The New Omega Constellation Observatory Collection Blends Precision and Finesse
Every organization has its star players, but no great team can succeed without a supporting cast of unsung heroes. The Omega Constellation is that kind of watch. Long overshadowed by sportier siblings like the Speedmaster and Seamaster, the dressier Constellation collection has been part of the Omega lineup since 1952.
Initially inspired by the Centenary watch released in 1948 for the company’s 100th anniversary, the Constellation has always been synonymous with precision — its name connotes the fabled chronometry competitions of the pre-quartz era, when brands competed to create the world’s most accurate mechanical movements. These competitions were held at observatories, which is reflected in the collection’s observatory logo and its astronomically inspired name.
The new Omega Constellation Observatory, a nine-piece collection revealed following a strategically placed teaser at the recent Academy Awards, is a deliberate return to the Constellation’s roots, both aesthetically and conceptually. In terms of the former, the new Constellation maintains visual flourishes like the famed “pie-pan” dial, whose slanted dodecagonal edge was a feature of the Constellation in the 1950s, distinctive bent dog-leg lugs, the Constellation star logo at 6 o’clock, and an Observatory medallion on the caseback.
Performance-wise, the collection is powered by the Calibre 8914 (steel versions) and Calibre 8915 (precious metal versions), both in-house automatic Co-Axial movements that are METAS Master Chronometer-certified. Chronometer-Certified movements are more common these days, but the Constellation stands out for its lack of a seconds hand, a distinction that makes this certification a world first.
“Until now, precision certification has required a seconds hand,” explains Raynald Aeschlimann, President and CEO of OMEGA. “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 reasons for this are fairly technical, but the combination of a two-hand dial and a highly accurate movement — not to mention the lack of a date window — makes the Constellation an extremely unusual watch in the best kind of way.
The rest of the collection’s specs are a fairly straight shot for a modern dress watch. Its case is 39 mm wide and 12 mm thick with box sapphire crystals on the front and back, and it’s available in all of Omega’s signature alloys. In addition to offering something for a range of tastes and budgets, the Constellation marks the first time that all of these materials — Moonshine Gold, Sedna Gold, Canopus Gold, Platinum-Gold, and O-MEGASTEEL — have appeared within a single collection. Likewise, there are several fetching dial options on offer (including a particularly handsome black porcelain variant on the steel model) and a very 1960s-inspired nine-row brick-pattern 18k mesh bracelet on the Moonshine Gold version.
Omega deserves kudos for successfully walking a very fine line between nostalgia and modernity, paying homage to its glory days while flexing its 21st-century technical muscles. With the possible exception of the case size (which vintage enthusiasts will inevitably say is too large) and the slightly over-thick case (such, one supposes, is the tradeoff for METAS accuracy), the new Constellation is a worthy successor to its much-awarded forebears.
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