Fresh from the Showcase here at SwissWatchExpo. Omega's Dark Side of the Moon is one of the most
celebrated additions of the Speedmaster and we've got three of them. So let's check it out now.
The Dark Side of the Moon is one of the most interesting and unique models in the entire
Speedmaster line. It's one of my favorites and it's unique in a lot of ways, mainly because a
lot of the NASA inspired Speedmasters and Omega has come out with a lot of them over the decades,
all seem to be variations on the theme of the original Moonwatch, the original,
you know, manual winding professional model. The Dark Side of the Moon, while very much a
celebration of NASA history and about space travel, like a lot of speed masters are
definitely its own beast in a lot of ways. And I'd like to get into it and some more
detail now because we actually have three very distinct editions of this fantastic model in
stock right now. The first one I'm going to go over is the original released in 2013.
This is just the Omega Dark Side of the Moon. They also came out with an all black and a gray
side of the moon during this generation, but this is the first one. This is the one. I think
people who are familiar with this model are going to be most familiar with and going to
be the first one that pops into their mind when they think of the Dark Side of the Moon model.
The one thing that all of these watches have in common and it's incredibly impressive
is that it is a all black ceramic case, and this is not a ceramic coating or a PVD coated case
each and every single Dark Side of the Moon model is carved from a single piece of solid ceramic,
which makes it incredibly difficult to manufacture. But that also has a lot to
do why this is priced a good bit higher than a lot of other Speedmasters you might've been
shopping for in the past the traditional one, because it's called Dark Side of the Moon.
You can imagine the motif is black, all black, including a black ceramic
dial here. So it's not just the case. The dial itself is also made from a piece of ceramic.
This does have a two chronograph register dial. So you do have your second hand here at you'd have
your second hand here at nine o'clock and a double chronograph at three. So this is going to be
one of many things that's going to set it apart from the original Moonwatch. You also do have a
date window here at six o'clock. It's very subtle. You kind of have to look for it to pick up on it.
But it is there. This is definitely a very modern, modern sports chronograph. And it's
going to set it apart from the original Moonwatch in a lot of different ways too.
Instead of a 42 millimeter case, it will be 44 and a quarter wide and a good bit thicker,
not just because of the case, but also because of the double Sapphire crystal bits on it.
So I know a lot of people where the Moonwatch being a little bit dressier, it does fit under
a dress shirt pretty easily. This one's a little bit less, so this is a lot more casual than a
traditional Moonwatch. But you know, there's also a lot more attention grabbing too. The
strap that it comes on as this incredible looking nylon strap, which it does add a lot to sporty
appeal of it. You do also have ceramic chronograph pushers and the crown here as well. Probably the
biggest and starkest difference is going to set this apart from the other NASA inspired watches
is the automatic movement. This is a caliber 9,300. So this is just a sheer departure from
anything that was in previous additions of it. They're pretty much starting from the ground up
with this. And this is probably one of their most pro one of their most progressive and interesting
chronograph movements, coaxial chronograph movements that they're making right now.
It is beautifully detailed. You see, you have the cote de Geneve pattern all over the back there. It
looks sort sorta like a mollusk gel or something. And if you flip this road or sideways, you can see
the main spring moving. It is an absolute joy to see in motion. And this is why it's really
one of the most popular Speedmasters, one that gets probably the most attention and people talk
about more than anything else, and not only along the Speedmaster line, but you'll notice
even as much watch shopping as you do. There's really not anything on
the market that's exactly like this. The next one I want to go into is when we've
actually done a video on in the past. So I'm kind of going to breeze over it because I do
highly recommend you check that out because this watch is fascinating in a lot of ways.
This is the most recent addition to the Dark Side of the Moon that came out. And this one
celebrates the team, Alinghi yacht racing team from Switzerland. And as I mentioned in the video,
Switzerland's a landlocked country. So I'm very surprised they have elite yachting
going on there, but they weren't going to say they're a talented group of people judging by the
craftsmanship in these watches. So if they apply that level of skill to a sporting events,
I'm sure they are able to succeed. And I know that this team has won a lot.
Quite an interesting enough, this watch has really, uh, sporting is the one thing
that it sort of has in common with, with other Speedmaster models. This is not a dive watch. This
is not even a watch that specifically celebrate space travel or anything.
This is a very unique watch that was made for a yacht racing team. But it is very interesting,
very interesting looking and also not quite so esoteric that you have to be a big yacht fan
to appreciate this watch you do have the team Alinghi logo here at six o'clock.
The movement here is different in a couple of ways. It is a manual winding movement. So again,
kind of jumping back to the original, the original professional edition speed masters.
And another thing that's going to make it really interesting is that this is actually a
regatta timing chronograph. So that's going to set it apart from, I think, really any Speedmaster. I
believe all the other Regatta chronographs they made were either in the Aqua Terra or
the Seamaster line in general. So this makes it a very unique addition to the Speedmaster line.
You have the Alinhi logo, not only at the six o'clock sub dial here, but also on the
top pusher.Bbecause this is a manual wind racing or Regata racing chronograph. I believe they call
it the caliber 1865. So it is a modified version of the 1861 movement making it similar to a lot of
moon watches. But this one is absolutely stunning to look at in the back. You don't have that rotor
hiding anything behind this beautiful movement and does say Team Alinghi and Dark Side of
the Moon engraved on the back here, just to really let you know what this is all about.
I did forget to mention here at the beautiful looking white paint that is on this ceramic
tachymeter bezel around here, incredible contrast, and the partially skeletonized dial is another
real beauty to behold. This is a really a visually stunning watch, both from the front and the back.
And that's about all I'm going to get into this when it doesn't have a really
great looking perforated rubber strap here too, cause it is meant for water sports,
but I go into a lot more detail in the video that we shot a few months ago, we were lucky enough to
get another one of these fantastic models in stock. And I couldn't, couldn't help myself
from sharing it along with these other two. The last one that I wanted to show you, this might
be the most special one yet. This here is the explicit Apollo 8 edition. I'm going to go ahead
and unfasten it right now of the Dark Side of the Moon. The original was meant as an homage to
that mission. The first NASA mission to actually view the Dark Side of the Moon,
this predates the moon landing, but it was the first time they orbited it.
And the first time man had ever laid eyes on it. But this one here is the specific 50th
anniversary of that Apollo 8 mission, couple of things that make it different from the regular
Dark Side of the Moon that originally came out, First things first this too,
as a manual winding movement. So again, kind of gone back to the traditional Moonwatch type
of watch. This does have the anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission engraved on the back,
along with Dark Side of the Moon and I believe the last word spoken before they actually
orbited the moon, which is, we'll see you on the other side. So that is all engraved on
the back. This is a great watch, going back to models that commemorate specific NASA missions.
So the space fans and the, the NASA geeks out there, uh, would really eat this up.
And this is a fantastic watch as well. This one, like the Alinghi partially skeletonized
on the front, this one in a very different way. And it actually has a laser etched
pattern to mimic the surface of the moon. I'm not sure how much the camera can catch up on that,
but if you hold it up close to the attention to detail is absolutely stunning. This is
one of the prouder watches Omega has in its entire catalog right now. And for good reason,
one thing that's going to instantly set it apart from the other two is of course,
the yellow accents on the bezel. And of course the dial as well with the sweep seconds and the
secondhand being a very bright yellow really pops against the dark gray sort of pattern on here.
All in all. These are three fantastic watches. Probably some of the proudest that Omega has.
And most importantly, nothing else really like it on the market. There are some ceramic chronographs
out there, but even that is a rarity, but absolutely nothing that looks like this.
So this is a kind of watch that you're interested in or something that has instantly caught your
eye. The second you looked at it, you give us a call because we believe these are the only
three we have. I'm sure they're not going to last long. And of course, if this isn't your style,
congratulations on making it to the end of the video you should like and subscribe to
our channel so you can see the other ones we have and the thousands of other pieces
that we are coming through and sending out all over the world every day. So
check us out online. Like and subscribe and give us a call at SwissWatchExpo.com.