Community Stories

Introducing: The New Omega Speedmaster Dark Side Of The Moon Apollo 8 — Featuring The...

PandaSPUR
Posts
684
Likes
660
I always thought the Apollo 8 was meant to be a special/LE/LP watch since its design was so distinct from the rest of the standard production watches.

Was that not the case? Seems like quite a few people here had the same impression i did, which added to the annoyance of this new release.

The description for the original Apollo 8 sure made it sound like a special release of some sort, meant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission.

upload_2024-1-17_12-42-34.png


Also ironically, Omega has lazily updated its website with the new Apollo 8 but didnt change the freaking wording (pictured above): https://www.omegawatches.com/en-us/...e-moon/dark-side-of-the-moon-apollo-8/catalog
 
ErichPryde
Posts
2,746
Likes
5,150
vbrad26 vbrad26
Ehh I wouldn't say I discount it as it is obviously a big part of the changes. But perhaps I'm not giving it as much credit as I should?
The price hike from the 1861 Speedy to the 3861 Speedy was not huge if I recall. And the the 1869 was just a mostly aesthetically modified 1861, yes?
So I see the 3869 as just a aesthetically modified 3861, which to me almost equates to just slapping some bumper stickers on it and calling it a day lol. But I'm admittedly ignorant to all of the technicalities.

MSRP to MSRP you're looking at a 26% increase from 1863 last retail to current 3861 price, vs a 33% increase from the prior Apollo 8 to the new one (per pricing in USD on Omega's site). That's a difference, but not a huge one.
 
STANDY
Posts
16,741
Likes
47,363
$700 for just a big box and a newer bracelet many years ago, as many remember.

Whole new movement wasn’t going to be a small increase.
 
vbrad26
Posts
4,364
Likes
22,572
ErichPryde ErichPryde
MSRP to MSRP you're looking at a 26% increase from 1863 last retail to current 3861 price, vs a 33% increase from the prior Apollo 8 to the new one (per pricing in USD on Omega's site). That's a difference, but not a huge one.

I edited my post after you quoted where you will see my rudimentary price breakdown lol.
 
ErichPryde
Posts
2,746
Likes
5,150
vbrad26 vbrad26
I edited my post after you quoted where you will see my rudimentary price breakdown lol.

Ok- but then do it both ways. earlier you said that the price increases from 1861 to 3861 were justified- but that the increase from prior Apollo8 to current were not ok. That would mean we should compare the increases that way. In your edit, you're comparing the difference in price from the old apollo 8 to the old 1861, and then from the new apollo 8 to the new 3861 hesalite. Probably best to look at the percentage MSRP increases from 1861 to 3861 hesalite, 1863 to 3861 SS, and apollo 8 to apollo 8.


From Apollo 8 to Apollo 8- 33%
From 1863 to 3861ss- 26%
From 1861 to 3861- 30.8%

Ironically the percent change from 1861 to 3861 hesalite is pretty big. so a 33% increase in price over the prior Apollo 8 REALLY doesn't seem unreasonable; heck, it's made out of "premium" materials (i don't value them and you don't either, but some people really want ceramic and sapphire. we're not the target buyer here).

vs the 3861 hesalite, the new Apollo 8 is just over double the price, 300 dollars specifically. (4.3% of the 7,000 retail of the new hesalite speedy; this watch is 204.3% of the current hesalite) the old one was *exactly* double (exactly 200% of the old one). This 4.3% increase/300 dollar increase as a percent basis is fairly negligible.
Edited:
 
guppydriver
Posts
251
Likes
405
I mean....

It's not for me, but whatever, it's pretty cool and what not. I hope the people who buy it, wear the hell out of it and love it.

Where my jaw hit the floor was in price.

A current SS Speedy is $8K I believe. If this DSOTM would have launched at say.....um.... $9.6K, I would have been, "OK, Sure. Still not for me, but I get it". But almost fourteen and a half thousand dollars? YGTBSM!!

Heck, the day before this launched I was really considering an almost new, mint solid rose gold (not TT) GO SeaQ panodate for the same money. I know, I know....apples to oranges in so many ways, but still, I just think the new Omega is terribly overpriced.
 
Evitzee
Posts
6,947
Likes
13,006
PandaSPUR PandaSPUR
I always thought the Apollo 8 was meant to be a special/LE/LP watch since its design was so distinct from the rest of the standard production watches.

Was that not the case? Seems like quite a few people here had the same impression i did, which added to the annoyance of this new release.

The description for the original Apollo 8 sure made it sound like a special release of some sort, meant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission.

Also ironically, Omega has lazily updated its website with the new Apollo 8 but didnt change the freaking wording (pictured above): https://www.omegawatches.com/en-us/...e-moon/dark-side-of-the-moon-apollo-8/catalog
I think this is a point that rankles some people. When the Apollo 8 came out in 2018 it was in very short supply and OBs alluded that it was going to be a somewhat limited piece to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the mission, and it wouldn't be in the catalog forever. Here we are almost six years later and it is still available, and now they issue an updated version that looks almost the same. Obviously Omega can change their minds depending on how successful the watch is but it does seem there was some misdirection. But I never thought the watch was that popular, there are plenty for sale on the secondary market and it never gets talked about much. It's kind of an orphan in the 1861-ish line of Speedmasters.

I bought mine when they first showed up on the Omega eCommerce site, that was in 2019. If I would have known they were going to be a permanent fixture in the catalog I probably would have waited and picked one up pre-owned.
Edited:
 
Archer
Posts
27,667
Likes
70,303
vbrad26 vbrad26
Ehh I wouldn't say I discount it as it is obviously a big part of the changes. But perhaps I'm not giving it as much credit as I should?
The price hike from the 1861 Speedy to the 3861 Speedy was not huge if I recall. And the the 1869 was just a mostly aesthetically modified 1861, yes?
So I see the 3869 as just a aesthetically modified 3861, which to me almost equates to just slapping some bumper stickers on it and calling it a day lol. But I'm admittedly ignorant to all of the technicalities.

Well, I cannot see your intent, but only what you wrote. That appeared to clearly discount the movement upgrade as you didn't mention it in the things you listed as changes, and then asked if "just that" was worth the extra money. IMO the movement upgrade is the biggest part of this.

As the math that has been laid out shows, this is not a massively out of proportion price increase. Given that this model will obviously be made in smaller numbers than a regular Speedmaster would be, the small premium they are asking for it doesn't seem to be terribly problematic to me, since the additional costs to make the cosmetic changes to the movement will be amortized over a smaller number of watches.
 
M
Posts
2
Likes
1
Like it or now, I think this price foreshadows what would come from Omega this year. I think all Omega releases this year would be priced high. Also the price of this new DSOTM is already getting dangerously close to 321. I wouldn’t be surprised if Omega hikes the price of the SS 321 (or more models) in the near future.
 
PandaSPUR
Posts
684
Likes
660
I think the people complaining about the price alone are missing something. The old model came with pin + buckle for the strap.
The new one comes with the ceramic/titanium deployant by default. That deployant is a $1.6k difference (if you look at the GSOTM and DSOTM options).

Also I think the 1869 Apollo 8 was $10,700 USD thanks to price hikes since 2018? Basing this off of random AD sites that still have it listed for retail.

So $10,700 plus $1.6k = $12.3k
$2k extra for the new movement + lil rocketship. 16% increase.
 
D
Posts
886
Likes
470
pspagano2099 pspagano2099
I honestly love both the classic/vintage and modern designs that Omega offers, but the modern designs like this seem to only be available in comically oversized cases (with the exception of the 39.5mm ceramic PO). This watch is a perfect example of something that would be incredibly cool as a 42mm Speedy. I would go so far as to say a 42mm ceramic Speedy could be the "it" watch of the year.

Instead, Omega insists on investing in ridiculously niche models that most people, even walk-in, non-enthusiast customers, aren't going to go for. Enthusiasts mostly don't want oversized watches and non-enthusiasts aren't going to pay 15k for something this niche. Hell, my AD even admitted a lot of walk-in customers have been complaining that the watch they want doesn't come in a size that fits them comfortably. It gets to a point where you have to ask yourself, who are they making these for? It's not like they're selling like hotcakes. You inevitably see models like this pop up on the grey market for a significant discount, meaning dealers aren't having much luck moving them. So what demographic are they pulling in?

Maybe they're trying to pull in a typical Moonswatch enthusiast that is on an upgrade path.
Alternately a DSOTM fan for a foundation of a collection. The differences between a MK I and MK II DSOTM are very interesting.
I also note that the 50 m water resistance is now guaranteed as part of the METAS testing according to RJ and is only suitable for swimming.
I take that to imply the older non-METAS watches were only blessed with a kind of "type approval" with not all examples tested(and perhaps only a percentage) for water resistance in production.
Edited:
 
R
Posts
53
Likes
51
Wait, where is the spirate? That should start getting integrated now. Especially at the price point.

I think we care more about how they’ll revamp their core models, Not these special edition pieces.
 
nicolamilton
Posts
649
Likes
1,020
PandaSPUR PandaSPUR
I always thought the Apollo 8 was meant to be a special/LE/LP watch since its design was so distinct from the rest of the standard production watches.

Was that not the case? Seems like quite a few people here had the same impression i did, which added to the annoyance of this new release.

The description for the original Apollo 8 sure made it sound like a special release of some sort, meant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission.

upload_2024-1-17_12-42-34.png


Also ironically, Omega has lazily updated its website with the new Apollo 8 but didnt change the freaking wording (pictured above): https://www.omegawatches.com/en-us/...e-moon/dark-side-of-the-moon-apollo-8/catalog
I think it's the first time I've witnessed a re-edition of a "special anniversary version" watch so close in time. If we were talking about Seiko it would seem more credible...
 
PandaSPUR
Posts
684
Likes
660
nicolamilton nicolamilton
I think it's the first time I've witnessed a re-edition of a "special anniversary version" watch so close in time. If we were talking about Seiko it would seem more credible...

Yea not sure what Omega is doing. Its not even the 55th anniversary. Seems like they just randomly decided to make this a normal part of the catalog.
 
padders
Posts
9,719
Likes
15,314
YY77 YY77
Isn't it? Apollo 8 was Dec '68.
1968 + 55 = 2023 so no it isn't, its January 2024 now so was either launched late (oops embarrassing) or nothing to do with any abitrary anniversary. Call me a misery but I for one get very bored of Omega or certain members on here reminding us that it is 57.6 years today since someone last farted in space. 😉

Oops that was a tad negative, I'd better join Ash on the naughty step!
Edited:
 
PandaSPUR
Posts
684
Likes
660
YY77 YY77
Isn't it? Apollo 8 was Dec '68.
padders padders
1968 + 55 = 2023 so no it isn't, its January 2024 now so was either launched late (oops embarrassing) or nothing to do with any abitrary anniversary. Call me a misery but I for one get very bored of Omega or certain members on here reminding us that it is 57.6 years today since someone last farted in space.

Oops that was a tad negative, I'd better join Ash on the naughty step!

What he said, plus I don't think I've seen any narrative from Omega that talks about the 55th anniversary. Very strange release.
 
YY77
Posts
5,055
Likes
22,804
padders padders
1968 + 55 = 2023 so no it isn't, its January 2024 now so was either launched late

Close enough in my book, but would a launch be news worthy around X-mas time?

PandaSPUR PandaSPUR
What he said, plus I don't think I've seen any narrative from Omega that talks about the 55th anniversary. Very strange release.
but it is a dedicated Apollo 8 anniversary so I can't see it any other way although Omega doesn't mention it.
 
ErichPryde
Posts
2,746
Likes
5,150
Well I'll say this, Omega sure knew how to get under ya'lls skin. First have astronauts in red dance provocatively in the snow on the moon, then release a watch that has absolutely nothing to do with that. Quite the tease.
 
64 More Posts...
Sign up or log in to reply...

Similar threads

MoonTimer

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Apollo 8 2024 Edition

MoonTimer Modern Omega Watches
Omeg@007
Omeg@007
Posts
10
Views
1K
Robert-Jan

Introducing: The New Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Meteorite Watches!

Robert-Jan Modern Omega Watches
SpeedyPhill
SpeedyPhill
Posts
1
Views
515
mdgrwl

Omega Speedmaster - Dark Side of the Moon - 311.92.44.51.01.007 ( new / 2024 )

mdgrwl Watches For Sale
mdgrwl
mdgrwl
Posts
3
Views
2K
befobe

Speedmaster Dark Side Of The Moon Apollo 8 Full set

befobe Private Watch Sales
befobe
befobe
Posts
7
Views
4K
alextakuya

BRAND NEW Omega SPEEDMASTER MOONWATCH APOLLO 8 DARK SIDE OF THE MOON 2024 FULL SET

alextakuya Watches For Sale
alextakuya
alextakuya
Posts
0
Views
2K
mdgrwl

Omega Speedmaster - Dark Side of the Moon - 311.92.44.51.01.007 ( new / 2024 )

mdgrwl Watches For Sale
mdgrwl
mdgrwl
Posts
3
Views
2K