Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Apollo 8 Dark Side Of The Moon 44.25mm Mens Watch

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Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Apollo 8 Dark Side Of The Moon 44.25mm Mens Watch

Ref. O31092445001001

Apollo 8 launched in December 1968 carrying the first crew to orbit the moon — ten loops over twenty hours, every one of them on the far side entirely cut off from Earth. The original Dark Side of the Moon Speedmaster appeared in 2018 to mark that mission; this 2024 successor carries the same concept forward but replaces the earlier movement with the fully METAS-certified Calibre 3869, which shares its architecture with the Calibre 3861 used in the current Moonwatch Professional and adds resistance to magnetic fields up to 15,000 gauss. Black zirconium oxide ceramic runs to every external surface, and at 44.25mm the watch sits large on the wrist without weighing like it — ceramic at this scale consistently surprises. The skeletonised anodised aluminium dial opens the movement to view, and the main plate and bridges beneath have been laser-ablated to texture like the cratered lunar surface. Yellow accents pull against all that black with some force: the chronograph seconds hand, the interior of the perforated rubber strap glimpsed at the edges. The small-seconds hand at nine o'clock is cast in grade 5 titanium as a miniature Saturn V rocket, a detail that reads as absurd in description and entirely right on the dial. The caseback carries engraved text — "Apollo 8, Dec 1968", "Dark Side of the Moon", "We'll see you on the other side" — which is where the mission's tone lives most quietly. The tachymeter scale on the ceramic bezel is laser-engraved and filled with white Grand Feu enamel, a finishing choice that only becomes apparent once you look for it.

Reference: O31092445001001
Brand: Omega
Collection: Speedmaster
Case size: 44.25mm
Case thickness: 13mm
Lug width: 21mm
Case material: Ceramic
Case shape: Round
Dial: Black
Crystal: Sapphire
Bezel: Fixed tachymeter
Movement: Manual
Calibre: OMEGA 3869
Functions: Chronograph, Small seconds, Tachymeter, Skeleton dial
Water resistance: 50m
Bracelet / strap: Rubber strap
Strap colour: Black
Clasp: Deployant clasp
Lume: Super-LumiNova
Retailer: Mappin & Webb

Additional specifications

Lug-to-lug: 50mm
Power reserve: 50 hours

Learn more about Omega

Louis Brandt began assembling pocket watches in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848. His sons moved production to Biel in 1880 and, in 1894, released a calibre whose parts were fully interchangeable and which could be serviced by any watchmaker with standard tools. They named it Omega. The movement was successful enough that the company took its name.

Omega's history is bound up with measurement in public. It became official timekeeper of the Olympic Games in 1932 and has held the role for most Games since, which drove genuine engineering: photo-finish cameras, touchpads in swimming pools, and the timing systems that made hundredths of a second meaningful.

NASA qualified the Speedmaster for manned spaceflight in 1965 after testing chronographs from several manufacturers to destruction, and it was on Buzz Aldrin's wrist on the lunar surface in 1969. The watch has never been substantially redesigned.

The Seamaster line dates to 1948 and covers everything from dress watches to saturation diving instruments. Omega's technical position strengthened considerably after 1999 with the adoption of George Daniels' co-axial escapement, the first genuinely new escapement to reach series production in two centuries, and more recently through Master Chronometer certification testing resistance to magnetic fields at 15,000 gauss.

The company has been part of the Swatch Group since its formation.

1848: Louis Brandt starts assembling watches in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
1894: The Omega calibre gives the company its name.
1932: Becomes official timekeeper of the Olympic Games.
1948: The Seamaster line is introduced.
1965: NASA qualifies the Speedmaster for manned spaceflight.
1999: The co-axial escapement enters series production.

Also in 7 collections

This watch appears in the Omega Speedmaster range (5), Back in Stock (4,528), Chronograph Watches (1,151), Watches 44mm and Over (759), Skeleton Watches (305), All Black Watches (281) and Ceramic Watches (109).

What the specifications mean

Strengths

50mm lug-to-lug keeps the 44.25mm case wearable
Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
Luminous hands and markers for low light

Worth knowing

50m suits rain and handwashing, not swimming
44.25mm sits at the larger end

Best forTiming things

Less suited toSwimmingSmall wrists

Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Apollo 8 alternatives

Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.

Speedmaster Moonwatch Apollo 8 Dark Side Of The Moon 44.25mm Mens Watch compared with 2 alternatives from other brands
Specification	This watchSpeedmaster Moonwatch Apollo 8 Dark Side Of The Moon 44.25mm Mens WatchO31092445001001	Glashütte OriginalPanoInverse Mens Watch1-66-06-04-22-62	Ulysse NardinBlast Skeleton X 42mm Titanium Case3713-260-3/03
Price	£13,500	£10,900	£20,660
Case size	44.25mm	42mm	42mm
Water resistance	50m	50m	50m
Movement	Manual	Manual	Manual
Strap	Rubber strap	Leather strap	Leather strap
Power reserve	50 hours	41 hours	96 hours
	This watch	Costs less Wears smaller	Costs more Wears smaller