From SwissWatchExpo…
Watch History. Omega's Dark Side of the Moon. The backstory of the popular collection.
As an icon of modern watchmaking, it's quite known that the Omega Speedmaster is the first
watch on the Moon, and is the official watch of NASA.
Thanks to its heritage of space exploration, the Speedy has become the perfect platform
to field tributes to space missions such as the Apollo, and the Gemini.
One of the most popular tribute collections is the 'Dark Side of the Moon'. Not many
know that it is a tribute to the Apollo 8 mission, which turns 50 this year. Here's
the backstory of the collection, and the mission that inspired it.
Before the historic landing of the moon, the Apollo 8, and astronauts Frank Borman, James
Lovell Jr. and William Anders, made history as the first mission to take humans to the
moon, and back.
Launched on December 21, 1968, the crew entered the lunar orbit three days later, in time
for Christmas Eve. Not an easy feat, as in order to put the spacecraft in the right spot,
it had to be out of contact with Earth, on the far side of the moon.
Seconds before the spacecraft disappeared beyond the range of radio contact, Lovell
spoke these final assuring words to ground control. "We'll see you on the other side."
But they made it. When they did, a live broadcast was made, where the crew showed pictures of
the Earth and the Moon as seen from their spacecraft, and delivered a special message.
"We are now approaching lunar sunrise…"
"and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would
like to send to you."
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form,
and void;"
"and darkness was upon the face of the deep."
"And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."
"And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."
"And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas
-- and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth."
Not only did the crew become the first people to orbit another world, they were also the
first to see the so called 'dark side of the moon'. This phrase actually refers to
the far, unseen side of the moon that faces away from the Earth, rather than the absence
of light on it.
While it's not as widely known as the moon landing, it was through Apollo 8 that they
tested the flight trajectory to the moon, and operations for coming back. Its success
showed the world that it was possible to bring people to the moon.
Inspired by the successful mission, and the mysteriousness and allure of space, Omega
came up with the 'Dark Side of the Moon' collection.
Still based on the iconic design of the MoonWatch, the collection is unique in that it doesn't
make use of steel or gold; rather it is crafted from a single block of black zirconium oxide
ceramic. The first watch of the series was launched in 2013, followed by an extension
of the line in 2015.
The first of the collection is the Dark Side of the Moon Watch, a sleek and sporty take
on the original MoonWatch.
Aside from the ceramic case and dial characteristic of the collection, it comes with Moonwatch-style
hands crafted in striking 18k white gold, and two ceramic subdials at 3 and 9 o'clock.
Meanwhile, the Vintage Black model uses a distressed, brown palette that reinforces
the vintage feel.
It features hour, minute and chronograph seconds hands, indices, markers and text that have
been given a vintage, yellow Super-LumiNova treatment.
The Pitch Dark model, on the other hand, features an all-black construction with a few highlights.
Everything is black, from the case, dial, lugs and strap – while the hands, hour markers,
and tachymeter scale are adorned by the traditional neon white Super-Luminova pigment.
Quite naturally, the Grey Side of the Moon followed the collection.
The lighter shade was the product of more advanced research into colored ceramics. Inspired
by lunar dust, the construction is made from white ceramic that has been transformed to
grey, through exposure to temperatures of 20,000 degrees Celsius.
In 2018, the Apollo 8 mission celebrates its 50th year, and Omega makes a fitting tribute
with the Apollo 8 Dark Side of the Moon Watch. Launched in Baselworld in March. It's the
first of this collection to have a skeletoned dial, to reveal a blackened dial inspired
by the moon's surface.
The Apollo 8 Mission was a bold step for space exploration. The Omega Speedmaster Dark Side
of the Moon collection is a fitting tribute for man's achievement
And a great way to remember the men who have risked their lives, to go where no man has
ever been before.
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