Simply Abu Dhabi XXX

The numerals are clearly Bauhaus inspired and a signifier of the NOMOS brand which an ever-expanding army of admirers will love. The Autobahn may scoop some more awards for NOMOS, which it can add to the 140 international prizes and awards for design it has amassed to date. Omega Speedmaster Dark Side Of The Moon Apollo 8 Omega’s Dark Side collection sees a new arrival in 2018 that gives fans much more than just a new dial. Don’t panic Omega lovers, the key ingredient of the original Dark Side is still there: the sleek brushed black ceramic case measuring in at a substantial 4.25mm. But there is a new engine—the calibre 1869—which is a blackened and decorated version of the calibre 1861, and called 1869 as a tribute to the first moon landing. The major difference here is that it is manually wound. By replacing the automatic movement, Omega has managed to reduce the thickness of the watch by 2.5mm, making it just 13.8mm thick. The dial also changes in line with the new movement as there is now no date function, which many watch lovers much prefer. Whereas previous Dark Side watches have two sub-registers—one on the left showing running seconds and one on the right showing both elapsed hours and minutes for the chronograph— the new Dark Side Of The Moon Apollo 8 has a traditional three-register display without the date at 6 o’clock. More strikingly still, the dial of this timepiece has been masterfully skeletonised. Inside, laser ablation has been used to precisely decorate the bridges and main plate of the blackened movement, producing realistic imagery of the lunar surface. And like the moon, it reveals two unique sides: the dial-side is a light shade to represent our view of the moon’s surface from Earth, while the back of the watch delves into the dark side that only astronauts get to see. The brand says, ‘In this new creation, Omega has again embraced its popular “Dark Side of the Moon” innovation, producing the entire watch in black zirconium oxide ceramic. To contrast this dark tone, the brand has chosen a yellow colour coding. Omega first used colour coding in its Speedmaster collection in 1968 for a Speedmaster Racing model. Today, because yellow is often most closely associated with speed, it was seen as the ideal choice for this new watch.’ The chronograph hands are varnished yellow, while the watch's tachymeter scale and crown are filled with Super-LumiNova. The watch is mounted on a fetching leather strap onto which the black and yellow theme extends. The strap also has a section of yellow rubber through the middle which is seen via the appealing micro perforations. Engraved on the caseback is the quote, “We'll see you on the other side” from Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell on board the Apollo 8 mission at the start of the crew’s pioneering orbit to the dark side of the moon, and just seconds later the spacecraft disappeared beyond the range of radio contact. This watch will garner a huge following; luckily, it’s not a limited edition but rather an addition to the main collection. 1 8 1 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I