While I most appreciate the new Seamaster Planet Ocean Titanium Liquidmetal that Omega unveiled at Baselworld 2011, Omega’s new Speedmaster Co-Axial Chronograph is also worth a look. If you are wondering what is so special about this particular Speedmaster, I’ll tell you: it is the first Speedy to have an in-house Omega Caliber with co-axial escapement, the new Omega Caliber 9300 (or Caliber 9301). Lest you forget this important development, Omega has included a “Co-Axial Chronometer” notation on the dial at 6 o’clock, which I think is a nice touch. The Omega Speedmaster Co-Axial Chronograph price is approx. $7,800. Deep pockets might prefer the platinum cased model, priced around $35,000, or the 18K red gold version somewhere in between these price points.
Omega Speedmaster Co-Axial Chronograph
44.25mm steel case, Omega Caliber 9300 / Omega Caliber 9301, 100m water resistance, on black leather strap or a stainless steel bracelet
Note the somewhat modified dial layout – just two subdials instead of the classic 3-6-9 o’clock layout. The right-side subdial has two hands in it (chronograph minutes and hours).
For a live look at the new Speedmaster Co-Axial you can turn to my watch friend RJ and his friendly blog FratelloWatches:
you can click through to Fratello for a couple more pics if interested.
For a little bit of background on the new Caliber 9300/9301, I want to turn to my fellow watch blogger and Omega expert Desmond who runs New Omega Watch Reviews (the man knows his Omega stuff!): “Despite rumours to the contrary, the new 9300 series has been built from the bottom plate up. It is a 14 lignes column wheel movement, measuring 31.581 mm in width, and while superficially similar in appearance to the calibre 8500 series it has not been piggy-backed off this 29mm diameter movement. It does, however, feature a double barrel power system providing a reserve of sixty hours and is equipped with a tri-level co-axial escapement. The movement has a column wheel transfer and a vertical clutch which Omega developed especially for this series.”
Omega Caliber 9301
vs. the Caliber 9300, the Cal. 9301 is enhanced with a red gold bridge + decorative red gold rotor (pictured). column wheel chronograph with silicon balance spring
Look for the new Omega Speedmaster Co-Axial Chronograph with Caliber 9300/9301 to become a mainstay in the Omega watch collection.
