Set sail with confidence and style to points unknown with this classic Omega Seamaster stainless steel men's automatic chronometer watch, a highly accurate timepiece that also includes a powerful chronograph, which offers 12-hour, 30 minute and 1/10 second subdials. It's also a great diving watch, with water resistance to 300 meters (984 feet). Definitively masculine in design, it features a large, round silver brushed stainless steel watch case that measures 41mm (1.61 inches) wide. It's topped by a durable aluminum unidirectional bezel in black, which is engraved with a silver graduated scale usable for the calculation of diving time. It frames a black dial background with luminous silver Dauphine hands and thick baton dial markers. Other features include a 42-hour power reserve, screw-in caseback, screw-locked crown, and scratch-resistant and glare-proofed domed sapphire crystal. It's completed by a silver stainless steel link bracelet band that offers polished highlights, which is joined by a secure deployment buckle. This adjustable band measures 7 inches in length.
Originally created in the 1750s, the first chronometers were clocks that were accurate enough to calculate the longitude of a ship's position. Today, the chronometer label is bestowed upon timepieces that have undergone precision tests and received a certificate from the official COSC (Control Officile Suisse de Chronometers) regulatory organization that rigorously tests and certifies (or fails) watch movements for chronometer status.
The Omega Story
The Omega watch story begins in 1848, when founder Louis Brandt began hand assembling key-wound precision pocket watches from parts supplied by local craftsmen in his principality La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the northwest corner of Switzerland. However, the Omega name didn't appear until 1894, after Louis Brandt had passed away and his watchmaking traditions were taken over by his sons, Louis-Paul and Cesar Brandt. Omega watches have long been associated with glamorous screen and sports stars--the Omega Seamaster is famous for being the watch of choice for James Bond--with current ambassadors including Pierce Brosnan, Nicole Kidman, tennis player Anna Kournikova, and swimmers Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe.
But Omega is more than just a fashionable watch. In 1965, the Omega Speedmaster chronograph was "flight-qualified by NASA for all manned space missions" as the only wristwatch to have withstood all of the U.S. space agency's severe tests, including passing grades for extreme shocks, vibrations, and temperatures ranging from -18 to +93 degrees Celsius. The greatest moment in the Speedmaster's history was undoubtedly 20 July 1969 at 02:56 GMT, when it recorded man's first steps on the Moon's surface as part of the Apollo 11 mission. Today, Omega is known for its rigorous testing of new movements, cases, and bands. Each new Omega movement is tested on the wrist in existing Omega models, while various laboratory tests are conducted to determine temperature-resistance, shock-resistance and vibration-resistance.
