The Omega Central Tourbillon watch is a technically brilliant watchmaking opus, which reflects upon Omega's long and distinguished history as a Swiss watchmaker of great importance. Standing apart from the many fine tourbillon watches which have been produced in the last two decades, the Central Tourbillon interprets Abraham-Louis Breguet's famous invention in an unprecedented manner. The result is a creation of both striking beauty and horological virtuosity.
Originally unveiled in 1994 to celebrate
Omega's 100th Anniversary, the Central Tourbillon watch was a masterpiece that was three years in the making. Beginning their work in 1991, Andre Beyner and Moritz Grimm sought to create a tourbillon which was unlike any other on the market, immediately recognizable as an Omega design, yet representing the best in haute de gamme watchmaking tradition. While their time was limited, Beyner and Grimm found inspiration from within Omega's rich treasure trove of historical watch designs, particularly the highly artistic flying tourbillon pocket watch series "Les Montres de Sables" from Dominique Loiseau which were created for Omega in the 1980's, and showed off unique centrally-mounted tourbillons. Thus, the decision was made to create a similarly unprecedented tourbillon design in wristwatch form. Since its introduction more than a decade ago, only a comparative handful of these rare tourbillon watches have been produced, with several technical modifications having been made along the way by Omega's master watchmakers to improve performance.
In accordance with its special nature, the Omega Central Tourbillon watch is offered exclusively in precious metal, namely 18K gold or platinum. The classically beautiful watch case, familiar from the De Ville watch collection, highlights the unique dial, with its remarkable centrally mounted flying tourbillon. Particularly fascinating is the time display, which is achieved by rotating sapphire discs which are painted with the hour and minute hands; this ingenious alternative to conventional hands remains one of the most striking technical elements of this watch, and was a creative necessity due to the groundbreaking arrangement of its escapement. These sapphire discs are attached directly to the case, which therefore serves as more than just as a housing, being in fact an essential element of the watch's function. Completing a single revolution each minute, the tourbillon is distinguished by its Breguet hairspring, solid gold balance wheel, and its distinctive seconds index, which is shaped in the form of the Omega symbol. Thanks to a massive platinum central rotor, the Omega Tourbillon watch winds efficiently upon the wrist, and builds up a power reserve of approximately 45 hours.
Omega presents this impressive example of the watchmaker's art in 18K red, white or yellow gold, as well as in platinum. Each version shows off an extremely elegant guilloche decorated silver dial that is intricate yet understated, a fine aesthetic accompaniment to the overwhelming fascination that this remarkable tourbillon execution provokes.