« Omega's Collections in Focus »
Alongside brands such as Rolex, Tag Heuer, and Breitling, Omega is currently one of the best-known watchmakers in the luxury segment and is often seen as Rolex's direct competitor. Now part of the Swatch Group, the brand is known to the public above all for its sporty wristwatches, dive watches, and chronographs, but it also offers lines of exceptionally elegant dress watches. This article provides an overview of the current collections and the impressive range of models behind them.
A Brief Look Back
Founded in 1848, Omega is today one of the most storied Swiss watch manufactures on the market. The name, derived from the last letter of the Greek alphabet, has only been in use since 1894, however, and was introduced at the time as a symbol of ultimate accomplishment and perfection.
The brand's success owes as much to a series of groundbreaking technical innovations as to successful advertising campaigns featuring numerous celebrities and its role as official timekeeper of the Olympic Games and other international sporting events. Omega's engineers and watchmakers not only demonstrated their considerable expertise in developing and producing mechanical watches but also set new standards in electronic timekeeping.
A particularly well-known example was the Omega Time Recorder, first used at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, which made electronic timing in sports possible for the first time.
The Constellation – On the Market for More Than Sixty Years
One of Omega's most successful wristwatch collections is the Constellation, which has been available without interruption since 1952 and has been expanded with new models time and again over more than six decades. What they all have in common is that they are luxurious dress watches rather than overtly sporty timepieces. The movements used in the line's various models have changed over time, including bumper automatic and rotor automatic movements as well as quartz movements.
While in-house movements were used at first, today's Constellation models rely on various ETA base calibers from the Swatch Group, some of which are customized for this purpose. The case and bracelet materials have at times undergone considerable changes over the years, and the basic design has also been modified repeatedly.
The Constellation is currently offered in five different types: chronometers, quartz watches, and the Double Eagle Chronometer, Double Eagle Chrono, and Double Eagle Perpetual Calendar versions. The origins of today's Constellation design go back to the 1980s. It is recognizable above all by its fixed bezel with engraved Roman numerals, in which the numerals three and nine are missing and replaced by four claws that appear to hold the bezel in place.
Well-known figures who have worn a Constellation include Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev and actor Robert Wagner. Brand ambassadors for this collection have included supermodel Cindy Crawford, athletes Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova, and actor Pierce Brosnan.
A new chapter in the Constellation's history – and at the same time a return to a more classic design – is marked by the Omega Constellation Globemaster Co-Axial Master Chronometer, a watch proven to resist magnetic fields of up to 15,000 gauss.
De Ville: Prestigious Co-Axial Chronometers
Omega's De Ville line has been on the market for more than half a century and is likewise positioned in the luxury dress watch segment. These watches pair as well with formal eveningwear as with a business suit. Understated, classic elegance is their defining stylistic trait.
The current De Ville collection includes both gold and stainless steel watches with elegant leather straps and white enamel dials. Depending on the version, they feature a date display at 3 o'clock or 6 o'clock and complications such as a small seconds or a power reserve indicator.
The women's watches come in a somewhat wider range of dial colors, and De Ville models for women are also available with diamond-set bezels and diamond hour markers.
Speedmaster: A Watch for Astronomical Speeds
While a watch from Omega's Speedmaster collection can't actually measure astronomical speeds, it can undoubtedly withstand the mechanical stresses that come with them. It is no coincidence that this model was used by American astronauts on several major space missions and became known as the "Moonwatch" after the first successful manned Moon landing.
It is considered the most extensively tested watch model in the world.
NASA astronauts still wear models from this collection on their missions today, and Russian cosmonauts have now also turned – at least in part – to the Speedmaster.
The quality of these watches is reflected not least in the fact that in a NASA selection process for the planned Space Shuttle program in 1978, once again no watch other than a virtually unchanged Speedmaster Professional passed the tests - even though more models from different manufacturers had entered the public tender than the first time, and the test conditions had been made even tougher.
Small wonder, then, that this sporty chronograph has become a true icon of watchmaking history and enjoys great and lasting popularity among civilian wearers in their "down-to-earth everyday lives" as well.
Seamaster: Multifaceted - Not Just for the Sea
Omega's most versatile line is probably the Seamaster. It includes both automatic and quartz wristwatches and has been offered since 1947, evolving continuously ever since. Initially, it was a regular wristwatch line distinguished by, among other things, enhanced water resistance. Since 1957, however, the Seamaster line has also included dedicated dive watches, which often bear the suffix "Professional" in their model name.
Today, the most important models on the market are the Omega Seamaster, a dive watch with a three-piece case and a screw-down crown, and the Seamaster Aqua Terra. The latter is a model line of sporty yet elegant wristwatches without a rotating bezel, with cases and bracelets usually made of stainless steel, but in some cases also of gold, titanium, or platinum.
Some models are offered with sapphire display casebacks. The top models include those with a movement made of non-magnetic alloys and components, which make the otherwise customary soft-iron cage unnecessary and withstand magnetic fields of 15,000 gauss without damage; the Seamaster 300 Master Co-Axial is considered another classic.
With water resistance of up to 1,200 meters, the Seamaster Ploprof can reach even the deepest depths. Its rugged construction and elegant, sporty design have earned this maritime collection a large following that extends far beyond sailors, divers, and water sports enthusiasts.