Choosing an OMEGA Watch
Information to help you in choosing whether to select an OMEGA watch and which one(s)
may be right for you
- What are the main model lines of new OMEGA watches available?
- Why should I care about celebrities and movie characters endorsing OMEGA watches?
- OMEGA Constellation
- OMEGA DeVille
- OMEGA Speedmaster
- OMEGA Seamaster, Aqua Terra and Railmaster
- OMEGA Dynamic
- Older OMEGA Model Lines
- OMEGA Watches Without A Model Name On Them
- OMEGA Watches With Multiple Model Names On Them
What are the main model lines of new OMEGA watches available?
As of 2004, the main model lines of OMEGA are:
- Constellation - contemporary style dress watches.
- DeVille - traditional style dress watches.
- Speedmaster - chronographs for sport, aerospace and racing.
- Seamaster - highly water-resistant watches for dress, sport and diving.
- Aqua Terra - a dress watch series that is part of the Seamaster line.
- Railmaster -- a special series of the Aqua Terra.
- Museum Collection - a special series of limited edition watches reviving designs of the early 1900's.
Recent model lines you may still be able to find at dealers:
- Dynamic - classic pilot's-style watch, available in time/date and a chronograph versions. Manufactured 1998-1999.
Why should I care about celebrities and movie characters endorsing OMEGA watches?
While some people find it a distraction--and some people even avoid products associated
with celebrities--celebrity based marketing is actually of substantial benefit to you, the
watch buyer. If OMEGA did not market as strongly, they would not sell as many watches, not
have the economies of scale that they do, and wouldn't be able to offer the same quality
that they do for the same price.
In this high-level playing field of premium watches, OMEGA offers watches with quality and
detail far above many others in the same price range. OMEGA even compares extraordinarily well
to Rolex on all meaningful measures of product quality--even though Rolex sells for double
the price. Sure, over $1000 is a lot for a watch. But when you are dealing with products in
this range, you are looking at items with attributes far beyond the pedestrian needs of telling
time. The prestige and subtle refinements of the truly world-class luxury products don't come
without a cost.
Most successful companies have to advertise--to remind the world that they exist. Using
celebrities is one of the ways that's better suited to luxury products. The celebrities also
establish an associative image--femininity, strength, boldness, confidence--that people connect
with the product. But these associations go far beyond just guiding consumers to which model
best suits their image or needs.
The public images created by this celebrity marketing defines public perceptions of styles.
Perceptions that *you* benefit from when wearing the watch--because it subtly shapes how people
perceive you. People don't even have to recognize a specific watch brand, suit designer, or shoe
maker. The overall style and look makes the association with the images people have seen elsewhere.
The Constellation *is* feminine because we've seen very feminine personalities wearing them.
The Seamaster is bold and strong because we've seen bold, confident and adventurous people wearing
them. The DeVille is sophisticated as we've seen business professionals wearing them. And the
Speedmaster is technical because we've seen astronauts and race car drivers wearing them.
So don't take marketing or celebrity endorsements as a negative. It translates into two direct
benefits to you: better product for the money and a greater public reception to the style image
you project with your choice of watch.
OMEGA Constellation
Generally considered to be OMEGA's flagship line. Starting in the 1990's, the Constellation line adopted the highly contemporary look originated by the Constellation "Manhattan" in the 1980's and is now OMEGA's "style flagship" line.
OMEGA DeVille
OMEGA's traditional dress watch line. After the Constellation series changed focus to a style flagship line, the DeVille series has become the horology flagship line.
The current DeVille line is divided into several series: the DeVille Coaxial, DeVille Prestige, DeVille Symbol and DeVille Classic. Of these, the Coaxial is the newest, featuring the Daniel's Coaxial Escapement--the most significant advancement in mechanical wristwatch technology in many decades.
The remaining series of DeVille models mostly use the same movements used across most OMEGA model lines. The differentiation between these DeVille series are the case and bracelet styles. The "Symbol" derived its name from the first models in this design bearing art symbols--such as the oriental Yin-Yang--on their dials.
Very few watches in this series bear the DeVille name on their dials. The DeVille line keeps to very clean, classic designs. So dial labeling is normally kept to an absolute minimum of one or two lines of descriptive text. The DeVille Coaxial Limited Edition is the one notable exception. OMEGA broke from their normal tasteful conservatism by issuing the initial coaxial models with its dial cluttered with four lines of descriptive text, including one over the OMEGA logo and name.
OMEGA Speedmaster
Originated in the late 1950's, the Speedmaster line of chronograph watches was catapulted to fame by their selection by NASA for use in manned space missions starting in the 1960's. The Speedmaster "Moon Watch" is the best known and most enduring OMEGA model.
OMEGA OMEGA Seamaster, Aqua Terra and Railmaster
Originating in 1948, the Seamaster series now represents several distinct groups of watches.
- The Seamaster 120 line continues the classic dress-style. No longer carried in the USA, but still available in pther parts of the world.
- The Seamaster Professional series is a bolder, more rugged, professional grade diving watch.
- The Seamaster AQUA TERRA is a very elegant, bold dressy watch, featuring the OMEGA Co-Axial movements.
- The Railmaster is a variation of the Aqua Terra line, based closely on the classic 1957 OMEGA Railmaster.
OMEGA Dynamic
A special line that OMEGA uses to introduce alternative styles. The latest Dynamic models are
the fourth series issued under the Dynamic name, and were produced from 1998-2000. This release features
two models reviving the style of some of OMEGA's 1940's military watch designs. Generally considered by
OMEGA collectors to be greatly overlooked by the watch buying public and one of the best values in new
and near-new used OMEGA watches currently available.
Older OMEGA Model Lines
Other OMEGA model names and model lines you might encounter among older and vintage OMEGA watches:
- FlightMaster - a line of watches oriented toward pilots.
- RailMaster - a line of watches oriented toward railroad workers and railroad enthusiasts.
- Dynamic - besides the 1998-2000 Dynamic, three were prior series that used this model name. There is no continuity of style across the four Dynamic series.
- Geneve - an 'economy' line of watches marketed in the early to mid 1960's. These evolved into the 'Seamaster 600' series of the late 1960's and early 1970's.
- Cosmic, Cosmic 2000
- El Ranchero
OMEGA Watches Without A Model Name On Them
While many OMEGA watches bear one of the model series names, quite a few bear only the OMEGA name. This occurs for several reasons. First, in earlier decades, it was not as common for every watch to have to be part of a specific model line. Many watches were simply sold under the company name. Certain models series were given names to help differentiate them by purpose or target market, but the other models were simply sold as "OMEGA."
Second, during the 1960's and 1970's, OMEGA shipped many bare movements for other manufacturers to custom build OMEGA cases. So a moderate number of OMEGA labeled watches from that period were sold with dials and cases not made by OMEGA, and thereby not part of any of the official factory model series. OMEGA discontinued this practice in the early 1980's, as it was seen to be weaken the strength of the OMEGA brand.
And finally, even today, many watches under the OMEGA DeVille line omit the DeVille name from the dial to keep their looks especially neat and uncluttered.
OMEGA Watches With Multiple Model Names On Them
There are certain watches where you will see two model line names on the same watch. During the 1960's, a number of watches were released under the combined "Seamaster DeVille" name--combining the water-resistant Seamaster cases with the more advanced movements found in the DeVille line.
Another series of dual-name watch are certain Speedmaster models where the case back says Seamaster. These were to promote that the Speedmaster contained superior water resistance, a feature uncommon in many chronographs at the time.
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