Omega De Ville Tourbillon Master Chronometer
Omega De Ville Tourbillon Master Chronometer
With its new Omega De Ville Tourbillon Master Chronometer, Omega demonstrate their proficiency with wrist-worn Tourbillon calibres, and they advance a little further towards perfection.
Omega are, unsurprisingly proud of their association with the tourbillon. They produced the first ever wristwatch tourbillon calibre back in 1947, and long before the tricky little gravity-defying mechanism was a popularised watch complication, they had been tweaking and refining it for years.
The new Omega De Ville Tourbillon Master Chronometer is the latest breakthrough in the company’s development for accuracy, as it is the first ever Master Chronometer-certified manual-winding wristwatch with a central Tourbillon mechanism.
Forming part of the De Ville family of watches, the Omega De Ville Tourbillon Master Chronometer is, of course effortlessly elegant, and Omega have pulled out all the stops to make it so. With a case crafted from their resplendent alloy, 18ct. Sedna gold, combined with Canopus gold, a material which promises brilliance for longer, the model has a subtle two-tone aesthetic which is more than pleasing on the eye.
The dial is also crafted from 18ct Sedna gold, which has been finished with black PVD. Against the restful mix of darkened and sunbrushed gold, complemented by slender, polished indices and hands, the panorama of the central Tourbillon dominates. Itself an art-form, it has a black ceramised titanium cage and base, and hand polished bevels on the cage, bridges and mechanisms. All loupe-worthy stuff, but this technical arrangement also poses a conundrum, because where the hour and minute hands would normally be mounted, the Tourbillon has been placed.
Using a system which enthusiasts of mystery clocks and watches will be familiar with, the hour and minute indicators are enabled by two sapphire discs, which are then driven by gearing located under the case bezel. Thus, the hands appear to float as they revolve on the elevated fluted ring, while the central tourbillon with its chubby little seconds hand provide mesmerising animation.
Omega have equipped this model with the new Calibre 2640, which is Master Chronometer-certified to maintain accuracy up to a magnetic fields of 15,000 Gauss. Equipped with a power reserve of three days (with the reserve displayed on the movement side), this handwound calibre has the company’s Co-Axial tourbillon escapement and its Sedna gold bridges and mainplate have a beautiful, and unusual frosted finish.
Each Omega De Ville Tourbillon Master Chronograph will be a numbered edition, and each piece will be handcrafted in their Atelier Tourbillon workshop. While the month long crafting process of each piece hardly compares to the time devoted to in-house watches made by our Independent Watchmaking friends, for a huge corporation like Omega, this is indeed and exclusive model.
Fact File: Omega De Ville Tourbillon Master Chronometer
REFERENCE:529.53.43.22.01.001
MANUFACTURER: Omega
CASE: 18ct Sedna gold, or 18ct Canopus gold options, brushed and polished finishes, sapphire crystal caseback
SIZE: ø 43.0 mm
DIAL: Black PVD Sedna gold, sunray finish, appliqué indices. Central Tourbillon
MOVEMENT: Omega hand-wound Calibre 2640, centrally mounted Tourbillon, 18ct Sedna gold bridges and mainplate
FUNCTIONS: Hours, minutes, small seconds on the Tourbillon
POWER RESERVE: 3-day hours
BRACELET/STRAP: Black alligator
BUCKLE: 18ct. Sedna gold buckle
WATERPROOF RATING: 30m
PRICE: €158,000 / CHF 162,750
