Omega has debuted its first two-hand watch to achieve Master Chronometer certification. Part of the new Constellation Observatory Collection, the luxury timepieces mark the brand’s next chapter in its legacy of precision with two new movements across nine references.
The new collection’s movements and watches undergo the Chronometer and then Master Chronometer testing without the need for a seconds hand. According to Omega, for the first time in watchmaking history, a two-hand hour and minute watch have achieved Master Chronometer certification.
“Until now, precision certification has required a seconds hand,” president and chief executive officer of Omega Raynald Aeschlimann said. “The development of a new acoustic testing methodology has made that requirement obsolete. It is this breakthrough that has enabled us to present the Constellation Observatory, the first two-hand watch to achieve Master Chronometer certification.”
The debut comes two years since Omega announced the Laboratoire de Précision, its authorized chronometer testing laboratory meant to be integrated into the Master Chronometer workflow. The Laboratoire de Précision operates as an official independent certification body — open to any brand to use — responsible for its own measurement technology and management, certified by METAS for the Master Chronometer and officially accredited by SAS as a testing laboratory for the Chronometer.
The Constellation Observatory collection reinterprets Omega’s aesthetic codes across past collections since its debut in 1948 with the first Chronometer-certified automatic wristwatch, the sleek design of the 1948 Centenary. The dodecagonal pie-pan dial was introduced in 1952, with the Constellation Star on the dial at 6 o’clock and the Constellation Observatory medallion on the caseback. The guilloché finish on the facets of the pie-pan appeared in 1953. The hour markers, originally faceted kite-form indexes and the hands originally dauphine, have been reinterpreted to match.
The nine styles retail from $10,900-$59,100 and launch at Omega boutiques Friday.
