Here's the pertinent paragraph from the April issue of WatchTime:
It is obvious that a great deal of time and resources have gone into the creation of Omega Caliber 8500, and the company intends to rely on this new movement to carry its timepieces to the next level. Between 2007 and approximately 2010, it is slated to become the base movement for Omega's entire line of watches, with the HourVision case design also making its way beyond the De Ville line into other Omega watch families. "We felt the De Ville was the right family to launch this movement," Urquhart says. "Eventually, all of the families will adopt it." It has been a slow process leading up to this moment, but the Omega president feels the pace of progress is appropriate for a watch company eager to cement its status as one of the world's leading luxury brands. "What people don't understand is that there are brands out there that make only 25 or 50 or 100 watches a year with manufacture movements," he points out. "We made 150,000 movements last year. This is not a niche brand. And Caliber 8500 is our base movement of the future."
The author's statement that c.8500 will be the base movement for Omega's entire line of watches within 3 years would carry more weight if it was supported by a direct quote from Urquhart. Urquhart simply said that it will "eventually" be adopted by all the families. Making c.8500 the base movement for the entire line of watches within 3 years just seems unrealistic to me considering the number of models Omega offers and the additional complications that Omega will need to add to the movement. I'm wondering if there was some miscommunication between Urquhart and the WatchTime author (Mark Bernardo). If not then Omega certainly has a lot of work to do between now and the end of 2010.
