominent yellow chronograph seconds hand are easy to discern in all lighting conditions. The motion of the running seconds at 9 o’clock is also fairly obvious at a glance, allowing the wearer to check whether the watch is running — an important feature in a manually winding watch. However, the relative thinness of the hour and minute hands — thin enough, in fact, to occasionally get a bit lost among the background details, and at times even obscured by the much more noticeable central seconds hand — was somewhat unexpected. I would have thought these hands would be at least as wide as the indices on which they indicated the time. That said, it is possible that the watch, like some other chronographs, was designed to emphasize the stopwatch functions over the reading of the current time — and of course, the luminous tachymeter scale attests to that as well, allowing the wearer to time racing speeds even in the dark if he wishes.

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 - Lume
Super-LumiNova coats the hands, indices, and tachymeter scale.

Speaking of the case’s backside, whose sapphire window affords a view of the decorated movement, its brushed black ceramic frame offers historically inspired, engraved text indicating the date of the Apollo 8 mission (December 1968) and the famous quotation, “See you on the other side,” spoken by Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell just before the Apollo 8 crew drifted out of range of radio contact on its history-making journey to the Dark Side of the Moon (a phrase also engraved on the caseback).

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 - Back
Astronaut Jim Lovell’s famous quotation is inscribed in the caseback.

The movement itself — whose lunar-landscape-finished bridges and plates add visual appeal to an already attractive architecture, and should wow even the most seasoned connoisseur of the Speedy and its famous caliber — is based on the same historical chronograph-equipped movement inside the first Speedmaster that went to the moon in 1969, Omega’s manual-wound Caliber 1861, based on the Lemania 1873. While this vintage-derived caliber is still used for the mainstream Speedmaster Professional “Moonwatch” models, the Apollo 8 represents the first time it’s been used in a Dark Side of the Moon watch; previous models have been equipped with the self-winding, co-axial chronometer-certified Caliber 9300, whose chronograph readout has two registers rather than three.

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 - movement CU
Omega has dubbed this version of the Moonwatch’s movement Caliber 1869 in tribute to the year of the moon landing.

Of course, the movement is also the first of its kind to be skeletonized and enhanced with the laser-ablation finishing. This version of the legendary Moonwatch movement has been dubbed Caliber 1869, in honor of 1969, the year of the moon landing — though one wonders why Omega didn’t just change the “8” in the reference number as well, just to make the tribute more obvious. The movement holds a 48-hour power reserve when fully wound; it has no stop-seconds function but does incorporate a decoupling mechanism that prevents the mainspring from being overwound. I’ll admit, after several months of reviewing automatic watches, the convenience of not needing to wind a timepiece daily was missed at times, though the watch was very easy to wind and kept time very accurately even after more than a day and a half of being idle. Of course, this watch’s visual beauty was surely taken into consideration as much as its timekeeping duties, and a large rotor, as one would find in a self-winding caliber, would most likely have been a detriment to the view of the decorated movement parts.

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 - Buckle
The tang buckle is made of polished black ceramic like the case.

Finally, we come to the pebbled black leather strap, which is perforated (another nod to the Speedy’s early auto-racing-inspired style) and continues the black-and-yellow motif of the dial. Black on both the top and the underside, the strap includes, sandwiched between these layers, a yellow rubber middle section, which can be glimpsed through the micro-perforations made by a special milling tool. This somewhat subtle effect is enhanced by yellow contrast stitching on the top side. The black ceramic pin buckle, with polished finish and engraved Omega symbol, has a wide tongue that inserts nicely into the rectangular holes for a secure and comfortable wrist fit.

Carrying a two-year warranty, a now-common attribute of Omega watches, and packaged in a special presentation box, a now-common feature of Moonwatch special editions, the Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 is priced at $9,750. With its vintage Speedmaster design elements, first-of-its-kind openworked and decorated movement, and historical lineage, I expect many, many potential owners to be as “over the moon” for this timepiece as I was.

No Responses to “Borrowed Time: Reviewing the Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8”

Show all responses
  1. Beautiful piece. I have been trying to find one to purchase but cannot seem to find one. Any idea where I can look? Thank you.

    Reply
  2. Andy Hols

    As an owner of an original Speedy PROFESSIONAL I can say the new one is simply not up to “speed”

    Reply
  3. Bart Welter

    Nice watch, but since I have owned & Loved my 145-022-71 since Dec 1971,, I have had no reason to change.Altho I love to read about all the Speedmasters-
    And there are so very many!
    Thank you

    Reply
  4. Paul Turner

    Oh I wish I had had the money when this came out. What better way to have celebrated my 50th birthday on its release. Glad to see others enjoying it.

    Paul

    Reply
  5. Prince Rubel

    Omega is very wanderfull watch,but I want buy this omega watch,how buy.
    How price.
    I want know.

    Reply
  6. Kresh Rados

    I have original Apollo mission Omega
    Very interested in acquiring Dark Side of the Moon

    Reply
  7. M Seif

    I like OMEGA . Do u have any report about OMEGA double eagle watch & pictures .

    Reply
  8. Got mine back in November after a nine month wait,stunningly gorgeous watch,however the minute and hour hand do get somewhat lost on the dial.

    Reply
  9. Peter Currer

    Very nice, I could do without the exhibition caseback and have an automatic movement inside instead, with a moon engraving on the back showing the dark side of the moon rather than looking at the works. I get tired of winding watches, in fact it would even be nice as a quartz.

    Reply
  10. Prince Rubel

    Omega nice watch.
    But I want buy this watch, how to much?

    Reply
  11. Hector Lopez

    That’s an outrageous watch – superb.. just bought the omega seamaster 300m diver 007.. Very exceptional

    Reply
  12. Rebecca

    I sooo much wanted to like this watch. I soooo much wanted to put it on my wrist and walk with history and coolness. But hey, I can’t even read the time the watch displays. The hour and seconds hands are waaaay to thin and forgotten. My eyes are immediately drawn to the big, fat, yellow GMT hand. To bad, another classic that just does not inspire.

    Reply
  13. Do they plan to stop making this watch?
    I hope so – I want it to become a collectors item

    Reply
  14. ALAN HUNT

    You made an error in your review of this beautiful watch. You stated that Apollo 8 was the second manned spaceflight launched by the United States. In fact it was far from being the second manned spaceflight launched by the US, that was way back in 1961 ’62 with Gus Grissom aboard. I believe you had meant to say the second manned Apollo mission.

    Reply
  15. Bert Allen

    Gee. Thanks for telling us about the crystal. Is it hesalite as selected by NASA long ago, or saphire?

    Reply
  16. Did any one not notice that the hardest thing to see is the actual time on this thing ?
    The lume looks better then the actual watch !

    Reply
  17. Great watch, but I’m not sure I’m in love with a manual wind watch. These days, self winding is what I like, less to worry about, so I’m torn, really like this one, very attractive watch.

    Reply
    • Gabriel Meraz

      I picked it up. This thing is some piece of art. At first I was too, torn about manual winding it…I actually started to like
      winding it. I feel a more personal attachment to my apollo 8.

      Reply
  18. Simon Rowlinson

    Good review to a point. There are several errors though. Apollo 8 was not the second manned space flight. It was one of a series of manned space flights that started with the Mercury program through the Gemini program and then onto Apollo. Also the two year warranty on this watch is the same as that offered on all Cal.1861 manual winding movements. It is now somewhat short for an Omega watch. Omega’s standard warranty period is 4 years on co-axial calibres with silicon hairsprings and/or METAS certification.

    Reply
    • It doesn’t have a two year warranty, it has a five year warranty. I don’t know why they say it has a two year warranty, but I can confirm mine came straight from Omega in London with all the paperwork for five years.

      Reply
Leave a Reply to Jon Myles

Click here to cancel reply.