Omega Blasts Off 2024 With a New Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Watch

Heads up, #watchfam.

Omega has just launched its first watch of the year, and it’s a Speedmaster Professional – aka The First Watch On The Moon™ and a new addition to the brand’s most storied and lusted-after line.

But, Omega being Omega they’ve not done what many predicted and launched a new all-white version of its best-selling chronograph, ‘accidentally’ teased by brand ambassador Daniel Craig at an Omega event in New York back in late November.

Watch nerds aficionados speculated that said unreleased white-dialed Speedy was either a remake of the Speedmaster Professional Albino, a model created in 1997 for the Italian market to commemorate the watch’s 40^th anniversary. Or possibly a version of the Canopus Gold Moonwatch, a highly-collectable 18k version made from one of Omega’s proprietary metals.

Most likely it was neither.

Instead it was a new version destined to send fans into rapture who fancied a white-dialled Speedmaster, like the one with Snoopy on the dial from 2015. But without Snoopy on the dial.

We shall have to wait for that. (Esquire’s mole suggest that said model is indeed on its way in 2024. Just, you know, not yet.)

To tide us over, today’s launch is a new version of the first Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 timepiece, originally released in 2018 and marking the 50th anniversary of the mission.

The model has been overhauled with new design touches and flourishes.

Its Calibre 3869 movement features a laser-ablated moon relief on the blackened main plate and bridges. And like the moon, the movement reveals two different sides. The dial-side represents our view of the lunar surface, as seen from Earth, while the back of the watch shows the dark side – something only a handful of astronauts get to see.

This new update has enhanced the moon’s definition, thanks to laser engraving and contrasting surfaces.

OMEGA OMEGA Speedmaster Dark Side Of The Moon Apollo 8 Chronograph 44.25mm Mens Watch 311.92.44.30.01.001

Shop at chisholmhunter.co.uk

The moon-decorated movement can be seen through the watch’s skeletonised dial, crafted from black anodised aluminium.

The central chronograph seconds hand is varnished yellow, a colour theme that continueson the watch’s perforated strap – which is made from black rubber with a yellow interior.

Another new touch is the patent pending small-seconds hand at 9 o’clock. This has been engineered from Grade 5 Titanium and shaped like NASA’s famous Saturn V rocket.

On the caseback, a series of engravings has been inscribed, including “WE’LL SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE” – the final words spoken to ground control by Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, just before the Apollo 8 mission disappeared to the far side of the Moon, and out of radio contact, for the very first time.

£13,500.; omega.com