“This is really a milestone. The Observatory is a celebration of precision,” said Omega President and CEO Raynald Aeshlimann in Biel upon the unveiling of the new Constellation Observatory collection.
With nine different references the Observatory showcases an ongoing trend: new movements inside vintage-celebrating cases. Here the pie-pan Constellation from the 1950s has been the model, and the instant recognizability with slanting a dial periphery is strengthened by the kite-shaped indexes and the angular dog leg lugs
The 39.4-millimeter watch has four models in steel, with blue, green, opaline and black ceramic dials. The latter is recognized by not having the typical stamped pattern marking the pie slices. The five models in precious materials come as yellow Moonshine gold on alligator strap, Moonshine gold on a new mesh gold bracelet with nine links, inspired by the 1950s brick bracelets. On the precious models, the peripheral dial stripes are hand-guillochéd. Prices? From 9’200 CHF in steel to 49,700 with gold on gold.
Big Data of Mechanics
The big news with this piece is that Omega takes its testing to new heights together with the independent organization Laboratoire de Précision. With their aid Omega and other clients can collect big data that can help them in watchmakers’ quest for zero in the precision of watches. How big? When you look at normal certifications from COSC and Metas – two certifications that Omega will continue to work with, we are talking about one impression per day. With the Laboratoire the impressions are in the hundreds of thousands. “15 days in the Laboratoire de Précision generates more data than any previous method of chronometer testing,” said Mr. Aeschlimann about the method which generates some 120 000 data in 15 days.
Constellation, initially inspired by the Centenary watch released in 1948 for the company’s 100th anniversary, has been a part of Omega since 1952. It was always linked with precision, certified by the officially appointed observatories around Switzerland.
The collection features two new automatic Master Chronometer calibers, the 8915 Luxe and 8915 Grande Luxe, where the latter powering the platinum-encased version features an 18K gold rotor.
With the new collection there is however for the first time a certified chronometer comes out as a two-hand watch. The somewhat counterintuitive lack of a second hand however signalizes the improved testing facilities in an if-you-know-you-know kind of statement, and it also improves the ergonomy of the watch. Now with a height of 12.23 millimeters, it would have been approximately 0.35 millimeters higher were the movement also facilitated for a second hand. As we all know, the devil is in the details.
