Marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission, history’s first ever journey toward the moon, OMEGA released its new Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 timepiece.
OMEGA has an unrivalled heritage within space exploration and its Speedmaster watches have been worn and trusted by astronauts aboard many of history’s greatest missions - including Apollo 8 in 1968. This crew were the first humans to ever see the far side of the moon and the legacy of that achievement is beautifully celebrated in OMEGA’s newest Speedmaster watch.
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.
On the caseback, 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.
