Okay, so I’ve been messing around with watches lately, and I got my hands on this Omega Speedmaster, the 310.92.44.50.01.001 model. It’s also known as the Apollo 8 “Dark Side of the Moon” – pretty cool name, right? Anyway, I wanted to see what the big deal was and try to copy it myself. Here is the story.
First off, I started by looking up everything I could about this watch. I found out that the real deal is made of black ceramic and has a skeletonized dial, which basically means you can see the insides. The case size is 44.25 mm, and it’s about 13 mm thick. Sounds fancy, but I just wanted to see if I could make something that looked like it.
I grabbed some materials that I thought would work. I used a black ceramic case I found to match the original’s size and feel. I mean this thing is made of black ceramic so I had to do it. For the strap, I went with a regular leather one since it seemed close enough. I read somewhere that the band width is supposed to be 21 mm, so I made sure to get one that size. Fold over clasp, because why not?
The next part was the tricky one – the dial. This watch has a special movement called the 3869, which is like the 3861 but with some laser stuff done to it to make it look like the moon’s surface. I obviously couldn’t do that, so I just focused on making it look like a skeleton dial.
I spent hours trying to get the dial right. I used some tools to carefully open up my watch and tried to mimic the open design of the original. It wasn’t perfect, but I managed to get something that resembled the look. It was tough, and I definitely messed up a few times, but hey, I’m not a pro watchmaker.
After getting the dial somewhat decent, I put everything back together. The watch actually looked pretty good, at least to me. It wasn’t an exact copy, but it had the same vibe. It felt solid, and the black ceramic case really gave it that “Dark Side of the Moon” feel.
- Materials I used:
- Black ceramic case (44.25 mm)
- Leather strap (21 mm width)
- Basic watch movement
- Some tools to mess with the dial
I wore it around for a few days, and it held up pretty well. I even got a few compliments from people who didn’t know it was a copy. I did some more digging and found out that the real Omega holds its value well, but maybe not as much as some other fancy watches like Rolex or Patek. Not that I was planning to sell my little project or anything.
My Final Thoughts
In the end, this whole thing was a fun experiment. I got to play around with watch parts, learn a bit about what makes these things tick, and ended up with a cool-looking watch. It’s not the real deal, but it’s a neat little project that I’m proud of. Plus, I saved a ton of money by not buying the actual Omega. Would I do it again? Probably. It’s satisfying to make something with your own hands, even if it’s just a knock-off of a fancy watch.
So, yeah, that’s my story of copying the Omega Speedmaster Apollo 8. Hope you enjoyed my ramblings. Maybe I’ll try another watch next time. Who knows?
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