zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

Unconfirmed ..Omega to use Cal 8500 as base for... Posted By: Mathew J Date: 4/17/07 17:27 GMT

all Omega automatic lines by 2010...read this on another forum and it was quoted from Watchtime, some interview with Stephen Urquhart.

I can't confirm nor completely dispute this. I can point out some things though...

On 3 April, I ran across a trio of posts in the Horomundi forum on a Press Trip to the Omega Hour Vision launch and I posted portals/links to the posts on Horomundi, here on ZOWIE/Chronocentric.

The operative information is in the second of the linked/portaled documents. Here it is:

MEN's OMEGA:

- Annual Calendar, Calibre 8601 and 8611

- Day/Date, Calibre 8602 and 8612

- Big Date, Calibre 8603 and 8613

- Power Reserve/Small Seconds, Calibre 8604 and 8614

- GMT, Calibre 8605 and 8615

- 14 lignes Chronographs, calibre 9300 and 9301

WOMEN's OMEGA:

- Automatic Chronometer, Calibre 8520 and 8521

- Annual Calendar, calibre 8621 and 8631

- Big Date, calibre 8623 and 8633

- Power Reserve/Small Seconds, Calibre 8624 and 8634

More exciting complications are of course possible after 2010.

I personally attended a similar event in L.A. [ok, it was technically Beverly Hills, CA] in middle February of this year. I can tell you that what was stated in the event I attended that Omega intends to release a new complication of the "Hour Vision" calibre a year from 2007 through 2010 at the minimum.

Let me parse that a bit...

Omega intends to release a new complication of the "Hour Vision" calibre [one for the mens calibre and one for the ladies calibre] a year from 2007 through 2010 at the minimum.

Omega did not elaborate on which complications would come when though. Also (and to quote the Horomundi report]:

“Mr. Monachon also cautioned us that although the calibre 8500/8501 are completely designed and developed within OMEGA Granges, it is dangerous to call the movement completely in-house manufactured. Without the help and assistant of Comadur, Nivarox, ETA and Frederick Piguet - all within the Swatch Group, the success of this calibre and the Deville Hour Vision model would not have been possible. The objective is to manufacture the complete movement and watch within OMEGA premises but at the moment, only assembly is done within the OMEGA compound.”

So, we know the original calibre's shipped will be the 8500/8501, and Omega Intends to add complications at a 1 per year for both ladies and mens calibres through at least 2010.

We all know Omega's intentions aren't always met. Reference the In-House Spilt-Seconds Chronograph that was announced and fans waited for years to be able to order one before Omega threw in the towel on their In-House plans and adapted a Valjoux 7750 to get the watch out to the dealers [before they discontinued it]. And I noted in the TZOF over 17 months ago the delay between the scheduled debut [according to WatchTime again, interestingly enough] and it's actual announcement in November 2005 and debut in 2006.

Jorge Merino Posts: N E W M o d e l s &endash; Omega Chronographs for Torino 2006 Winter Olympics [Nov 15, 2005 - 03:38 PM]

Omega has been the Official Timekeeper for a total of twenty-one Olympic Games over the course of the 20th century. The Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games mark the return of Omega to its historic role. To celebrate this, the firm presents the Omega Torino 2006 Collection, a series of three Limited Edition chronographs.

Speedmaster Broad Arrow Co-Axial Rattrapante -- 26 Pieces Only.

Ok, for the record, this is the F. Piguet based Rattrapante that the December 2001 Review of the Broad Arrow Written by Alexander Linz for WatchTime magazine stated was slated to debut in 2003:

So this is the first appearance outside of Bienne of the long awaited Split-Second variant. Three years behind schedule.

That particular post in TZ gives us a data point on both Omega's intentions vs. it's abilities and WatchTime's reliability. [In the spirit of full disclosure, I have co-written articles for International Watch, a competitor to WatchTime]

So if this is correct, essentially in less than three years time, Omega plans on phasing out completely their ETA 2892 base caliber and replacing it with the 8500...seems like an aggressive goal (not unattainable though).

It does seem like an ambitious goal, certainly an aggressive goal, however, it's attabinablity seems to be a stretch in my opinion based on past experience.

The question really is: Is Omega serious about replacing ETA base calibres and how soon do they hope to do so?

Considering the fact that Omega just refreshed the ETA/Dubois-Depras powered Speedmaster Reduced models, and the ETA/Valjoux 7750 based Speedmaster Date models, I don't believe that they plan on doing this in the next three years. Perhaps if the new Hour Vision movement is trouble-free [which also may well be unrealistically optimistic] they might be able to meet those goals.

I would only assume that this would mean massive price increases on the new models, as we have seen with the DeVille Hour vision vs. the standard Co Axial model...and also another redesign of their lineup.

I would think that you are mostly correct on this point. I think it goes without saying that the Hour Vision powered watches would mean quite a hefty price bump over ETA, however, I wouldn't expect every Hour Vision model to have Sapphire Glass case sides and over time the cost of using that movement would decrease. I doubt they will ever be cost competitive with ETA movements though.

I wonder if the new caliber will be able to drop into old cases without modification however I highly doubt it.

I do not know. I'd like to think that Omega would have enough sense to not make their intergration into existing cases without much difficulty. But I don't like to try to place myself in the minds of those in charge as it's dark and dank, and the floors are wet and there are cobwebs all around and I keep bumping my head on the ceiling!

And given the relative short time the ETA modified Co Axial was out on the market,

Since 1999? That's what? 8 years?

what future parts stores will be available for those pieces, granted one could swap the co axial mod for standard parts but who would want to do that.

I really don't know. I'm a chronograph driver/owner/collector, not a chronograph doctor/mechanic.

I also find it interesting that the DeVille is the vehicle that introduces major change...at least in the past two iterations with the Co Axial and now the 8500 caliber.

I was really surprised that the original Co-Axial was a DeVille model, it's styling was far closer to a Connie Pie-Pan in my opinion.

Really makes me want to pause before jumping into Omega since they appear to be at a crossroads.

It's clear that Omega seems set on "climbing up the hill". If you look at Swatch Group's website sitemap, you'll find Omega listed not in the "High Grade" section of brands [Longines and Rado], but rather with the "Prestige" [highest] tier of Swatch Groups brands [along with Breguet, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Jacquet Droz, Léon Hatot and Omega]. Personally, I don't consider Omega in the same breath as Breguet and Blancpain, but rather below them and above Rado (for sure) and Longines.

This move up the hill will no doubt find new customers to Omega and leave other [existing] customers behind as the firm moves to it's new "position".

When thinking about this I'm reminded of Martin Luther King's last speech where he talks about been to the mountaintop... Omega's climbing a mountain, I'm not sure it's the promised land although Omega sure seems to think it is. I'm pretty sure I won't be at the top of the mountain once [if] Omega gets there. If Omega succeeds and the product of the day are Six, Eight and Ten Thousand Dollar Chronographs I'll be Free at last, to spend my money on things other than new Omega's. Because I'm not a Blancpain or Bruguet type of collector.

-- Chuck

Chuck Maddox

Chronographs, like most finer things in life, only improve with time...

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