Mar 19, 2015
Reading time 4 min.
Baselworld 2015: Omega Globemaster Introduces All-New "Master Chronometer" Movement
Read about the first watch developed by Omega to meet the brand's "Master Chronometer" criteria: the new Omega Globemaster.
Last year, to some fanfare, Omega introduced its new watch certification system, developed in cooperation with METAS, the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (you can read about it here). This week, at Baselworld, Omega introduces the very first watch developed to meet these "Master Chronometer" criteria: the new Omega Globemaster, which takes design cues from historical Omega Constellation watches.
The two major aesthetic features of the Omega Globemaster that fans of vintage Omega will appreciate are the "pie pan" dial, which echoes that of a vintage Constellation from 1952; and the fluted bezel, an element used on several vintage Constellation watches, most notably a collector-beloved model from 1968. The 39-mm case (available in stainless steel, yellow gold, two-tone steel and yellow gold, and Omega's proprietary Sedna gold) has a brushed finish, with two polished bevels connecting the edges of the lugs to the bezel. The top ridges of the fluted bezel (which is made of exceptionally hard tungsten carbide on the all-steel model) have a smoothed finish. The sapphire crystal is domed and scratch-resistant.
Omega Globemaster - white dial - reclining
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The Omega Globemaster is available in two dial styles, with a silvered opaline dial (available on the steel, gold, and two-tone versions) and a blue sunbrushed dial (available on the steel and two-tone). Several strap and bracelet options are offered. The hour hands, minute hands, and hour indices are all treated with Super-LumiNova, and a date window appears at 6 o'clock.
Omega Globemaster - blue dial - front
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Omega Globemaster - blue dial - angle
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Of course, the real story here is on the inside of the watch, where we find Omega's Caliber 8900, the first "Master Chronometer" movement, so named because it meets both the official chronometer standards of the Swiss testing agency COSC, but also the criteria set forth by Omega's own METAS certification. To be specific, these are the the eight criteria measured by the latter process:
• The movement function during exposure to a magnetic field of 15,000 gauss
• The deviation of the watch's running time in six positions
• The deviation of the watch's running time between 0 and 2/3 of its power reserve
• The watch's function during exposure to a magnetic field of 15,000 gauss
• The deviation of the watch's average daily precision after exposure to a magnetic field of 15,000 gauss
• The watch's average daily precision in tests replicating daily wearing conditions (six positions, two temperatures)
• The watch's power reserve (autonomy – functioning without winding)
• The watch's water resistance (tested in water)
Ultimately, the watch is required to perform within a tolerance of 0 to +5 seconds per day during and after exposure to the 15,000 gauss magnetic field to receive the Master Chronometer designation.
Master Chronometer
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A final aesthetic touch, which pays tribute Omega's history of high-precision timepieces, is found on the gold medallion set into the Globemaster's sapphire exhibition caseback, which features an engraving of an observatory's cupola — a reference to the site where the famed chronometry tests of the 1940s and '50s took place — surrounded by a sky dotted with eight stars. The stars serve the dual purpose of referencing both the most important eight of those chronometry awards won by Omega throughout its history and the eight Master Chronometer criteria. Best of all, since the medallion doesn't cover the entire caseback, the wearer still gets a view of Caliber 8900/8901 and its swinging Sedna gold rotor.
Omega unveiled the movement and the watch at an event at Basel's Von Bartha gallery this week during the Baselworld watch fair. Here are a few live shots of the Omega Globemaster taken at the event.
Omega Globemasters in vitrine
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Omega Globemaster on wrist
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