BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Omega has just announced the new Constellation Observatory model for its Constellation range. Omega’s been holding onto different model ranges more or less since they were introduced many decades ago. The Constellation range, in particular, was introduced in 1952 and spent the majority of its life as Omega’s ‘halo model’, the top-of-the-range.
Today’s Omega is quite different from the company back then, having produced all kinds of designs and complications and so forth, so it’s a little difficult for me to visualise where the new Constellation Observatory range sits in their lineup. The old Constellation Globemaster has bitten the dust. I remember writing about the launch of that back in 2015 and being excited that the “Pie-Pan” dial had returned. The new Constellation Observatory watches keep that look, which gets its nickname because the dial looks quite like an upturned pie dish, or pie pan.
All the watches come in a case measuring precisely 39.4mm x 12.23mm with a range of metals available including O-MEGASTEEL (their hardened alloy of steel), 18k Sedna (fade-resistant rose) gold, Moonshine (a special yellow gold blend) gold, Canopus (white) gold and Platinum-Gold (a mix of gold and platinum said to have a unique lustre). Leather straps are the standard across all watches, although the Moonshine Gold has an optional solid gold “brick” style bracelet, which really is attractive. All the watches also feature that “pie pan”-style dial, as mentioned, although I think the naming of the elements used to make the dial, just under the dial centre on the previous metal models, adds a little too much writing. Oh well, it’s not present on all of them.
Powering these new watches are the self-winding calibres 8914 and 8915. They are essentially the same movement spec-wise, having a 3.5Hz beat rate and a 60-hour power reserve with METAS-certified Master Chronometer precision. Where they differ is that the 8914 is used in the O-MEGASTEEL models, and the 8915 classes them up with a golden winding rotor and golden balance bridge. Interestingly, the Constellation Observatory is the first two-handed model to be certified as a Master Chronometer, and it’s certified by Omega’s Laboratoire de Précision. I especially like their rotors, which have the Observatory logo denoting Omega’s record-winning performance in observatory trials.
What concerns me slightly is the pricing for these new watches. With prices starting at $10,900 (reasonable-ish) and topping out at $57,800 for the Platinum-Gold model (which comes only on a leather strap), Omega has placed itself squarely in the pricing range of watchmakers like Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, A. Lange & Söhne, and more. It could be a big ask. With that said, they aren’t the only ones to do this; Rolex also has some models priced within reach of those brands, but they’re usually bejewelled or on a precious-metal bracelet. It’s a risky strategy from Omega, and it’s not the first time we’ve seen this from them. I hope it pays off, because the Constellation Observatory range genuinely does look great.
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