After waiting almost six weeks, my Speedmaster Dark Side of The Moon (311.92.44.51.01.007) was finally delivered. There's a lot about this model out there already, but I thought I'd share some thoughts. Photos are crappy since I used a cellphone that can't macro at all, plus this watch is a true dust magnet due to the color.

Also, I'm not even a collector and this is my second automatic watch (excluding a couple of cheap fashion brand models). There's some noobness and engrish ahead (and I might compare the DSOTM to my diver a bit too much). There's a bit of a... plot twist at the end too.

Looking at Speedmasters

I've kept an eye on it for over a year, and since it is not cheap [to me] I made sure I really thought about it. I considered the more classic Speedmasters and actually tried to convince myself that I wanted "the real thing", Hesalite and all, then later perhaps just a more practical sapphire sandwich, followed by figuring out I wouldn't have the patience to polish scratches and would miss a date window.

I always liked the original 2013 DSOTM; bit of a blasphemy but it looked like the hottest Speedmaster out there!

The Omega marketing people did their job and only made it worse...

But that wasn't the only lure.

The thing has that familiar, highly legible and recognizable Speedy face, but as a whole seems adjusted for a more practical modern use.

It is popular, but not too common, recognizable, but discrete, not revered as a classic, but still respected.

With a few innovations as a bonus... so I finally pulled the trigger when I found one reasonably discounted and with official warranty.

The seller definitely saved on the padding and the shipping box didn't look so good when DHL dropped it. Still, once I opened it I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was absolutely immaculate. Not even the tiniest sign of damage to the outer Omega card box.



And here's the shiny, heavy inner case.



With the watch you get a manual, a warranty card, a card with pictograms and a cloth.



As promised by the seller, the card is stamped by an AD. Omega's warranty, four years on Co-Axials.



The main box is quite impressive. Solid, heavy, looks very well built. Extremely polished and a fingerprint magnet. While great to look at, it's not practical for everyday use unless you have a lot of space, so I stored it right away. It would look great on a display at a store, no doubt.

If I decide to keep the watch "forever", I might consider selling it to a collector, as I know I'll just keep it stored and not really get any extra joy out of it.



Way too big?

When I first read about it, I remember dismissing this model immediately due to the large size (44.25mm / 16mm thick) and price (10.300 Eur retail)



The idea didn't fade away and looking around for sellers made the price more bearable. However, it was still a huge watch. I had to try one in person at a shop, which would hopefully help me bury this attraction once and for all.

The visit to the AD didn't go as planned. When I grabbed it knowing it was a lot thicker than the stainless steel 41mm watch I had at the time, I expected that to be obvious.

Yet, it felt smaller. What sorcery was that?
I guess the shape/size of the lugs and the overall dark color make it wear and look A LOT smaller, plus the weight gives the illusion that it is even smaller. Definitely not a Skagen, but not the monster I was expecting.

I have small wrists, in fact, I'm comfortably using the strap on the tightest position possible...



But the lugs don't even get close to extending past the wrist. And it really feels very, very light. It is not easy to notice the weight on the wrist. Without the strap contact/pressure, it would be imperceptible - the DSOTM is 91 grams. For comparison, a Breitling Chronomat weighs more than twice that, at 209 grams!

It is larger than my Aquaracer 500M, but when seen live it actually looks and feels smaller due to the weight and color.







The low weight of the whole case, pushers, strap and ceramic and titanium clasp all combine to really make everything feel extremely light and comfortable. That's impressive considering the size on paper.

So for everyone who avoided this model because of the size: Don't! It looks small and it feels small!
[I'd stick a "That's what she said!" joke here, but that would be immature]

What doesn't look immature is the Speedmaster Grey Side of the Moon. I tried one at the shop while checking out the DSOTM; It looked very elegant, truly nice. The dial pattern is quite attractive and it ultimately looks less sporty, also due to the strap, making it more flexible to wear as an occasional dress watch.

While the GSOTM looked really special, being limited to have just one, I still preferred the DSOTM; There is something unique about its look...



The color

The color and materials can make it look cheap from a distance. I think the main reason is that from far it can look like just another coated black sports watch on a cheap strap. For the uninformed, it might even look like shiny plastic, a $70 quartz.

Get closer however and that idea is dismissed. There's something different about the way it reflects light. Some surfaces are very polished, but there is an interesting use of brushed ceramic too. The lugs for instance have a brushed top, then a shiny strip that stretches under the bezel and the sides are again brushed, with a stainless-steel like pattern.

The combined use of polished and brushed surfaces make it approach the look of a traditional stainless steel watch, only black. Although it is true that from a distance, a shiny look prevails.



The bezel is also polished, not much different from what you'd see in other models with ceramic bezels. More on that below. The sapphire crystal is slightly domed and looks thick. Not being fully flat causes some distortion from a side view, making reading harder. I'm not sure I like that, compared to my other watch that has a totally flat crystal.

On the other hand, the small curvature does make it more attractive to look at from some angles and causes some interesting reflections (not excessive due to the AR coatings)

The caseback crystal protrudes out as much as the front one, but it's not all that noticeable since it presses on the skin. It's a bit more obvious on the side of the crown, that has a tendency to lift up a bit. I like the way it causes a tiny gap between the edges of the case and the skin, shining in an interesting way when the sun hits it sideways at the right angle. Some people see this trait as a negative, but I like it.



You get a nice view on the back. The back viewing window lets us see the in-house 9300 Co-Axial movement, which is well finished. The rotor covers a lot, but you can still admire quite some detail and notice the silicon balance spring, which is relatively resistant to shocks and almost entirely unaffected by magnetism.



There's a lot of writing in red lettering, which can be either interesting or annoying depending on your taste. I don't find it negative as the font is tiny and it adds some color matching the jewels.



The dial looks simple too, until you look at the details up close. The subdial hands look a bit too stealthy at first, but it ends up working out well as it reduces visual noise when you glance at it to check time, unlike some busier chronos. I really like how legible the whole thing is.

Being fully ZrO2 ceramic like the rest, the face should handle aging and sunlight fade well. It is reflective, looking very smooth and polished but not to the point of being a mirror. At the same time, at some angles it can look a bit "oily" and alternates between black and dark gray depending on the angle. An interesting effect for sure, but it makes it hard to photograph.



The strap and clasp

Besides the size, the strap was also a worry, as it appears to be a bit cheap, dare I say crappy - in photos.



But once you grab it, it seems very well made. It's a tough coated nylon fabric, with soft leather on the inside and a rubber overlay. The stitching, is well done, white on the outside, red on the inside. The soft leather avoids any feeling of abrasion and the flexibility of the strap material makes it very comfortable, close to rubber.



You probably shouldn't get it wet due to the leather use, but at 50m rating, the DSOTM isn't made for water sports anyway. A possible negative comment would be that again, from a distance, the Titanium+Ceramic clasp somehow look like plastic, or coated black steel.




The foldover clasp's main structure is titanium and feels solid. Parts of polished ceramic are used on the sides/buttons. These ceramic pieces are slightly raised, probably a design choice to make them contact surfaces before the titanium does, protecting it from scratches caused by table tops and similar.





All the clasp elements are nicely finished and rounded, with no sharp edges waiting to attack the sleeves of your wooly sweaters.





It closes without much resistance but with a reassuring click. Two safety buttons need to be pressed to open it.

There is zero flex, gaps or rattling. The structure feels very solid and precisely machined.



I'd prefer a strap that fully hugged the case, leaving no gaps between strap and watch, similar to a Speedmaster Racing. Perhaps I'll give rubber straps a try in the future.

Overall, the strap fits the model quite well. It's a pity Omega used the red stitching only on the inside. Having it on the outside could also work well, adding a little bit of life and color to match the red "Speedmaster" signature on the dial and the tip of the chrono seconds hand.



This strap inevitably reinforces the sporty look of the DSOTM. I can still see it work in suit and tie (assuming it fits under your shirts) but it's not a dress watch. Adding a quality croc leather strap might help with that. There's no fine-grained size adjustment, which is something I really like on my TAG. I lucked out and the strap is just at the perfect size on the tightest position.

For anyone considering this watch, keep in mind that there are two versions of the original DSOTM. The first (2013) is reference 311.92.44.51.01.003 and comes with a normal buckle. The second (2015) is 311.92.44.51.01.007 - that is exactly the same watch head, but with the Ti+ZrO2 clasp. This makes it look a bit more refined and a lot less likely to be dropped by accident: If you fail to close the clasp properly or your hand slips while putting it on, it will still be hanging on your wrist.

It's the strap that Omega should have included in the first version and far superior, IMHO. Perhaps the Ti+ZrO2 design was not yet finished in 2013. A shame that it will add even more to the cost, as the x.007 model costs around 500 more. An exaggerated premium, but can be considered a bit of an insurance if you are the "butter hands" type with a propensity to let watches slip.

Back to the look

Aesthetically, there is perhaps no reason to comment with much detail, as this is extremely subjective and a matter of personal taste, but I'll add a few impressions.

The white-gold hands and the applied white-gold indexes, which are coated with Super-LumiNova, look more luxurious than the white hands and applied luminous indexes on other Speedmasters, a nice extra. It's something that is not easy to capture in photos, but the face looks quite refined and tidy/easy to read.



As already mentioned, the bezel is ZrO2 ceramic. Lasers are used to cut cavities for the markers, which are then filled with Chrome Nitride (CrN) to create the silver-gray scale lettering that is inset along the ceramic bezel.



CrN has an extremely strong adhesion—molecular bond and is an extremely hard, inert, thin film coating that performs well in corrosive environments and enduring sliding wear. I'm not sure how it would compare directly to bezels with ceramic+LiquidMetal, but in theory, the combination of ZrO2+CrN should result in a bezel that is scratch/fade resistant and capable of keeping its as-new look for many years.

Despite the hardness, as with any ceramic bezel, you probably don't want to impact it hard against anything too solid.

One thing I noticed was how stronger the lume is compared to the Aquaracer. Although the indexes are much thinner, it glows intensely, sometimes noticeable even if you're not in the dark. Very efficient Super-LumiNova coating. It probably also lasts longer, but I didn't compare.

And the ceramic thingy

Many interesting black watches use DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating that is relatively scratch-resistant, but it is thin, and harsh treatment can leave silver-colored scratches on it. That's not an issue with zirconium dioxide ceramic. The DSOTM uses ceramic for almost everything except the movement.

The pushers are also ceramic and feel very solid. It is not easy to pull out the crown however, at least not while wearing the watch since the gap for a fingernail is minimal. Unless you have to adjust time/date frequently, it won't be an inconvenience.



On a more practical side, I read a lot about the use of ZrO2 ceramic and am aware of its pros and cons. It will require some care when being serviced since removing the ceramic back with the window is not as simple as with steel Speedmasters, given the different architecture. With enough care and equipment, separating the breakage-prone ceramic back from the rest of the case should cause no harm. This detail, along with the 9300 Co-Axial movement's complexity might result in higher service costs.

Drops have to be avoided, but that happens with any other watch. In this case, the wrong drop might damage the case to the point of needing a replacement, something that won't happen with stainless steel. In return, it is very resistant to scratches/dings, which is something I value, as I am planning to wear it daily, with care but still subject to the desk-at-work rubbing and other daily wear and tear.

There aren't many posts regarding chipped xSOTM models, but there are a few, perhaps not significant considering the popularity of the model, but who knows. Hopefully I won't be proven wrong one day, but I think the pros outweigh the cons on my usage pattern. In theory, it should be able to outlast me. Of all the materials, the strap fabric is by far the weakest link. This is definitely not adequate to use as a tool watch, but it was not designed to be so.

Accuracy

The Omega in-house Co-Axial 9300 movement is well known, so not much to say there. WatchTime magazine tested the DSOTM on a timing machine and measured an average daily gain of 2.3 seconds (2.2 seconds with the chronograph on).

I've been logging the accuracy of my DSOTM since I got it two months ago and it is currently at +1.6 s/day, having the chrono on most of the time (I like seeing shiny things move). That's better than I expected to get with the 9300.

I'm getting +4.0-4.5s/day with my other watch (based on a Sellita SW200) so anything below that is an improvement.

What I did notice is that the rotor is quite loud compared to my other watch. This is very perceptible sometimes, for instance if you raise your hand to touch your face.

From what I read, this seems to be normal in all 9300s. The noise from the rotor and normal operation is quite pleasant once it becomes familiar.

Value

I'm in Europe and this DSOTM had a reasonable price for this market (-26% off retail) from a small seller that sourced it from an AD in Germany. The discount made me go for it since I still see such a watch like a wearable cash deposit - one more reason why I hope it remains looking new for a long time. You can definitely find much cheaper ceramic watches, but I don't think there is anything that combines the Speedmaster history and many of its characteristics (full ZrO2 case, including dial/pushers, ingenious use of ceramic+titanium in the clasp, in-house chrono movement, back crystal, lightweight, etc) for a lower price.

It's definitely worth a premium compared to a stainless steel sapphire sandwich, in my opinion, but that strongly depends on the taste/preferences of the buyer.

So overall?

I do like that it manages to be a very special watch, a modernized version of a classic, now having little to do with the NASA days but still an impressive Speedmaster that can be worn daily. It looks great without getting too much attention or screaming Luxury. It's a weird one since it looks solid on the wrist, but you almost don't feel you have it on due to the weight. It also has the curious trait of looking cheap and sporty from a distance, and then totally reversing that when you see it up close and realize how well built and detailed it is.

No matter what you say about its looks, it is still a fully black watch, which can look a bit somber, perhaps tiring to some if worn every day. Something to have in mind.

PS:
Meanwhile, I noticed what I had lying on the table since I used it to open the shipping cardbox and thought I`d add that shot for the ceramic fans... keeps terrible time but cuts like a Jedi



Hope you found this mildly interesting. Let me know if you have any questions. I'll help you out with what my broad knowledge and expertise covers and will make up dubious unsubstantiated interesting stuff to explain everything else.

[EDIT] Non-native attempted to reduce the amount of Engrish.

 

Beautiful watch and fun write up. Thanks for sharing.


Alberto

 

I disagree with your comment about "crappy pictures". Those are spectacular - especially from a phone. And I disagree about the strap where you think it looks cheap ... to each his own of course, but I for one find it wonderful.. Like it a lot.

Nice job on a nice DSOTM review.

Bill

 

Thanks, I'm glad they're reasonable. It is a difficult watch to photograph, very reflective and I couldn't really show nice details like the indexes since my ancient phone blurs all macros. But it does capture the dust detail very well.

 

Great writeup, and congrats on the new watch!!

 

Great writeup and congrats!

 

The plot twist and a ? You can't keep us waiting.....

 

Fantastic write up on an amazing watch. Thanks for sharing all of this. Congratulations on the new acquisition and I am certain you will be happy for a long time to come. Wear in good health!

 

Great write up. What about the legibility of the watch? I have a Speedmaster with the same silver hands and the legibility suffers.

 

Thanks for the wonderful write-up.

Note that the front crystal has an antireflective coating, which should make it easier to read and photograph, but it can scratch. I think one person had a large "flake" come off.

Also, given the repair cost should you ever damage the case, some kind of insurance is strongly recommended. (In the US, the cost for a replacement case is around US$7000.)

 

Yes, I have to get to that. Going to give it some more thought and create a different post. It's related to the DSOTM but perhaps not requiring all the detail in this post.

Legibility is excellent. Easier than my other watch, that is already legible and not busy at all (not even a chrono).
The white gold hands are very easy to spot, at least Hour/Minute/Chrono seconds, perhaps because of the dark (and mostly empty) background. During the day if there is good sunlight, I think the hands and markers also have a slight glow white/greenish probably due to the superluminova.

The exception is the chrono dial on the right (with two hands) and the normal seconds dial. Those hands are tiny and have no coating. Sometimes they totally blend in the background depending on the angle and the reflex on the glass and hands. But even in that case it is not too bad, rotating it a few degrees is usually enough to notice their position.

That's true, the coating can always scrape off and leave marks. Good advice on the insurance, but I'm unlikely to go for a dedicated damage insurance since I know how careful I am and damage is possible but unlikely (famous last words). I think I will include it in the apartment insurance tho, that covers theft from break-in..

 

I use a personal articles policy on all my watches that includes loss, theft, damage. I agree with these being so popular we should expect to see more damaged ones but I think it's rare and the benefits out way the cons. I Would not want my entire collection to be ceramic but it's nice to have 1 unique piece. I'm sure these big companies did some R&D.

Great write up. Since you already have the clasp you can add the alligator or calf like I did. Really spiffs up the watch. Not a fan of the Cordora strap at all.

 

I think that makes perfect sense in cases where the collection is considerable. At the moment I only really have two watches. One of which is always on the wrist. Loss is next to impossible. Theft is unlikely (don't take them to any places where I won't feel 100% safe and at home they're not easy to find at all) so damage is perhaps the biggest risk. I'm careful to a paranoid-level, so I'm taking this chance. But, as with all insurance, it's a gamble. Who knows what might happen even to the most careful of the careful.

Indeed, that's something I considered before buying. Looked for damaged ones and could not find much except the 2 or 3 photos that have been floating in forums for ages. Curiously, there are now a couple of fresh cases here at Omegaforums.

They sold a lot and people usually have a tendency to be more vocal when there are problems. So I'd expect to see a few more reports if it happened frequently. I expect it to be an unlikely event, but don't really have data to support that. I think this issue is a bit more emotional because even if the damage is unlikely, when it happens it can be quite a catastrophic fail with a very high repair cost.

Sounds interesting, I have to check your posts. Are you using any rubber strap?

 

I'm using the leather calf that comes with the pitch black.

 

This is a great writeup! The DSOM is one I'd like to own someday!

 

Beautiful watch! Congratulations!

 

Keep in mind that sapphire is more brittle than glass, yet we are not seeing lots of shattered crystals (although I'm sure it does happen). Similarly, I don't think we'll be seeing a lot of broken/shattered/chipped ceramic watches. I'm not sure about the antireflective coating, though.

 

Great writeup. Thank you for sharing your thought on DSOTM. You bought yourself really cool piece. Congrats !

 

Thanks! That avatar reminds me that I really like the Globemaster, exactly that look.

It's definitely a watch I'll avoid seeing live at all costs, can't risk liking it even more.

 

Beautiful watch. Very informative write up.
Enjoy the watch