TomBombadil Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Pulled from TimeZone: Renowned as the watchmaking company which produced the first-ever industrialized movement and always looking to improve the performance and quality of its timepieces, OMEGA has taken a step further and launched its in-house manufacture calibres 8500/8501. The new calibres are launched for the first time in a Revolutionary collection of timepieces within the De Ville range aptly named Hour Vision. This milestone heralds a new era for OMEGA as a leading presence in the elite field of mechanical watchmaking. All of the 202 components have been newly created entirely in-house using third millennium technology to ensure optimum performance. OMEGA has been working on improving the mechanical watch for over half a decade and when setting out on the Calibre 8500 project, OMEGA’s aim was to up-grade its existing proprietary Co-Axial technology which improves precision over long periods. Introduced in 1999, the Co-Axial escapement was first developed by the respected British master watchmaker Dr. George Daniels, in conjunction with OMEGA. The Co-Axial escapement touches the very heart of the watch by re-engineering this component that provides the regular transmission of energy to the mechanism. Together with the free-sprung balance, the Co-Axial escapement offers optimal stability to the watch’s running rate over long periods and enhances the performance of the timepiece. In addition, the need for oil in this tiny component is nearly eliminated. The automatic mechanism is driven by a highly efficient bi-directional rotor. The energy is then transmitted through two barrels providing the watch with an impressive power reserve of 60 hours. Adjusting the watch when traveling through time-zones is simple as the hour hand can be moved separately from the minutes and seconds hands. The 8500/8501 calibres are COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres) certified chronometers. As befits a movement of this category great care has been taken in the finishing and decorating of the components. In the case of the Calibre 8501, the rotor and balance bridge are fashioned out of 18 Ct red gold. The presence of 18 Ct red gold components is reminiscent of OMEGA’s rich watch making heritage as historically, red gold had been used in OMEGA movements. Screws, barrels and the balance wheel are blackened -as opposed to heat treated blued steel- to create an unusual and contemporary matt finish. The bridges and the rotor are decorated with an “arabesque” Côtes de Genève pattern which is a world premier. In the case of the 8500, the elegant monochrome look, created by using all rhodium and black details, give a futuristic finish to this timepiece: A very successful reinterpretation and modernisation of Omegas’s watch making aesthetics. The beauty of the movement is clearly visible through sapphire glass apertures in the side of the watchcase and through the sapphire crystal case back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomasng Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Nice... But it isn't the first Omega In-house AFAIK, it's the new Rattrapante movement that was first in-house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Category 5 Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Splendid!!! Just beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdman Posted January 27, 2007 Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 Omega is part of the Swatch Group that owns ETA and Unitas, so wouldn't any of those movements be inhouse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted January 27, 2007 Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 Wasn't the GMT movements in-house as well? ETA don't produce GMT movements with independently adjustable hour hands, just GMT hands (ETA 2893). This one is lovely... a move to have different movements from ETA so watches (especially display backed ones) become harder to rep? A radical anti-counterfeit measure, or are Swatch Group thinking of selling Omega off ? Or am I just too tired from no sleep in over 24 hours? The mind boggles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tag Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Omega is part of the Swatch Group that owns ETA and Unitas, so wouldn't any of those movements be inhouse? I guess Omega is using ebauches... But Hayek decided to stop selling ebauches... Could that be a reason for having all movements in-house? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalcranium Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Gorgeous movement....and the co-axial movement....as close to quartz as a mechanical is going to get. Let's see our Asian friends at Seagul copy a Co- Axial escapement! That movement I'd buy in a heartbeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takashi Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 FYI, a Seiko Spring Drive movement has a power reserve of 72 hours, 28.800 bph and guaranteed accuracy of +/- 1 sec per day. Most importantly, it is assembled by hand too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gran Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 FYI, a Seiko Spring Drive movement has a power reserve of 72 hours, 28.800 bph and guaranteed accuracy of +/- 1 sec per day. Most importantly, it is assembled by hand too. That Spring Drive movement movement is a dream FYIthe spring drive has no "28.800 bph". The movement is supposed to be as smooth as is possible so if it has a beat it is not visible to the human eye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRG Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Exactly, the spring drive has no beat. It has a glide wheel instead of a pallet wheel, the sweep rate of the glide wheel is controlled by electromagnetic force. The second hand glides beautifully around the dial. Both these movements are great steps forward IMHO, I would love either but I really want a springdrive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalcranium Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Exactly, the spring drive has no beat. It has a glide wheel instead of a pallet wheel, the sweep rate of the glide wheel is controlled by electromagnetic force. The second hand glides beautifully around the dial. Both these movements are great steps forward IMHO, I would love either but I really want a springdrive! About $3500 USD? Is that correct? My thoughts on this are well known but Seiko doesn't get the credit it deserves...at least not from the collector community and the editors of the trades. They have driven technology for 40 years. You want a 21+ jewel in house movement in an watch that wont need servicing for 10 years and can be adjusted to run within COSC specs....get a Rolex 3135 or a Seiko 5. Price difference...$100 vs $4000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Category 5 Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 I am pretty sure Omega's claim is that the Co-Ax movements can go longer (10-20 years) since they are less reliant upon lubrication to maintain their rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gran Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 I love OMEGA but its only the second inhouse movement So does this mean that OMEGA is in reality more a brand name than a true horological company? is this why they need james bond to push their lovely looking watches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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