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Cosmic Watch - The world's first 4D digital astrolabe - and it's Swiss Made
It's called the Cosmic Watch and it is Swiss Made, but ironically it is not yet available as a watch. Having crossed the desks of the executives at Omega (too digital) and Google Switzerland (not functional enough), the project arrives on the market not as a wristwatch but as an application running on iOS and Android or as a luxurious desk clock or high-end touchscreen display that would make the perfect addition to a boardroom or hotel lobby. It is the world's first interactive astronomical clock in the digital era, and it's Swiss Made!
The Cosmic Watch builds on the centuries old tradition of the astrolabe as a means of displaying the rotation of the heavenly bodies in our solar system. But whereas the historical astrolabes were objects intended as decoration just as much as they were for education, the Cosmic Watch is geared much more towards the educational aspect, capitalizing on the ubiquity of smartphones and tablets around the world.
A new appreciation of time
One of the cornerstones of this approach is adding the dimension of time, which can be overlaid on any of the views in the form of a circle around the equator with an optional digital read-out if desired. Intuitively, the time can also be read against the selected location and the shadow cast by the sun gives an instant overview of where on earth it is night and day.
A "time travel" function lets you move forwards or backwards through time at varying speeds, from a sedate two minutes per second to a dizzying year per second. As you move forwards or backwards you see the trace of the movement of the planets and you can pause at any point to see the exact configuration in the solar system at that point. Furthermore, significant astronomical events such as eclipses are highlighted along the way.
Five different guides (horizon, compass, planet names, connections, celestial rings and equatorial grid) can be toggled on and off to assist with astronomical observations. Simply activating the horizon and compass, for example, then aligning north on the compass with north on the horizon, lets you easily identify the planets at a glance. On a cloudless night in mid-May I was able to pick out Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury from my balcony in a matter of minutes.
The future
As with any smartphone application, the advantage of the technology is that it can regularly be updated. The developers are already working on adding new features such as real-time weather, a world-time display and equation of time function. With such features on board, the application could in future easily replace three or more existing types of application (world time, sky chart, weather). All this at a cost of just 4 Swiss francs!
The Cosmic Watch also comes packaged as two high-end luxury objects, the Vision and the Eclipse. The Vision is an interactive table clock and the Eclipse is a custom-built interactive astronomical "wall time device" using the very best touchscreen technology available.
The Cosmic Watch can be downloaded from Google Play and the Apple App Store.
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Newsletter - Happy holidays, see you next year!
Last week, Omega announced that it is developing a new standard, in conjunction with the Swiss Federal Institute for Metrology (METAS). Any watch with a precision between 0 and +5 seconds per day that can resist magnetic fields of "at least 15,000 gauss" will qualify for this Swiss norm, with which Omega ostensibly aims to raise awareness of the potential impact on our watches of the magnetic fields that surround us nowadays.
Also last week, the Qualite Fleurier foundation celebrated the 10th anniversary of its certification with the announcement that it is making the unique equipment used for its tests available to the entire Swiss watchmaking industry. The certification already uses the same strict precision tolerances as the new METAS standard, but with one very important difference: it is the only certification where the finished watch is subjected to a genuine simulation of real-world wrist action over 24 hours on the formidable Fleuritest machine. Read our full report this week on WorldTempus.
In this last full week of shopping before Christmas, we conclude our gift guide with a review of some affordable complicated watches, a selection of watch-related books and the new ultimate gift for the watch fan. Over the holiday season we will also be publishing loads of great content, with a mini-series of "What's next?" articles inspired by the theme of this year's Forum de la Haute Horlogerie, the first in a series of articles on the different movement decorations used in watchmaking, features from the latest issue of GMT Lady and a selection of the forthcoming SIHH launches.
Our offices will be closed over the festive period, so the next WorldTempus newsletter will be sent out on 12 January. In the meantime, the entire team at WorldTempus wishes you happy holidays and all the very best for the New Year. See you soon!
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Sotheby's - George Daniels Collection Hammered
Yesterday in London's chic New Bond Street, Sotheby's auction house undertook what was certainly its most high-profile auction of the year: selling the horological remains of George Daniels' life.
At precisely 2:30 GMT, the elite of the horological auction world crowded into Sotheby's posh auction room to witness - or possibly bid on - the 137 items left in Daniels' collection at the time of his death in 2011.
Daniels can rightly be viewed as the first independent, a talented watchmaker who practically led this movement of the mechanical renaissance by example. He was revered by the other independents - as F.P. Journe's platinum Chronometre Souverain (lot 27) gift to him shows - and inspired them in their own work. "This auction will set the precedent for other independents' work," Geoffroy Ader, head of Sotheby's Geneva, remarked.
Daniels is best remembered for inventing the co-axial escapement, which was industrialized and is now in serial use by Omega, though as his protege and only apprentice Roger Smith pointed out, "He made everything by hand, every part of the watch." His 37 unique pocket watches remain so one-of-a-kind because they were indeed manufactured by his own two hands and because each one represented a new technical experiment.
Daniels was a collector of automobiles, cameras, and timepieces. As an expert in the history of horology, he also traded in very high-end vintage timepieces and was an adviser to Sotheby's for much of his career. Much of the proceeds of the auctions surrounding these objects will benefit the George Daniels Educational Trust, a charity he set up before his passing to benefit the higher education of pupils studying the disciplines of horology, engineering, medicine and building construction. Financial aid from the trust is granted to students nominated by City University London and jointly the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers and The British Horological Institute.
Auction results
Many pieces in the auction were highly anticipated, and the top lot performed as expected, which is probably why it did not elicit applause from the polite gathering of aficionados: the Space Travellers Watch, a large Lepine-style pocket watch complicated beyond belief and ahead of its time in terms of added technology. Smith explained that Daniels had created it in honor of man's first landing on the moon (hence the name). The bidding on it was spirited and included a prominent local London retailer, who dropped out before it crossed the one-million-pound mark. Bidding topped out at 1,150,000 pounds before commission.
The second most expensive lot came in at 1,100,000 pounds before commission: an ebony-encased striking table clock by Joseph Knibb from 1677. It has royal provenance, which is probably what at least partially spurred the heated bidding for it. As expected, Daniels' own pieces did remarkably well, with the Grand Complication wristwatch hammered at 780,000 pounds before commission.
Anther notable lot was an Urban Jurgensen wristwatch modified by Daniels to include a slim version of the co-axial escapement, which was sold to the Jurgensen Museum via telephone for 50,000 pounds before commission. And, naturally, the Journe piece was notable for the above-mentioned reasons. It sold for 36,000 pounds before commission.
The Sotheby's team and other notables present at the auction were pleased with the results, totaling 8,285,139 pounds after commission (and beating the pre-sale estimate by more than 3 million pounds). About 8 million pounds of that will go to the George Daniels Educational Trust.
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Omega - Speedmaster Chronograph keeps time
A Timely Perspective - 5 November 2012
The Omega Speedmaster chronograph was created in 1957 and has always been regarded as a high-precision sturdy, reliable watch. In 1969, it made history as the first watch to be worn on the moon. This week, it was the watch I relied on during hurricane Sandy, the subsequent power outage for six days and the clean-up after the fact.
This Speedmaster Automatic Chronometer is a superb watch. Housing the self-winding Omega 3304 caliber, the watch is a chronograph and officially certified COSC chronometer. I love the feel of the automatic movement and its self-winding capabilities - you know you have mechanics on the wrist with this watch. For me, even though time wasn't essential during the blackout, I needed to know the time and date and with this watch I was certain it wouldn't die as a quartz watch might if its battery ran out during the long days and dark nights.
Additionally, during the aftermath and the cleanup outside, I knew it was rugged enough to go the distance hauling logs, brush and debris off the pool and out of the yard. While I didn't use the tachymeter bezel, I did, in fact, use the chronograph to track how long it took to get just the one big tree off the pool: 6 hours, 22 minutes and 10 seconds. After that, I stopped timing the take down of the other fallen seven trees. It was tiring work but the watch kept up! I love this timepiece. Retail is about $4,900 - and at that it is a steal.
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Omega - 007 reporting for duty
When Daniel Craig reprises his role as James Bond in Skyfall, he will be wearing an Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M 42mm with a black dial and a matt black ceramic unidirectional rotating divers' bezel. Bond fans and Omega enthusiasts will know that the world's favourite secret agent has been wearing Seamasters since 1995 and the Planet Ocean has been his choice since Casino Royale in 2006.
James Bond's choice
For Skyfall, Bond's choice is the steel on steel Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M Omega Co-Axial Chronometer, whose design features can be traced directly back to the classic Seamasters of the 1950s. Inside the case it's a different story: the watch is driven by the Omega Co-Axial calibre 8500 whose revolutionary Co-Axial escapement and free sprung balance deliver long-term stability and precision, dramatically reducing the need for servicing. Also equipped with an Si14 silicon balance spring, the watch is delivered with a four-year warranty.
The hands and indexes have been treated with Super-LumiNova and are legible in all lights and conditions and offer a stark contrast to the matt black surface of the dial. The Super-LumiNova on the indexes, the hour hand and the seconds hands emits a blue light; the luminescent material on the minute hand and the dot on the bezel appear green. This contrast means that divers can tell at a glance how much time has elapsed when they are underwater. Even the sweep of the luminous orange-tipped seconds hand can easily be read in the dark. There are Arabic numerals at 12, 6, and 9 o'clock with a date window at the 3 o'clock position on the dial.
A professional divers' watch
A professional divers' watch, the Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M Omega Co-Axial Chronometer is equipped with a helium escape valve. The stainless steel bracelet features a diver's clasp which allows its length to be extended to fit around a wetsuit. As its name suggests, the Planet Ocean 600m is water resistant to a depth of 600 metres (60 bar / 2000 feet).
Omega and the world's most stylish spy
James Bond has worn an Omega Seamaster in every film since Goldeneye in 1995. Oscar-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming first introduced Bond to Omega. She described Bond as a naval man and a discreet gentleman of the world, so the Seamaster was the obvious choice. Omega couldn't agree more!
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Omega - Seamaster Planet Ocean Ceragold
The Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Chronograph Ceragold has a generous 45.50 mm 18 Ct red gold case. Its most striking design element is its polished black zirconium-based ceramic bezel ring which offers a stark, dramatic contrast to the Ceragold diving scale.
No less impressive is the Omega Co-Axial calibre 9301 at the heart of the Seamaster Planet Ocean Chronograph Ceragold. Launched last year, it was the first chronograph in the brand's proprietary family of Co-Axial movements. The movement has a special luxury finish including an 18 Ct red gold rotor and balance bridge; the screws, barrels and balance wheel are blackened. With the Omega Co-Axial calibre 9301 it is possible to adjust the hour hand without affecting the performance of the minute or seconds hands, allowing for easy adjustments for travellers changing time zones. The movement is equipped with a silicon balance spring and like all Planet Oceans, the watch comes with a full four-year warranty.
The lacquered black dial presents both the 60-minute and 12-hour counters on the same subdial at 3 o'clock so reading the elapsed chronograph time is particularly intuitive. The small seconds sub-dial is at 9 o'clock.
The Seamaster Planet Ocean Chronograph Ceragold is presented on a black leather strap secured by an 18 Ct red gold foldover clasp.
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Omega - Wearing the Co-axial Speedmaster
One of the major introductions from Baselworld 2011 was, of course, Omega's new chronograph caliber. I was therefore quite disappointed when a Swatch Group scheduling glitch occurred and I missed my chance to see it. "These things happen," I thought and did my utmost to try to get down to the factory in the ensuing months - to no avail. I just seemed destined to miss out on seeing what I suspected was going to be a truly excellent product. In October, my chance suddenly appeared: my French-language colleague at Worldtempus Louis Nardin had arranged a test period with just this watch (
read his story here). Sometimes I am amazed at the way things work out.
The legend
Despite a reminiscent resemblance to Rolex, the Speedmaster has been able to carve out a fixed place for itself in history thanks to the legendary journey it took to the moon on the wrist of Neil Armb in 1969. Back then this watch originally introduced in 1957 ran on a manually wound Lemania that Omega called Caliber 321.
It's hard to mess with a legend and come out on top, but Omega has done an admirable job of it. This beefed up version of the Speedmaster measures a full 44.25 mm in diameter. It is perhaps this large size that gives it such a different feel and look as compared to the previous versions, which were either 38 or 39 mm.
The obvious
Aside from the size, aficionados will notice a few obvious differences between this new version and previous, more classic versions. The chronograph totalizers are bicompax rather than tricompax, a date window has been added to the 6 o'clock position and the ten-minute/stop-second numerals have been left off the new dial design. These three design elements alone have been enough to raise the hackles of collectors, leading some to even ask me outright while I was wearing the watch, "Is this a proper Speedmaster?"
While this is a question that can only be answered individually, my answer to this question would be a resounding, "Yes, it is a proper Speedmaster." A dial - which is the most important and doubtlessly the deciding factor in any wristwatch - is always a question of balance and proportions. While the dial has been slightly transformed, this was necessary because the entire size of the case had changed, making it more contemporary.
Also, in my estimation, the changed elements serve to clean up the dial a bit and make it fresher and cleaner. This, naturally, precludes that it loses a bit of its instrument character, but then so be it. The end look is attractive and compelling, a fact that I came to appreciate more and more as I wore this flawlessly functioning chronograph.
Also, and this is important for me, the changed proportions, cleaner dial and bicompax chronograph totalizers make it appear less Rolex-y than its predecessors. I know I risk some backlash with that statement, but it has always been a detracting factor in my eyes. The transformation is a good one.
The caliber
The original Speedmasters ran on Lemania movements, which were not created specifically for this model. This new Speedmaster, which is officially named Speedmaster Moonwatch Co-Axial Chronograph (Reference 311.30.44.51.01.002), is the first to be fitted with a movement that was created specifically for it. Omega Caliber 9300 is automatic, column wheel-controlled, and contains a co-axial escapement with a free-sprung silicon balance spring and two serially operating spring barrels for 60 hours of power reserve. Though I did not time the chronograph on a Witschi (that is not what our Worldtempus tests aim to prove), I can say that the caliber was extremely accurate and that 60 hours of power reserve is really excellent - you can put it down over the weekend and not have to wind it again on Monday morning. As I am not a watchmaker, I wouldn't want to venture a guess as to whether the co-axial provides more accuracy that a regular Swiss lever escapement with the same attributes. In my estimation, it is at least as precise.
One collector asked me during the test phase if the date changes exactly at midnight: a valid question. The answer is no, it's not an instantaneous change. The changeover lasts about ten minutes or so - not a bad balance.
The bottom line
At $8,700 this stainless steel sports watch is not necessarily overpriced. Comparable Rolex models are commensurate in price: the Oyster Perpetual Submariner Date in stainless steel currently costs $8,000.
The updates to this model are justified and well executed; after all, a simple reproduction would be ultimately boring, like hearing a cover version of a song that hasn't been changed at all except for the fact that a different group is performing it. In fact, the changes contain new codes that correspond to our era and our generation. Welcome to 2011, Omega Speedmaster.
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Omega - Beauty enhanced by Liquidmetal
October 9th 2009
The Seamaster Planet Ocean Liquidmetal Limited Edition unveiled by Omega on Monday is the first model from the brand, and doubtless in the entire watch industry, to contain Liquidmetal. This alloy discovered by researchers at the Californian Institute of Technology is endowed with several distinctive physical properties that have enabled the creation of a bezel alternating satin-brushed zones for the numerals and the minute scale with a polished surface for the ceramic part. Having in the process been granted exclusive rights to the use of this metal in watchmaking, Omega presents a timepiece of which the aesthetic criteria set out in the technical specifications led to the use of an ultra high-tech material.
Used to date in applications such as enhancing the flexibility of Head tennis rackets, the Liquidmetal is extremely different to classic metals. Amorphous rather than crystalline like most other metals, it has a 400°C melting point twice as high as titanium-based alloys, and is three times tougher than stainless steel. Nonetheless, Omega engineers have chosen it first and foremost for its malleability - a quality that enables even the smallest cavities to be perfectly filled thanks to the pressure of the alloy inside. This technology thus paved the way for the visually appealing alternation of metal parts with those made in ceramics and produced by Comadur - a sister company in the Swatch Group.
After presenting last spring a Speedmaster model not yet available on the market but equipped with a split-second chronograph and a ceramic dial, Omega once again introduces a model with a decidedly high-tech face. The shimmering pure dial echoing the bezel lends the watch exceptional depth and intensity, while the attractive dial design strikes a fine balance between vintage spirit and avant-garde styling.
The cogs of the in-house production process seems to be pretty well oiled, since the Seamaster Planet Ocean Liquid Limited Edition will be available by the end of the year in a series of 1948 - a nod to the launch date of the Seamaster collection. This relatively generous number is well over that of a "confidential" edition and doubtless heralds other forthcoming developments. The retail price is set at 4,800 Swiss francs excluding tax.
[Rating: 5 / 5 stars]
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