Raising the Bar

Omega has embraced its Master Chronometer designation with almost 50 new models this year. Sean Li explains the methodology behind the groundbreaking certification.

- Sean Li

WHATEVER IT IS THAT attracts you to fine timepieces, you will want your watches to be as precise as possible. Watchmakers have often called on third parties, such as the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC), to provide independent and unbiased testing and certification. Another one you may be familiar with is the Geneva Seal; it’s somewhat different because it originally addressed production methodologies and specific finishing on mechanical movements alone, but it has been updated recently to address functional testing as well.

Other entities also exist to provide independent testing, but Omega found that none of them were capable of testing and certifying the extreme anti-magnetic technology it introduced in 2013 with the Seamaster Aqua Terra >15,000 gauss. These regulatory bodies are not set up to test to what extent a movement can resist the influence of magnetic fields. Given that the new Omega technology presented a quantum leap over existing approaches to magnetic resistance, this presented the watchmaker with a dilemma. While Omega was already submitting its movements for COSC certification, it realised there was an opportunity to provide clients with a new certification that would address not only magnetic resistance, but also other functional aspects of the entire watch.