Omega Unveils 60-Year Anniversary Models For 3 Iconic Watches

The year, 1957, was a very productive one for Omega. The Swiss watch brand released three watches—the Seamaster 300, Railmaster and Speedmaster—all became an instant hit and a classic within their product categories.

This year, Omega is celebrating the 60th anniversary for each watch by presenting a limited edition of each model and a special “trilogy” edition.

Omega employed digital scanning technology to create accurate representations of the original watches—including cross-sections and dimensions. This, along with drawings of the original models, served as design templates for the new watches, which were slightly revised but remain true to the 1957 models.

All three watches are cased in brushed and polished stainless steel and feature black “tropical” dials. The stainless steel bracelets feature a retro-style Omega logo on the clasp. All of the logos on the watches are in a different style—a reference to how individual suppliers in the 1950s interpreted the Omega logo.

Each watch is limited to 3,557 pieces and delivered inside a presentation box inspired by the original 1957 packaging, including the Seahorse on the lid, a retro logo and red corduroy lining—with two spare straps; leather and NATO; and a tool to change them.

The Seamaster 300 60th Anniversary Limited Edition Master Chronometer 39mm
The very first Seamaster 300 was sought after for its water-resistance, black dial, broad arrow hour hand, bi-directional diving bezel, and recessed triangular hour markers. The 2017 model, based on the CK2913, features a black aluminum bezel and retains the original Naïad sign on the crown, which back in 1957 was a mark of the watch’s water resistance. The Seahorse on the caseback also refers to the original in 1957. It is powered by the Omega Master Chronometer caliber 8806 and comes with a four-year warranty.

The Railmaster 60th Anniversary Limited Edition Master Chronometer 38mm
The double-case anti-magnetic watch was designed for scientists, technicians or anyone who worked close to electrical fields. The original’s unpretentious style has been carried over into the 2017 model, though the vintage indexes are slightly deepened to allow a stronger light from the Super-LumiNova filling. The watch is powered by the Omega Master Chronometer caliber 8806, which can resist magnetic fields of up to 15,000 gauss and comes with a four-year warranty.

The Speedmaster 60th Anniversary Limited Edition 38.6mm
The original Speedmaster, called the “Broad Arrow,” due to its distinctive hands, was not only the first Speedmaster, it was also the first chronograph wristwatch with a tachymeter scale on the bezel as opposed to printed on the dial—a feature designed for race car drivers. On the new model, the font was redrawn to match the scale of the original 1957 tachymeter. It is powered by the Omega 1861 caliber.

The Trilogy presentation box
Omega has created a 557-piece limited edition package and engravings for those who purchase all three 60th anniversary models. The outer-box, made of Swiss oak wood, is engraved with the 1957 Seahorse on the lid and a front-plate engraved with “Trilogy 60th Anniversary, 001/557.”

Inside is a smaller box, inspired by the 1957 version, which contains all three watches. Each dial is printed with “TRILOGY” and the Limited Edition number; and each caseback is engraved with "LIMITED TO 557 TIMEPIECES.”

The larger box also includes a leather watch roll with three spare leather and NATO straps; and a wooden spring bar changing tool.

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$1M Swiss Watch Made Of Swiss Cheese And That’s No Bull

Specialist Swiss watchmaker H. Moser & Cie. used Swiss cheese to create a watch made in protest of the recently updated “Swiss made” requirement. 

Called the “Swiss Mad Watch” it doesn’t refer to Mad Cow Disease but to being mad at the new updated requirement that 60 percent of the watch components must be of Swiss origin in order to be considered eligible for the Swiss Made label—a 10 percent increase over the previous requirement. Edouard Meylan, CEO of the independent watchmaker based in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, uses more than 95 percent of Swiss-origin components to make its watches. He strongly feels the Swiss Made standard is inadequate and his company should not be held to the same standard as those who barely meet the requirement. The company said it will remove the Swiss Made label from all of its new watches starting this year.

"Our Swiss Mad Watch sends a clear message to the Swiss watchmaking industry, the authorities and watch enthusiasts: the Swiss Made label is meaningless,” Meylan said in a statement. “Worse than this, it gives credibility to the worst abuses in our industry. Our response to this lax and insufficient label is derision. At H. Moser & Cie. we produce watches that are truly Swiss, watches that are steeped in watchmaking tradition and centuries of experience. The quality of these pieces speaks for itself and dispenses with the need for a label. We are no longer ‘Swiss Made,’ but we are Swiss—100 precent Swiss in the case of the Swiss Mad Watch and over 95 percent Swiss for all of our other models.”

While there is satire mixed in with this protest it is as serious the price of this one-of-a-kind watch, 1,081,291 Swiss francs. The cost refers to the signing of the Swiss Federal Charter on August 1, 1291. All proceeds from its sale will be used to create a fund to support independent Swiss watchmaking suppliers that the company says are “currently suffering under the difficult economic situation and outsourcing to Asia. These are the very artisans who keep traditional Swiss watchmaking alive and who help it to continually evolve.”

The 42mm case of the Swiss Mad Watch is created from real Swiss cheese as a base material, specifically a Vacherin Mont d’Or médaille d’or, mixed with itr2, a composite material. It is then machined and polished with H. Moser signature finishes. For the strap, Swiss cowhide (the obvious choice) is used. The watch is finished with a red fumé dial and doubled indices at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock, subtly reminiscent of the Swiss flag. It is powered by an in-house, hand-wound, mechanical HMC 327 caliber.

“Created in Switzerland, by Swiss watchmakers and using Swiss materials, the Swiss Mad Watch has symbolic value, tackling Swiss Made debate head on to reveal the truth behind this label,” Meylan said. “With this unique watch, H. Moser & Cie. demonstrates the importance and urgency of returning Swiss Made to its former heights. Echoing the absurdity and the ridiculous change to the Swiss Made legislation, H. Moser & Cie.'s satirical comment on the issue highlights an alternative resource, 100 percent natural and entirely Swiss, one of the most precious Swiss resources that exists: cows. 

To go with the watch and protest, the company created the hashtag, #MakeSwissMadeGreatAgain.

Below is a tongue-in-cheek video about the watch.

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Montblanc Unveils Seafaring Timepieces To Celebrate 110 Years

Montblanc Collection Villeret Tourbillon Cylindrique Pocket Watch & Navigator 110 Years Edition – Unique Piece

This year marks Montblanc’s 110-year anniversary as a company and the celebration began during January’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva as it released explorer-themed nautical timepieces inspired by commercial innovation and ocean faring exploration at the beginning of the 20th Century.

The German luxury brand also brought in its international ambassadors for special events during the exclusive luxury watch show, including Charlotte Casiraghi of Monaco and Taiwanese actress Gwei Lun Mei.

Charlotte Casiraghi

Montblanc’s new models define 1906 as a time of commercial innovation and the opening of the world through steamships that transported goods and people (along with innovative ideas and cultures) around the world.

According to the brand, it was in 1906 that three Germans traveled to America—engineer August Eberstein, merchant Alfred Nehemias and stationery trader Claus Voß. Inspired by what they experienced, they developed a writing instrument with non-leaking technology and a piston convertor. The pen marked the beginnings of Montblanc, which became the official name of the company in 1910.

The company was named after Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe at 4,810 meters. That’s where the 4810 collection gets its name. The watch line was introduced in 2006 for the brand’s 100th anniversary.

Montblanc 4810 Collection 110 Years Editions
This year, Montblanc introduced a number of timepieces in its 4810 Collection, including three limited-edition timepieces designed specifically for this anniversary: the ExoTourbillon Slim 110 Years Editions, the TwinFly Chronograph 110 Years Edition and the Orbis Terrarum Pocket Watch 110 Years Edition.

All of the timepieces were inspired by the golden age of travel across the Atlantic Ocean when Germany was leading the way with its powerful and lavish cruise ships that were a symbol of the explosion of industrial and artistic innovation occurring at the time.

Montblanc 4810 ExoTourbillon Slim 110 Years Editions
The theme of travel across the Atlantic is highlighted in three watches with a miniature hand painted map of either North America, Asia or Europe on the dial. The model is limited to 110 pieces (36 US, 36 Europe, and 38 Asia), however, Montblanc says each watch is unique because no individually hand-painted map is exactly the same.

All the design elements were created to give maximum exposure to the hand-painted map. The lower section of the dial is decorated with the Côtes de Genève motif to highlight the ExoTourbillon construction at 6 o’clock, and a single rhodium-plated XII and rhodium-plated skeletonized hands maximize the view of the map. A discreet minute track has been added to the exterior of the dial with a red “60” at 12 o’clock.
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The 42 mm 18k white gold case includes a thin bezel with satin finishing on the border and horns.

The watch contains the Calibre MB 29.24 automatic movement with a micro-rotor decorated with a Côtes de Genève en Eventail pattern. It’s exposed by a large sapphire crystal on the caseback. The quick stop-seconds are indicated on the tourbillon cage with a red arrow and is activated by pulling the crown at 3 o’clock.

Montblanc 4810 TwinFly Chronograph 110 Years Edition
The flyback chronograph allows the wearer to time one event, and then stop, reset and restart the chronograph with just one press on the pusher at 4 o’clock.

The TwinFly function restarts the central chronograph seconds hand (in blue) and the central minutes chronograph hand (in red gold), sending both hands back to zero and instantly restarting them for a new time measurement. Another pusher at 2 o’clock starts and stops the chronograph, while the pusher at 4 o’clock also returns the chronograph to 0 when it has previously been stopped.

When setting the local time the seconds don’t stop when the crown is pulled out. Small seconds on the subdial at 6 o’clock are displayed by a red gold-plated hand with a red tip. This subdial also doubles as a date indicator with a large red arrow pointing to the date. The 12 o’clock subdial illustrates a map of the world that reveals whether it’s day or night in the home time when travelling and links back to the pioneering spirit of travel crossing the Atlantic.

Powering the watch is the in-house Calibre MB LL100.1 automatic movement with a chronograph and a dual time indication via an additional central hand. The chronograph mechanism uses a traditional column wheel and a vertical clutch system to start and stop the chronograph with precision. Two barrels ensure a 72-hour power reserve.

The 43 mm steel case reveals a silvery-white guilloché dial, whose pattern depicts an exploded view of the iconic Montblanc Star. The hours are marked by alternating red gold-plated Roman numerals and baton indexes, while the hands are a mix of baton and regate designs and point to scales that run around the dial, indicating the seconds and the minutes.

It is limited to 1,110 pieces.

Montblanc 4810 Orbis Terrarum Pocket Watch 110 Years Edition
This is the first time Montblanc created a pocket watch. This model also includes a world timer function.
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Setting the home time zone is done by pressing the pusher between 5 and 6 o’clock until the home city is positioned in front of the arrow at 6 o’clock. The hours and minutes are then set via the crown at 12 o’clock, paying attention to turn the hands until the central map features the correct day/night indication.

While traveling, the new local time is featured in front of the red arrow at six o’clock by using a pusher between 5 and 6 o’clock. The day/night indicator and the hour hand also advance with each push, requiring no further setting as the home time remains the same.

The 53 mm “Lépine” style steel case houses the in-house Calibre MB 29.20 automatic movement. The dial is crafted out of layers of sapphire crystal showing the continents as viewed from the North Pole. Around the map are the names of the 24 cities representing the different time zones. Under the map a disk indicates the passage of day and night. This disk rotates with the movement mechanism, causing the continents to change color as the day evolves into night.

Montblanc Collection Villeret
The nautical theme that Montblanc is promoting for its 110th anniversary is much more intense with three extremely limited edition marine chronometers released by the luxury brand’s Villeret manufacturing operation—the former Minerva watch manufacturer founded in 1858, known for its high-quality, hand-made movements.

Montblanc Collection Villeret Tourbillon Cylindrique Pocket Watch 110 Years Edition – 8 pieces

This highly complicated pocket watch has a tourbillon with cylindrical hairspring, a triple time zone indication and a worldtimer with the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

The upper-half of the dial has an 18k gold hand-engraved wave pattern. The worldtime indication is displayed on two discs that display 24-hour time zones with day and night indication revolving around two fixed three-dimensional globes (displaying the north and south hemispheres) with miniature hand-painting for the oceans and engraving for the continents.

Home time is displayed at 12 o’clock. The lower half of the dial consists of a slice of blue aventurine around the cage of the one-minute tourbillon with cylindrical hairspring. 18k red gold hour- and minute-hands in the center with a blue “Fleur-de-Lys” home time hand is part of an 18k red gold three-dimensional hand-crafted compass rose subdial at 12 o’clock. The 24 cities of both hemispheres are seen on the domed flange.

This complex watch is powered by the Calibre MB M68.40 mechanical movement.

Montblanc Collection Villeret Tourbillon Cylindrique Pocket Watch & Navigator 110 Years Edition – Unique Piece
This one-of-a-kind product combines a nautical clock with a pocket watch. The navigator is a three-foot high structure with a two-foot granite base for stable installation on the deck of a ship. The case is made of nickel-plated brass with a two-foot diameter weighing 264 pounds. It’s designed to stand firm whether placed on the motionless floor or on the pitching and rolling planks of the ship.

The nautical precision clock keeps its balance with a cardanic suspension system that sits inside a nickel-plated brass cage that keeps the clock horizontal and its time precise.

The Navigator was developed in collaboration with the Erwin Sattler clock manufacture who made the base. Its movement, complications and finishings were reworked by Montblanc. The nautical clock indicates the hours, minutes, seconds, time in 24 different time zones, and has a 15-day power reserve.

Two subdials (3 o’clock for the Northern Hemisphere and 9 o’clock for the Southern Hemisphere) provide a worldtimer indication with 24 cities encircling the dial, as well as a day/night display. The 24 time zones and two dozen cities are also displayed below the cardanic suspension—only visible from the side of the case.

The navigation clock is powered by the Montblanc Calibre MB 13.98 hand-wound movement with 15-day power reserve. An in-house patented emergency power reserve and remaining days’ indicator are displayed via red and blue hands in a graduated counter at the bottom of the dial. This display is indispensible since reliable navigation is only assured if the nautical clock is regularly wound and never stops running throughout a voyage. If the power reserve drops below four days, the red hand moves into a red zone, indicating that the mainspring needs more energy and the navigator should be manually wound with its key at 7 o’clock. A blue hand indicates the remaining number of days at sea.

The local time hours are indicated on a subdial at 12 o’clock decorated with a slice of black aventurine, the minutes are shown by a central red gold-plated hand pointing to a minute track that runs around the outside of the dial. A small seconds subdial is located at 1 o’clock. Other details include a 18k red gold-plated compass rose with quarter indications.

The Montblanc Collection Villeret Tourbillon Cylindrique Pocket Watch 110 Years
Edition – Unique Piece
In addition to the nautical clock in its pivoting support, another cardanic suspension case has been fitted into the structure to house a one-of-a-kind pocket watch, which can be protected from the rolling waves when its owner isn’t carrying it. The watch is adorned with blue Grand Feu enamel, on both the front and back of the case, reminiscent of the Atlantic Ocean. Together they form a unique work of precision and art — strictly limited to one piece — that can be illuminated with blue LED lights on demand.

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Swiss Watch Industry To End Association with Swiss Business Federation

The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said it will end its association with the Swiss Business Federation (economiesuisse) at the end of the year because the business federation, which represents the diversity of businesses in Switzerland, will not support the watch industry’s definition of “Swisness.”

“By failing to support the Federal Council’s proposal for industrial products, which sets at 60 percent the minimum rate of Swiss value in a Swiss product, economiesuisse not only stands in the way of strengthening the protection of this label, but raises the likelihood of it becoming weaker than it is at present,” FH said in a statement.

One of the primary tasks of the FH is to ensure that watches, clocks and other timepieces meet a series of requirements to ensure the product was built within the borders of Switzerland. Those that meet those requirements display the “Swiss made” or “Swiss” label. Among the requirements are that the timepiece movement is made in Switzerland, the movement is “cased up” in Switzerland and the final inspection is done in Switzerland.

FH is also active in protecting the industry and its label from counterfeiters.

The FH in its statement says that the Swiss Business Federation “runs counter to the interests of the Swiss watch industry.”

“The watch industry is certainly the industrial sector most affected by this subject, considering that nearly 100 percent of its products carry the label,” the statement read. “The latter contributes to the attractiveness of Swiss watches and their psychological appeal.”

They argue that “strengthening of the Swiss-made label generally promotes industrial activity in Switzerland and job creation.”

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