The OMEGA Buying Guide | Crown & Caliber

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Hey everyone it's Nathan with Crown  & Caliber and today we are going to be doing   a buying guide and there are not a lot of  watches on the table there are actually no   watches on the table and it's not big enough  the table is not big enough and I'll explain   why in a second today we're going to be  doing a buying guide on the brand OMEGA.   now in the past we've done buying guides on  specific models and we've also ventured into   some brands before but today we chose  to do the brand OMEGA in its entirety   and one of the reasons why is currently on  OMEGA's website there are over 1600 unique   models yeah let that soak in for a second over  1600 unique models and clearly we do not have   a table big enough to have all of those models  and that is why ultimately we are choosing to   do an OMEGA buying guide is because out of those  1600 unique models there are four brand families   and we are going to cover and highlight each one  of them and the models that we think you need to   know about so you don't have to spend time  sifting through all 1658 unique OMEGA models   so most people have probably at least heard of  the brand OMEGA but just a quick history OMEGA   was founded in 1848 by Louis Brandt so they have  definitely been around for quite some time and   they are currently owned by the parent company  known as the Swatch Group the swatch group is   the owner of other brands like Hamilton, Longines,  Blancpain, Breguet so quite a large group and I   think it's safe to say that OMEGA is definitely  their poster child so like I said there are a ton   of OMEGA models to cover so this buying guide is  going to be more of a general overview of these   models and the families and give you more of a  direction in which models you need to look out for   so there are four model families in the OMEGA  lineup there's the Constellation, the De Ville,   and then the bread and butter the Seamaster  and of course the Speedmaster family. So the   Constellation family is where we're starting in  currently that is made up of 523 unique models   and the Constellation family can be broken  down into two sub-families that is the   Constellation and the Globemaster so we will  start with the namesake the Constellation this   was a watch that debuted in 1952 and since then  it is somewhat deviated from its original design   most notably was the redesign in 1982 which is the  watch that we more or less see today and I think   it's a safe assumption that that design very much  feels like it's from 1982 and we'll just leave it   at that so moving on to the other subfamily in  the Constellation family is the Globemaster now   this watch actually has more of the Constellation  heritage most notably in what's called the pie   pan dial but also in the little subtle touch to  some of the fonts as well as the star on the dial   now why we love the Constellation is because  this is the first OMEGA watch to feature a METAS   certified movement the OMEGA caliber 8900 now the  OMEGA Constellation Globemaster debuted in 2015   and this watch packed a punch like we said  this METAS certified movement was the first   of its kind and METAS is another third-party swiss  organization that tests movements similar to COSC,   but is often thought of as a more stringent  form of testing for example METAS tests not   only the movement but the movement actually cased  up as an actual watch so when OMEGA released this   Globemaster in 2015 it was a pretty big deal and  so if you are interested in the Constellation   family our recommendation is you look at  the Constellation Globemaster it is a clean   austere design with some serious watch technology  that packs an oomph it can be had in stainless   steel precious metals and classic colors like  a white dial and a blue dial it is a perfect   example of a modern day OMEGA so the next family  that we're going to look at in the OMEGA buying   guide is the De Ville family now currently the  De Ville family has 447 unique models we're   not going to break down every subfamily because  there's a number of them but as a whole I would   say the De Ville family is the OMEGA dress family  it is also where OMEGA kind of pushes the envelope   some really cool things like the our vision has  some really crazy case designs but it's also where   we see OMEGA implement things like tourbillons so  as a whole the De Ville family and its subfamilies   is OMEGA's dress line but we think that the  sub family to focus on is the Trésor sub family   so the Trésor subfamily was first introduced in  2014 and this was effectively a modern take on a   classic dress watch but what was most impressive  is probably the movement it was a manual wound   OMEGA caliber and it took up the entire case  back it was designed for that watch and it looked   magnificent but where things really kicked off is  in 2019 when they introduced the METAS certified   caliber in the watch now I think this watch is  definitely a dress watch but it is very much   OMEGA's take on a dress watch so from a  purist standpoint the tray store is probably   not considered a dress watch in the sense that a  traditional dress watch is fairly small in size   very thin and generally time only now the trace  or is a 40 millimeter watch albeit still is pretty   thin it's under 11 millimeters but it is a bigger  watch it also does include the date as well as   a classic three hand design with a seconds hand  so it feels very much like a modern dress watch   it feels very much like an OMEGA and like I  said this movement is amazing and since 2019   it featured the OMEGA caliber 89 series line  which is meta certified and still when you   turn it over the entire case is filled with that  movement and again it feels very OMEGA it is a   bold looking movement and as an as a note you  can tell on the dial when it has a meta certified   movement because it will say master chronometer so  in 2014 this watch would have said master Co-Axial   and that master referred to the gauss rating  where now it says Co-Axial master chronometer so   a smaller side but a little tip on if you see  the dial of an OMEGA you can tell if it has   one of those METAS certified movements so again  wrapping up the De Ville line we think that if   you're interested in a dress watch from OMEGA then  look no further than the OMEGA De Ville Trésor   so next up in our OMEGA buying guide we are going  to be looking at the Seamaster family now there   are currently 570 models in the Seamaster family  and that can be divided into four subfamilies   that is the heritage models the Aqua Terra the  Seamaster 300 and the Planet Ocean. We're going   to focus on the latter three but I will briefly  address the heritage family this includes a lot   of really unique designs from OMEGA over the years  things like the Bullhead Seamaster chronograph the   Ploprof and even some of those 1957 reissues like  the Railmaster in the original Seamaster but there   are just so many models to cover we are going  to choose to focus on the three main families so   let's start with the Aqua Terra now the Aqua Terra  was first introduced in 2002 and I think it's a   safe assumption to say that OMEGA was making the  Aqua Terra as a direct competitor to the Datejust.   It is a great everyday watch it has a day  complication and has plenty of water resistance   for everyday activities and it is popular there  are currently 325 unique Aqua Terra models so   let's go ahead and hit some of the highlights  in its history like we said it was introduced in   2002 in 2008 OMEGA introduced the caliber 8500 the  first in-house OMEGA caliber inside the Aqua Terra   and along with that we first saw the teak  pattern dial that has become synonymous with   the Aqua Terra but we want to focus on 2017 in the  introduction of the OMEGA caliber 8900 and 8800   those were the two METAS certified calibers that  now reside in the Aqua Terra you may remember   the 8900 was the meta certified movement that was  first released in 2015 in the Globemaster and it   has now trickled down into the Aqua Terra in the  larger 41 millimeter case size the Aqua Terra is   an exceptionally great watch it can be had in  many different metals from stainless steel to   precious metal to mixed metals plenty of different  dial colors and this is also a really good time to   make a side point OMEGA does a lot of additions  things like special editions limited editions   numbered editions and those can run the gamut  from things like heritage models to specific   sporting events so if you end up seeing a colorway  that is different it could be because it falls   into one of those categories and there are plenty  throughout the Aqua Terra family that you will see   but we think some of the best Aqua Terra models  are the classic ones so if you're interested in   an Aqua Terra we have two recommendations the 38  millimeter Co-Axial master chronometer Aqua Terra   and stainless steel and we love the blue dial  or if you can swing the larger case size the 41   millimeter Co-Axial master chronometer Aqua Terra  and stainless steel with a really nice green dial   so the next sub family that we're going to look at  in the Seamaster lineup is the Seamaster 300m or   the Seamaster Professional now the Seamaster name  can trace its history back all the way to the 40s   but the Seamaster Professional as we know of  it today can trace its history back to 1993   and that is the Seamaster that we think of today  it's got the sculpted case the sculpted bezel   classic wave dial and the now classic five  link bracelet and outside of the Speedmaster   this Seamaster is probably second as the most  iconic of watches and that is thanks to James bond   since 1995 in the release of Goldeneye. James bond  has worn an OMEGA and to this day James bond is   still wearing an OMEGA and I think this resurgence  in the help of James bond has definitely cemented   the Seamaster Professional as a stalwart in the  OMEGA lineup so since 1993 we have seen many   iterations of the Seamaster Professional but we're  going to focus on 2018 and its 25th anniversary   and probably the largest update not only did  it increase to 42 millimeters in case size it   brought back that classic wave dial and of course  we still have the sculpted case the sculpted bezel   and that now classic five link bracelet but paired  with it was all of those modern OMEGA elements we   had a ceramic dial we had a ceramic bezel and we  had the caliber 8800 Co-Axial master chronometer   so all of the modern elements of OMEGA with that  classic 90s styling and so if you are interested   in a Seamaster Professional we recommend keeping  it classic stainless steel black dial black bezel   it is OMEGA's no-nonsense dive watch all right  so last up in our Seamaster family is the Planet   Ocean subfamily now the Planet Ocean was first  introduced in 2005 and has seen a great success   there are now currently 124 unique Planet  Ocean models and I think this is a point   where OMEGA went ahead and said we are going to  make a direct competitor to the Submariner and   this is a really interesting point too because  I like to think of the Submariner as a watch   that focuses on luxury and heritage whereas the  Planet Ocean focuses on luxury and innovation   and that's because a watch being introduced  in 2005 doesn't have to worry about heritage   it can consistently update and make the best  version of itself and you do see this through most   of the lines of OMEGA watches but I think you see  it most in the Planet Ocean because of how new of   a design it is since its introduction in 2005 the  Planet Ocean has gone through three generations   most recently in 2016 with the introduction of  the METAS certified caliber 8800 and it can be   had in multiple case sizes currently it is in  a 39 and a half millimeter and a 43 and a half   millimeter case size and on that a few of the  notable characteristics of the Planet Ocean are   its classic three-link style bracelet it's ceramic  Liquidmetal™ bezel it's trapezoidal indices and   probably most notable is the case thickness the  Planet Ocean line is thick and I mean thick we are   ranging from watches around 14 millimeters thick  to some of the Planet Oceans with complications   upwards of 19 millimeters thick and that is a  thick watch for comparison the Submariner comes   in right around 13 millimeters but I think this  again goes back to that pursuit of technology and   innovation the Seamaster Planet Ocean has a 600  meter water resistance which is double that of   a Submariner and the Planet Oceans have sapphire  case backs. OMEGA wants you to see that caliber   8800 or 8900 that they've put so much technology  into and so having a deeper water resistance and   having a sapphire case back is going to make for a  thicker watch so if you are after an OMEGA and you   want something that rivals the Submariner then  look no further than the Seamaster Planet Ocean   and again we think if you're going with this watch  keep it classic go with either the 39.5 millimeter   Seamaster Planet Ocean in the classic black dial  or the 43.5 millimeter Seamaster Planet Ocean   and you guessed it a black dial all right so the  last family we need to cover in the OMEGA buying   guide is the Speedmaster family and to me this  is unequivocally the defining watch for OMEGA   the OMEGA Speedmaster and before we jump into  this family of watches I do think it's time to   make a quick aside there are other OMEGAs this  is a hot take there are other OMEGAs that have   chronographs there are Seamasters there are  Planet Oceans there are Aqua Terras there are   even De Villes that have the chronograph function  but if you are going to getting a chronograph from   OMEGA then you need to get none other than a  Speedmaster full stop hot take that's what I'm   saying we are not looking at those watches so back  to the Speedmaster the Speedmaster from OMEGA has   remained design wise practically unchanged for  60 years and it's also worth noting that they are   currently in the entire Speedmaster family only  118 models so you can see that OMEGA while still   pushing innovation has decided to let it lie why  fix something that is not broken it is a classic   design it is a tried and true design and it is  practically perfect so we are going to jump in and   we are going to discuss the Speedmaster but we are  going to discuss it in a different way rather than   talking about the sub families which there are we  are going to talk about it in terms of movements   the reason we are choosing to do this is because  of that heritage that is in the Speedmaster the   movement is imperative it is extremely important  and that is how we're going to break it down so   we're going to break it down into effectively  three categories we're going to break it down   into the 1861, 3861, 321. See a trend there.  The 3300 or the OMEGA 3330 and lastly the 9000,   so the 9300 and the 9900. so let's get started so  our first sub family of movements that we're going   discuss about the Speedmaster is the caliber  321/1861/3861 there's going to be a ton of   numbers but this is really good information  so the caliber 321 is a Lemania architecture   chronograph movement it is effectively the OG  this is the movement that was in the Speedmaster   that first made it to the moon this is the  Speedmaster Professional movement the caliber 321   but it has seen many iterations most ubiquitous  would be the 1861 that has been effectively in the   Speedmaster for nearly 50 years and just recently  has been retired for the newest one the 3861.   these movements are pretty much what make up the  Speedmaster Professional the newest one the 3861   introduces things like a Co-Axial escapement a  silicon hairspring and yes you guessed it is now   METAS certified which is a really big deal and  I think shows a truly innovative step forward   for a watch that ultimately should be NASA flight  certified in that level of anti-magnetism and just   accuracy so the newest Speedmaster Professional  includes the 3861 METAS certified manual wound   still Lemania architecture movement but  basically all these numbers aside 3861, 1861,   321 what you need to know is that is often  the movement that is in the Speedmaster   Professional the moon watch and so more often than  not if you are seeing a Speedmaster Professional   then it is going to have one of those movements  so if you are interested in a Speedmaster and   you want that classic Speedmaster movement you  want the Lemania architecture manual wound then   we think that the best option is none other than  the Speedmaster Professional and we actually think   that the new Speedmaster Professional is the best  option and ultimately the reason is is because   OMEGA has not allowed heritage and history to  impede that innovation and what I mean by that   is the 1861 was starting to feel a little dated  in its performance and with the addition of like   I said things like a silicon hairspring a Co-Axial  statement and ultimately being meta-certified the   new Speedmaster Professional truly feels like  a watch that's meant to go to moon so the next   subfamily movement series that we're going to  look at is the 3300 series or specifically the   OMEGA caliber 3330 now this movement currently  resides mostly in the Speedmaster 38 series   which is a smaller Speedmaster and stylistically  deviates a little from the classic Speedmaster   these sub-dials are more of an ellipse or an  oval the case shape seems to be pretty similar to   a Speedmaster but I think all in all is  if I can put it bluntly somewhat of a miss   for the Speedmaster lineup but that movement is  what we want to focus on the OMEGA caliber 3330 is   a fully integrated column wheel chronograph with  a Co-Axial statement and that is not something to   bulk out and in past years that has been used  in the Speedmaster racing series this is a 40   millimeter automatic Speedmaster that retained a  lot of that classic Speedmaster style it had some   really interesting dial textures you could even  get them in a cool blue with a brush dial it is   an awesome watch that I think flies totally under  the radar so if you want an automatic Speedmaster   with an integrated column wheel chronograph  and not necessarily the heritage of that 1861   or caliber three to one then we recommend the  older OMEGA Speedmaster racing series all right   so rounding out this Speedmaster family we're  going to be looking at the OMEGA caliber 9000   movement subfamily and this can be broken down  into two calibers the 9300 and the 9900 and this   is kind of what we like to think of is the logical  conclusion on what the Speedmaster can be when the   technological envelope is pushed now one of the  most defining characteristics of these movements   is the fact that they only have two sub-dials  instead of three like a traditional chronograph   and what that means is that in the three o'clock  sub-dial there is both the minute counter and the   hour counter so like I said this is OMEGA pushing  that technological envelope in the Speedmaster   to what it can be and we're going to start  with the 9300 the OMEGA caliber 9300 is an   automatic column wheel chronograph with  a Co-Axial escapement it can be found   most notably in two distinct watches the OMEGA  Speedmaster ‘57 as in referencing the year 1957   and the OMEGA Speedmaster dark side of the moon  now even though they have the same movement   these are vastly different the Speedmaster ‘57  albeit has a lot of technology is drawing on   a lot of elements of heritage for its design it  is fairly thick because of that OMEGA caliber   9300 so that styling is very much this new vintage  styling with cues from the original Speedmasters   now on the other side you have the Speedmaster  dark side of the moon and this definitely   is more in that technological advancement you have  that 9300 caliber and it is in a 44 and a quarter   millimeter case so it is a larger timepiece for  sure and this definitely is the kind of case study   and exotic materials OMEGA has made entire watches  case crown pushers buckle everything out of   ceramic they have used chunks of meteorite in the  dial this is them pushing that envelope and those   are kind of the two sides of that caliber 9300  but we're going to go a step further and that is   the caliber 9900 and this is where we definitely  want to land the kind of logical conclusion of   the technologically advanced Speedmaster and that  is because the 9900 is you guessed it the METAS   certified caliber 9000 it is the automatic column  wheel chronograph with a Co-Axial statement it   has twin barrels for an extended power reserve it  has that updated escapement so that it can now be   meta certified and it is OMEGA putting everything  in to the Speedmaster and I think the best example   of this watch is the new OMEGA Speedmaster racing  Co-Axial master chronometer series and the reason   this is such a great example is this is like  I've said no expenses spared the Speedmaster   pushed to its technological evolution you have  that 44 and a quarter millimeter Speedmaster case   with the classic asymmetrical design but inside of  it is the OMEGA caliber 9900 that's that automatic   column wheel Co-Axial chronograph that has twin  barrels for an extended power reserve and is now   medic certified technology is being pushed but  it doesn't stop there this Speedmaster continues   to forego some of the classic elements this now  has a sapphire front and back it's more scratch   resistant it now has a ceramic tachymeter  bezel with Liquidmetal™ for the inlays also   extremely scratch resistant and far more durable  it's just pushing the envelope in every way really   cool nods to previous models are the checkered  minute track for the chronograph seconds hand   pops of orange color on the black dial variant or  the white dial variant it is through and through   a Speedmaster but it has just been pushed to its  technological evolution it is a Speedmaster that   you can use every day so if you are after the  pinnacle and technology for a Speedmaster and   heritage can kind of take a back seat then the  Speedmaster racing Co-Axial master chronometer   is absolutely the Speedmaster for you so as  we wrap up our OMEGA buying guide I figured I   would let you guys know what my personal favorite  OMEGA is and it is a Speedmaster it is the OMEGA   Speedmaster First OMEGA in Space and I love this  watch because I think it does a great job blending   the old and the new it has that 1861 caliber that  Lemania architecture and it has it in a slightly   smaller kind of vintage inspired case design but  it mixes in things like a sapphire crystal which   is much better for everyday wear because I'm  probably not going to the moon so that is my   favorite OMEGA guys I would love to hear in the  comments below what your favorite OMEGA watch is   what you think about our OMEGA buying guide let us  know any questions you have about specific models   let us know if you think we missed some  model and as always guys thanks for watching

Channel: Crown & Caliber

Views: 88,042

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Keywords: crown & caliber, crown and caliber, luxury watch, luxury watches, omega speedmaster, omega watches, watch collection, omega watch, The OMEGA Buying Guide | Crown & Caliber, Planet Ocean, Aqua Terra, Tresor, Hour Vision, Constellation, Co Axial, METAS, James Bond, Cal 321, Speedmaster Professional, Dark Side of the moon

Id: TKB7sxSD5ek

Length: 22min 25sec (1345 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 20 2021