Simply Abu Dhabi XI

1 1 2 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I F ounded in 1848 by Louis Brandt, the Swiss watch brand Omega needs little introduction. The brand has been involved in some of mankind’s greatest endeavours. The Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games for more than 80 years, ever since the Los Angeles games in 1932, Omega will continue timing the sporting achievements of the world’s athletes until Brazil in 2016 and beyond. Omega creates watches that will perform in the most extreme environments, from the outer reaches of space down to the bottom-most depths of our oceans. In these dramatic and perilous arenas a long line of adventurers have entrusted the accurate timings that their lives and missions depended on to the Omega on their wrist. William Beebee, the explorer and marine biologist who made record-breaking Bathysphere dives, wore an Omega Marine, as did the inventor of Scuba, Commander Yves Le Prieur. For the legendary Jacques Cousteau it was an Omega Seamaster PloProf and it was also a Seamaster for ‘The Dolphin Man' Jacques Mayol, the record-breaking freediver. In the realm of space exploration, Omega has been involved with NASA’s Space Programme since the 1960s and scores of astronauts have relied on their Omega - Buzz Aldrin made his Speedmaster the first watch to be used on the moon and Captain Eugene A. Cernan made his the last, as he was the final person to have left his footprints on the lunar surface. This year Omega launches a new model that redefines an iconic design – The Omega Speedmaster in black ceramic, “The Dark Side of the Moon”. Emblematic of Omega’s bold style, quest for innovation and adventurous spirit, this all- black Speedmaster is a stunning new addition to the popular collection. The black zirconium oxide ceramic dial, complemented by a matching ceramic 44.25 mm case with a brushed and polished ceramic casebody, features striking 18K white gold applied indexes, as well as two blackened sub-dials that distinguish the timepiece from its legendary predecessor, Omega’s “Moonwatch”. These two sub-dials are made possible by the placement of the 12-hour and 60-minute counters on the same sub-dial at the 3 o’clock position, allowing a comfortable and intuitive chronograph reading. There is a small seconds sub-dial located at 9 o’clock and a date window at 6 o’clock. The hour and minute Moonwatch-style hands are fashioned from 18K white gold, as are the hands found on both sub-dials; the central chronograph hand is rhodium plated and features a red tip for increased visibility of recorded seconds. Super-LumiNova coats the two dots at 12 and the hour, minute and chronograph hands, ensuring that the wearer can read the time in a variety of lighting conditions. Protecting this prominent dial is a box-form scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with anti- reflective treatment on both sides. The matt chromiumnitride tachymeter scale – among the most identifiable design features of the Speedmaster – stands out on the polished ceramic bezel. The two polished ceramic chronograph control pushers on the case function totally independently and accordingly, there is no risk to the chronograph mechanism as a result of inadvertent manipulation. This unique timepiece is mounted on a highly durable black Cordura fabric strap complete with a black ceramic buckle. The engine of this remarkable new watch is the incredibly advanced in-house movement, the Omega Co-Axial calibre 9300, which is equipped with a Si14 silicon balance spring. To distinguish this new timepiece further, the words “Dark Side Of The Moon” are engraved on the polished ceramic caseback inmatt chromiumnitride, above the bevelled scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. With a design that recalls the same watch that accompanied astronauts to the moon on all six lunar missions, this model is a fantastic new addition to the Speedmaster family and one that deserves the name. It is sure to find a strong following among Speedmaster fans and watch enthusiasts who want to combine the impressive legacy of a remarkable chronograph with the best series- produced mechanical watch movement in the world.