BaselWorld 2013: OMEGA Speedmaster "The Dark Side of the Moon"

Another Moonwatch. If there is something you can expect from OMEGA every year, like clockwork, is another Moonwatch. OMEGA feels to constantly need to remind us that its Speedmaster was the official watch selected by NASA during the early days of space exploration, and that the Speedmaster accompanied Astronauts to the Moons surface. Sometimes OMEGA finds some significant space event or digs up something from the Apollo Project history to commemorate, like the Alaska Project. At other times, you feel like OMEGA's designers are really forcing the issue... I mean, who commemorates at 35th Anniversary? Some hits, some misses. This year, OMEGA's effort to come up with a new Moon watch is a hit.

OMEGA opted not to look for some special event, and simply called the new watch "The Dark Side of the Moon".  The name is more inspired by the black ceramic case and the black zirconium oxide ceramic dial.

OMEGA Speedmaster "The Dark Side of the Moon". The new OMEGA offering is carries an all black theme. A 44.25 mm diameter ceramic case on a black Cordura fabric strap strap, is highlighted only by 18K white gold hands and indexes, as well the red "Speedmaster" label on the dial. The tachymeter scale, constructed from matt chromium nitride, contrast nicely with the the polished ceramic bezel. The overall look gives the OMEGA's old Speedmaster a decidedly modern look.   At the back, the words “DARK SIDE OF THE MOON” are engraved above the bevelled scratch-resistant sapphire crystal.

Instead of the three sub-dials you are accustomed to on Omega Speedmasters, you instead have two  sub-dials. The reduction of the sub-dials was accomplished by placing the of the 12-hour and 60-minute counters on the same sub-dial at the 3 o’clock position. The second sub-dial displays running small seconds.

Powering this watch is a built by OMEGA Co-Axial calibre 9300 movement, and equipped with a Si14 silicon balance spring. This Speedmaster is offered with a full four-year warranty.

About Omega SA. The forerunner of Omega was founded 1848, by Louis Brandt. The name Omega was first used in 1894. It was used as the name of one of the Louis Brandt brother’s watch movement calibers.