To set the dial apart, and ensure excellent readability, the indexes and hour, minute and chronograph hands, are all in 18K white gold. Protecting the dial, and protruding above the bezel is a highly domed box-type sapphire crystal that has a double anti-glare treatment for clear visibility in all lighting conditions. Then don’t worry, we took it out in New York on some very bright sunny days, and while it does have a glow to it, the readability was always excellent. If you are wondering if the reflection of the polished ceramic surfaces can be too bright to look at in certain instance, particularly the dial, as we were. But when the light hits the polished surfaces just right, you know you are looking at something totally unique.
At some angles, the finish looks like steel the has been treated with PVD. The dial is crafted from the same zirconium oxide ceramic alloy as the case, and is fully polished, perfectly matching the polished bezel, crown, pushers, and lug edges. When you first see the dial of this watch, you instantly realize it is unlike any other previous Speedmaster dial.
We hope to see future iterations with a slightly thinner profile. Which begs us to ask the question: Why did Omega use a box-type sapphire crystal on the caseback? It looks cool, yes, and we love the tall domed glass on the front of the watch, but it seems superfluous to use on the caseback, as it adds at least 2 mm to the overall thickness. This is an aggressive, blacked-out sports watch, so for many - this is exactly the point.Īt approximately 16 mm thick, the watch is quite tall. If you have smaller wrists than mine, it is going to look big. My wrist is approximately seven inches around, and while the case looks large, it is not massive. I wore it for over a week, and I can honestly say it wears quite well indeed. Thanks to the use of lightweight ceramic, the watch weighs just 90.4 grams - including the head, strap, and buckle. But that does not mean it does not wear well. This is by no means a small watch, it is a sports watch after all. The case body, which has a beautiful combination of satin-brushed and polished surfaces, measures 44.25 mm in diameter by 16 mm thick and 49.50 mm in length. Moreover, the dial, buckle, and caseback are made of pure ceramic, as well. What is so special about Omega’s ceramic technology? Not only are the monobloc case and bezel made of pure black ceramic, which others have done before, but also the chronograph pushers and crown, which are fully polished, are solid ceramic as well. The result is an unprecedented, state-of-the-art ceramic wristwatch, currently unmatched by any other watch brand. In developing the production process for the Dark Side of the Moon case, Omega was initially working with an outside company, but in the end, Nick Hayek Jr., CEO of the Swatch Group, made the executive decision to invest in bringing the entire process in-house. Thanks to the use of lightweight ceramic, the watch weighs just 90.4 grams - including the head, strap and buckle.
Made of pure black ceramic, the tachymeter scale on the bezel has been engraved using laser technology and is filled with a matt chrome-nitride coating, which perfectly contrasts with the polished surface of the bezel. And a band encrusted in diamond powder is used to satin brush the lugs and case body. The case is then polished in a bowl of aluminum granules. It is then so hard it needs to be machined with diamond tools.
#VINTAGE BLACK OMEGA SPEEDMASTER REDDIT PROFESSIONAL#
The black ceramic Co-Axial Speedmaster salutes their pioneering spirit and pays homage to the Speedmaster Professional chronographs worn by every Apollo astronaut.”Ī single block of “zirconium oxide” (ZrO2) ceramic, also referred to as “zirconia” or “zirconium dioxide,” is heated to scorching hot 1400 degrees Celsius (or 2552 degrees Fahrenheit), hardening it and reducing it to the right size to transform it into a watch case. And so the story goes, this is how the name came about according to Omega, “The Apollo 8 astronauts were the first people to see the dark side of the moon with their own eyes. The crew, who were all wearing Speedmaster Professionals, were also the first to see the far side of the moon. Its epic name refers to the hemisphere of the Moon that always faces away from Earth, also called the “far side of the moon.”Īpollo 8, which launched in December 1968, was the second human spaceflight mission in the United States Apollo program and became the first manned spacecraft to leave the Earth’s orbit, reach the Earth’s Moon, orbit it and return safely. Crafted from a single block of black zirconium oxide (ZrO2), the Speedmaster “Dark Side of the Moon” is the most visually aggressive and technologically sophisticated chronograph Omega has ever produced.
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