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. 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 ...