Omega's Museum Collection's Latest Edition.

Omega is releasing modern versions of watches from its past. The latest of which is the Omega Milestone 1941 (above), the ninth in Omega's Museum Collection. Based on the original CK 2080 (inset) which was released in 1938, the newer version has a busier face which includes a tachymeter ( to compute speed based on travel time or measure distance based on speed), telemeter just below the bezel (to measure the distance of a phenomenon which is both visible and audible i.e thunder and lightening), 30 minute chronograph and the time. Although the face is quite busy, the hour ring is immediately discernible with aid of the large bold 12, 6 and hour indicators and hands coated in SuperLumiNova. The minute track is between the telemeter and the tachymeter. The two sub-dials at the 3 'o' clock and 9 'o' clock displays a the 30 minute chronograph and seconds counter respectively. The inner concentric circles are related to the tachymeter measurements.
At face value, the Omega Milestone 1941 or Number 9 as it sometimes is reffered to is quite similiar, both have a black face, white dial markings and really cool lugs; however beneath the surface the difference is quite marked. The CK 2080's newer counterpart sports a modern Omega Caliber 3203 Co-Axial manually wound movement with a column wheel for the chronograph complication. The Omega CK 2080 from 1938 was a stainless steel watch quite popular among the high ranking military officers. The Omega Milestone 1941 is crafted from 18k white gold with a limited edition of only 1941 pieces meant for collectors and watch enthusiasts.
Omega's vision in presenting the Omega's Museum Collection is to combine its long standing tradition of fine watchmaking and its dedication to cutting edge technology.

Wandering through airport terminals with Watches on my Mind.

Bvlgari BB23GLD Bvlgari-Bvlgari Black Dial Leather Women's Watch

The current time on my watch is 4:30pm. The current time in Spain - last stop before I hit the shores of the USA. My journey was marked with seeing close relatives for the first time in 15 years, and perusing watch boutiques at airport Duty- Free counters. Let me begin by saying - no prices, and I mean no prices beat THE WATCHERY.

Cartier has a strong airport presence with Cartier Roadster Watches, Tanks, Pashas and the Santos Collections. Breitling, Omega, Bvlgari and Rolex are also quite prevalent. Swatch watches take up center stage and its position in the airport terminals are framed by towering pillers displaying the latest swatch models. Swatch Watches saved the watch industry and I have the utmost regard for them.

Cartier WE5002X2 Roadster Silver Dial White Gold and Leather Women's Watch (inset)

As I was peering at the Breitling watches, I asked a lovely lady behind a watch counter if she had ever sold the Breitling Emergency watch at the airport. She looked at me with utter disdain.

"No!" she said shaking her head, "What if someone presses the emergency button in here, it would be mayham."

A sudden image of an emergency distress call specifically designed for civil aviation confusing air traffic control entered my mind. She had a point.

The Breitling Emergency broadcasts on the 151.5 MHz distress frequency. However, as of February 2009, the Cospas-Sarsat which operates a satellite constellation that relays distress alerts to search and rescue authorities through a worldwide ground communications network, stopped monitoring the 121.5/243 Mhz frequency's. Breitling has no plans to change the 121.5 MHz frequencies on its Breitling Emergencies as aviation will still monitor the 121.5 MHz frequency especially during a rescue attempt.

After perusing the terminals with my over sized carry on luggage banging against my legs, I sat down and decided to read a perfectly respectable paperback novel. Watches had left my mind for a moment that is until I glanced at a gentleman wearing a Longines Master Collection Retrograde. I closed my book and looked at the watch in all its glory.

With travel, one sees thousands of people and one notices their watches. In addition, watches are crucial during air travel. Cellphones cannot be turned on in the airplane and thus of no use when one wants to know the time.

A good watch is a great travel companion. Buy a Luxury Watch at THE WATCHERY where the prices unbeatable. For more Super Savings visit Bing.Com and recieve even more incredible Savings. Visit THE WATCHERY for more info about Bing. Did you Bing today?

You can own the Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon

Back in December I blogged about the Sky Moon Tourbillon,

"The rarest complications integrated in a single timepiece" (Click on the link for detailed information about this remarkable watch)

Now it can be yours ,for a price, of course. Antiquorum, the worlds leading auction house which specializes in luxury timepieces, has the Patek Phillipe Platinum Sky Moon Tourbillon ,made in 2005,up for Auction. The auction will take place in New York, March 4 & 5th. The going price is between$1,000,000 - $1,300,000. If you are wondering about the price ,read the above link to my December blog. To say this watch is a timepiece suggest the watch merely tracks the time. The Tourbillon in the title suggests a beating heart, and the Sky Moon suggests endless possibilities. The Platinum Skymoon Tourbillon Ref. 5002P is only one of the two Sky Moon Tourbillon watches made each year by Patek Phillipe, one in platinum and the other in rose gold. It the clever culmination of 686 parts, some so small, a microscope is required to view their meticulous perfection.

This auction is satiated with deeply historical timepieces such as the "Kennedy Onassis Watch" The very watch worn by JFK and later gifted to Onassis. The timepiece is a Nastrix, 57 jewels circa 1960, engraved on the case back "To John F. Kennedy From the Evangilines 1963" In addition, the word "Waterproof" is engraved on the case back. A term no longer used as no watch can be absolutely waterproof no matter how many gaskets.The term "Water Resistance" is the more acceptable term in the Horological world of today. On the auctioneers block sold somewhere in the range of $150,000 to $250,000. Gandi's pocket watch is also up for auction, a Zenith alarm open face pocket watch, made 1910-1915. Another interesting watch is "The Godfather Watch", a pretty beat up Patek Phillipe yellow gold wristwatch with an integrated bracelet. The watch spent time on the wrist of Giuseppe Bonnano. The "godfather" of the Bonanno crime family.

Antiquorum has just recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, and has solidified its position in the auction world by auctioning off some of the most sought after collectors timepieces and obtaining the highest price. Antiquorum boasts the highest number of watches sold over a million SFr. Out of 67 watches above this price range by major auction houses, 44 have been sold exclusively by Antiquorum. Antiquorum claimed the all-time world record for a wristwatch at auction when it sold a Patek Phillipe ,unique white gold Calibre 89, at its 2004, 30th anniversary April Auction in Geneva.

Antiquorum is renowed for its thematic auctions: auctions devoted to a single subject. In 1989, Antiquorum held an auction titled "The Art of Patek Phillipe" during Patek Phillipe's 150th anniversary. In 2005 during its thematic auction titled "The Quarter Millenium of Vacheron Constantin" it collected a astounding $15,110,000. In April 2007, the Omegamania Auction collected $5,540,000. - three times the auction estimate.

It will be interesting to see the final price collected for the Patek Phillipe Sky Moon Tourbillon.

The Self-Winding Luxury Wristwatch.

Or more commonly referred to as the Automatic Watch. Most Mechanical Watches nowadays are equipped with a self-winding mechanism. In other words the mainspring is wound automatically by the natural swinging motion of the wearer's arm.

You might be wearing one at the very moment... so how does it work?

The watch contains a semi-circular rotor - depicted in the image of the Perrelet Watch. This rotor is an eccentric weight that turns on a pivot within the watch case. Natural movement of the wearer's arm causes the rotor to swing to and fro on its staff. The staff is attached to a ratcheted winding mechanism. The motion of the wearer's arm is transformed into a circular motion of the rotor that by a series of reverser and reducing gears winds the mainspring. Most modern automatic luxury watches have two ratchets and thus wind the mainspring during clockwise and counterclockwise rotor motion.
Once the mainspring is fully wound, a regular watch can store enough power reserve for two days. Most automatic watches can be wound manually if the watch is not worn sufficiently to keep the mainspring wound. Another alternative to keep automatic watches running is the use of a watch winders. (click here if you want to know more information about watch winders)

Abraham-Louis Perrelet invented the self-winding mechanism ,in 1770 ,for pocket watches. The watch wound as the wearer walked. An oscillating weight inside the hefty pocket watch moved up and down. Perrelet invention was quite the rage in 1776. The Geneva Society of Arts reported that only a 15 minute walk was enough to wind the watch sufficiently for eight days. In 1777 the automatic pocket watches were selling quite nicely.

Breguet improved on Perrelet mechanism calling his automatic pocket watches "perpetuelles"

Although the first wrist watch was introduced by Patek Philippe in 1868, the automatic rotor for wrist watches was not invented until 1923 by a watch repairer from the Isle of Man named John Harwood. This self-winding mechanism was an improvement as the wearer only had to move his arm not take a walk. Harwood's system utilized a a pivoting weight which swung as the wearer moved, winding the mainspring. The ratchet mechanism only swung in one direction and were stopped at 180 degrees by spring bumpers to encourage the back and forth motion. This early type of automatic watch is now known as a "bumper". Fully wound the bumper would run for 12 hours. The "bumper" did not have a stem winder and so the hands were moved manually by rotating a bezel around the face of the watch. The Harwood Self-Winding Watch went on sale in 1928 and 30,000 were produced until the company collapsed in the Great Depression.

Rolex improved Harwood's design in 1930 and used it for the basis of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual which had a mounted semi-circular weight which could rotate a full 360 degrees. Rolex Oyster Perpetual had 35 hours of stored energy.




Omega is the only Automatic watch that utilizes a Co-Axial movement which is a double Axial escape wheel, a lever with three pallet stones and impulse stone on the balance roller, together with a free sprung balance. This system reduces sliding friction compared with the lever escapement inorder to promote greater accuracy over the course of time



Watch Companies like Concord still create manually wound watches and can be produced
with exceptionally thin watch cases like the slender Concord Delirium pictured above which has a Watch Case of just 6mm. This type of thickness cannot be achieved by an automatic watch as the rotor occupies space within the watch case. However with the knowledge that ones watch is being wound as you wear it does afford a certain peace of mind.

By: R Van Halem

Omega Ambassader swimmer Michael Phelps Wins 8 Gold Medals.

Micheal Phelps, an Ambassador for Omega Luxury Watches has torpedoed into the History Books by winning a remarkable 8 gold medals. Micheal Phelps an Omega Ambassodor. Michael Phelps has made history, winning an amazing 8 medals. He won the "100 meter Butterfly" by a mere 100th of a second, beating Milorad Cavic. A second in time seems so minuscule, but to be able to measure time in 100th of a second, and to name a winner that is accuracy. That is Omega. Micheal Phelps set seven world records, and beat one Olympic record. Micheal Phelps swims laps in seconds, and it is quite fitting that he has a line of Omega Watches in his name.

The selection includes: Seamaster Planet Ocean Chronometer.
Water resistance: 600-2000 meters.
Movement: Caliber - Omega 2500
Self Winding Chronometer
Co-Axiel escapement movement
48 Hour power reserve.

Domed scratch-resistant Sapphire Crystal, Stainless Steel Case and black dial.



Seamaster Planet Orange Chrono- No doubt about it, this is a swimmers watch.
A calibre Omega 3313. This watch sports a Chronograph feature. A feature that is an essential for serious swimmers. It allows you to precisely time yourself in the pool. The Chronograph is a self-winding movement with column wheel mechanism as well as Co-Axial Escapement for precision stability and durability of the movement. The Watch is crafted with a free sprung balance, including date, hour, minute and continuous small seconds hands, central chronograph hand.

Water resistance of 600-2000 meters. Domed Scratch Resistant Sapphire Crystal. Power Reserve: 52 Hours.



The Seamaster Apnea with Caliber: Omega 3601. This watch is a self-winding chronograph with Free diving timing display for a 14 minutes dive. Water Resistance 300-1000 meters.








The Seamaster Apnea is protected with an anti-reflective Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. Self winding Chronograph with free timing diving display for 14 minute dive.

A perfect selection of swim watches that do not have to be left poolside, and which carry the name of the greatest swimmer whose stunning victories are still roaring in the ears of all.

The Olympic Games Begin and Omega, the Luxury Watch Company, stears clear of Politics.

The Olympic opening ceremony is just hours away and the political fever is at its boiling point.
Lopez Lomong, a 23 year old athlete, in the 1,500 meter race will be the US flag bearer leading the US team. He was chosen on Wednesday by his fellow teammates as he has conquered tremendous hurdles to get to where he is today.
Lopez Lomong was one of the "lost boys of Sudan" a group of 3,800 refugees who were resettled in the USA. Lamong had been fleeing the civil war, which crippled the country from 1991 to 2005. He was six year old and fleeing with his family across the unforgiving terrain in Southern Sudan, when he became separated from them and ended up in a Kenyan refugee camp where he remained for 10 years. Since then unrelated violence has ignited in the Darfur region of Western Sudan . Lopez has become a member of Team Darfur, a group of athletes who are committed to raising awareness about this ongoing violence . The Teams Darfur co-founder, speed skater gold medalist Joey Cheek, was denied a visa by the Chinese government.

China has been reprimanded for not pressurizing Sudan, its trading partner, to end the constant bloodshed in the Darfur region.

In light of these issues, George Clooney, an Oscar winning actor and a brand ambassador for Omega watches, has urged Omega to voice its disapprovals of China's foreign policy in Sudan. Omega is one of the 12 worldwide Olympic partners for the Beijing Olympic games. Omega has been the official timekeeper of the Olympic Games since 1932.
George Clooney spoke to them for over a year in regards to Darfur.

However the chief executive of the Swatch Group, Nicholas Hayek, told BBC: :We have discussed this issue with Mr. Clooney and we fully respect Mr. Clooney's strong engagement in the good cause and share his opinion, especially concerning Darfur. We're proud to work with a person who has such high ethical views, but Swatch Group Policy is not to get involved in politics, because it wouldn't serve the cause of sport, which is one of the most noble human endeavors for creating understanding and peace all over the world.
"Swatch's stance is not new, Hyak continued, our role, with 300 on-site timekeepers, was always clear of politics. Thats why," he said, "it was in Moscow during the 1980 Olympic, despite a boycott by Western Countries after the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, and why we provided our services to the athletes during the 1984 Olympic games in Los-Angeles which were boycotted by the then-communist bloc."

Swatch Group owns Omega.

Hyak has a point. Time is beyond politics.

In honor of the 2008 Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Omega has created an Olympic Collection Beijing. The Omega Seamaster XXIX Limited Edition, inspired by the 1956 Seamaster XVI Melbourne. This Luxury Watch will be released in limited numbers: 88 numbered watches will be released daily for the 17 days of the Olympics, from August 8 to August 24. After the Olympics this watch will no longer be available.

Omega Luxury Watches opens its Omega Pavilion on the Olympic Green in Beijing.

Olympic Games begin on August 8th, 2008, but Omega watches has made a running start with the opening of its Omega Pavilion, on the Olympic Green. The opening of the Omega Pavilion was a huge ceremony with hundreds of members of the international press and invited guests.
CEO of Swatch Group Nick Hayek, President of Omega, Stephen Urquhart and Omega Olympic Manager, Christophe Berthaud attended the opening. Also present were the President of the International Olympic, Tu Mingde, and four Ambassadors for the Omega brand each of whom are impressive Olympic medalists:


Australian swimmer, Ian Thorpe, who earned multiple Olympic Medals.






Russian swimmer, Alexander Popov, multiple gold medal winner.



China's Yang Yang, the first Chinese speed skater to win a gold metal at a Winter Olympic Games.


and shooter Xu Mai Feng, who was the first Chinese gold medalist at the Summer Olympic Games.

The pavilion is now open to the public, every day of the Olympic Games from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m . The Pavilion covers an expansive 8200 square feet, on two floors. The Pavilion includes a large exhibition center where on display is Omega's legendary watches as well as Omega's innovative timekeeping equipment introduced over the decades since 1932, specialized for the World of Sports. The Pavilion also contains a boutique and a stage for special events. A selection of exhibits highlight not only OMEGA’s legendary watches but also the timekeeping equipment which the Swiss watchmaker has introduced to the world of sport over the past several decades.

Omega is preparing for the Olympic Games Beijing 2008.

Just 7 days to go until the Olympic Games in Beijing are off to a running start. With a mind-blowing 205 nations competing in 28 sports, this year's games will be non-stop nail-biting, record breaking excitement. From the first pulsating second of the first game, OMEGA will be there, providing the official timekeeping and data-handling for the Olympic games. Omega will maintain a prolific presence, time-keeping and data- handling for 28 different sports at 37 venues. Omega will provide 450 on-site professionals, an incredible 420 tons of cutting edge equipment including 70 public scoreboards, 105 miles of cables and optical fibre, 65 TV generators and state-of-the-art time-keeping and data-handling technology. Omega's equipment is specifically adapted to the requirements of each sports.

Omega is continuing its long standing tradition of time-keeping at the Olympic Games. Since the Olympic games in Los Angeles 1932 where Omega kept time using its chronographs and stop-watches developed by its subsidiary Lemania.

Two commemorate the Olympic games in Beijing, Omega is launching two of the finest collections: the timeless and the Special Collections. The timeless Collection contains a precision chronograph which is reminiscent of the chronograph used in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic games. 6 of the models in this collection have Arabic numbers , the red Omega name and logo, found on earlier models. The collection maintains its incredible feature found in earlier models" five interlocking Olympic rings in the blue, yellow, black, green and red mounted on the counterweights of the central chronograph second hand. This collection of watches is a icon of exceptional innovation and craftsmanship to provide decades of precision instruments for the Olympic Games.

Only a couple more days and the games will begin. Rest assured, Omega will be there, monitoring fractions of a second.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

OMEGA: OFFICIAL TIMEKEEPER FOR 2008 OLYMPICS

Omega has announced that it is the official timekeeper for Beijing's 2008 Olympic Games. Omega will use its prestigious brand to mark time for 28 different sports.

Omega has been involved with Olympic timekeeping since 1932.

Source article: http://www.omegawatches.com