BY DHANANJAY PATHAK
Did you know that the ubiquitously loved Swiss watch brand Omega wasn’t really born as Omega? Well, the answer is yes and today’s write-up revolves around this trivia. Originally founded in 1848 the Omega we know today sprung to life as La Generale Watch Company. As time progressed further in 1894, the Brandt brothers decided to rename their growing business after one of the successful movements of that time called the calibre Omega. So, as the commercial Omega name completes 125 years the Swiss watch giant is celebrating big time by launching a new limited edition Omega de Ville Tresor 125th anniversary edition watch and by reviving the historically significant calibre Omega.
Calibre Omega History and Future
The 19 ligne calibre Omega was born in the year 1894 when Louis Brandt’s sons Cesar and Paul developed an entirely new watchmaking process which enabled the La Generale Watch Co to create in-house interchangeable watch parts. This helped them reduce dependability on external vendors, have more control over the entire production process and eventually led to the creation of extremely accurate timepieces. So, it is now easy for us to understand that Precision and accuracy have always been at the core of all Omega watches, and it would be safe to say that the calibre Omega acted as a stepping stone for what has now gone ahead to become one of the most dependable and innovative watch company in the world of horology.
The last production piece of the calibre Omega saw the light of the day in the year 1923 following which it became a part of Omega’s rich historical treasure trove accompanying other gems such as the chrono calibre 3018 which was reissued last year in the form of the First Omega Wrist-Chronograph 1913 limited edition watch. To bring the 19- ligne calibre back to life Omega would retrieve the old components of the movement stowed away in the safe vaults of the Omega museum, which would then be worked upon by Omega’s highly skilled watchmakers to re-create 19 new movements. To keep the vintage nostalgia intact most of the original 19 ligne components such as the bridges, main plates and escapements would be used. But as we are no longer living in the 19th century, the new 2019 calibre Omega would also get some modern innovative touches such as the barrel, mainspring etc. to bring it up to mark with today’s watchmaking standards. These new movements would be utilized to power a new half hunter watch which would have a crown at the 3 O’clock position.
Omega De Ville Tresor 125th Anniversary Edition
To mark this special occasion Omega has also released a new limited edition Omega deVille Tresor 125th anniversary edition watch. This new watch would be powered by the newly developed calibre 8929, which is the first manually wound Master Chronometer movement from the brand. It features all the bells and whistles that you get from modern METAS certified Omega such as the signature Co-axial escapement with a silicon balance, antimagnetic capabilities to withstand magnetic fields up to 15000 gauss and of course the recently announced 5-year warranty. And while it would have been a pleasure look at considering the beautiful finishing on modern Omega movements, it has been sadly kept out of sight under a closed case-back.
The case back though has been nicely rendered with an intricate pattern surrounding a red circular center which has some text in interesting typography highlighting the tribute to the 19-ligne Omega calibre. The dial is made out of red enamel, Omega’s iconic brand color and has been cleanly executed. It features applied long yellow gold batons (double batons at 12, 3, 6 and 9) for hours and a subtly printed minute track with circular dots also rendered in gold color. The handset also follows the shape of the hour markers and the overall combination of yellow gold and red certainly works well. The golden color tone from the dial is further carried over to the moderately sized 40mm case which is made out of solid 18k yellow gold and the watch is completed through a burgundy leather strap which nicely complements the color of the dial. The pricing on this piece has not been revealed yet and we would update this space as soon as we have further information on the same. Visit Omega here.
