Looking into a shop window, Cruise told Spielberg, "There! That’s the watch I’m going to wear!"
He was pointing to a vintage Omega from 1947.
"It wasn’t product placement," says Jean-Claude Monachon, Omega’s vice president and head of product development.
Cruise’s choice was purely instinctive. The Omega looked like a watch a practical dad like Ferrier would wear – something solid, classic, masculine and reliable – so reliable that the only thing that would stop it is an alien invasion.
Except with Omega’s level of technology today, perhaps not even aliens can halt its smooth-as-silk watch movement.
The 150-year-old company has just launched one of its most important (and in my opinion, most desirable) watches this year, the Seamaster Planet Ocean, a 21st-century version of one of the legends in Omega’s venerable past.
"It’s based on an Omega watch from 1957 called the Seamaster 300," says Monachon. "1957 was a fabulous year for Omega. We had the Speedmaster (with its broad-arrow hand), the Railmaster, and the Seamaster 300. Today, these three watches are back in our main collection."
Planet Ocean completes the trilogy, after the new Speedmaster Broad Arrow was launched in 2001 and the new Railmaster came out in 2003. Originally crafted as a diver’s watch, Planet Ocean is worn by six-time Olympic gold medalist, swimmer Michael Phelps, as well as his main rival, Australian gold-medal winner Ian Thorpe, making Planet Ocean the premier choice of water sportsmen – or watch fans who simply love its sporty yet haute, high-tech look.
Planet Ocean comes in two different case sizes (45.5 mm. and 42 mm. in diameter) and either black or orange bezels that you can turn and use as a timer. While the larger size is sportier, the smaller dial with finer grooves would definitely flatter a female wrist.
"What’s great today is that ladies are more into business," observes Monachon. "Ladies are wearing gents’ watches – a trend that started in 2000 in Italy. The 42 mm., which was maybe a big watch for men 10 years ago – we have many ladies that wear it in Europe and even the bigger model as well."
Why did Omega choose orange – admittedly not the most neutral of colors – as its star shade? "The inspiration was the little clownfish Nemo," says Oliver Hugentobler, Omega’s area sales manager.
"To be truthful, orange is a trendy color for 2005 to 2006," adds Monachon. "It’s also a color that you see well under the water."
For divers, Planet Ocean has a watertight screw-in crown and helium escape valve marked "He" (the periodic-table symbol for helium, natch), which allows any gas that has penetrated the watch to escape during decompression. Otherwise, the watch would be irretrievably damaged. It’s also water-resistant down to an incredible 600 meters (2,000 feet). While few divers ever go down that deep, it’s nice to have the option of going to bathypelagic depths just in case.
Planet Ocean’s matte black lacquered dial has luminous hour markers and a date window. Both hands have SuperLuminova inserts, while the second hand has an orange tip for maximum visibility underwater.
At the heart of the whole Seamaster collection is Omega’s exclusive co-axial escapement movement, invented by noted English watchmaker Dr. George Daniels, which you can see in the way the second hand glides instead of ticks.
"For 260 years in the watch industry, we had the Swiss escapement and that was okay," says Monachon. "But you have friction between the elements, and when you have friction you need oil, and this oil collects dust. After three to four years, the accuracy fails – the watch is late or stops and you need to service it. So with this invention, there is much less friction in the heart. It’s a sliding friction, very smooth, so you need less lubrication. The watch’s accuracy remains much longer."
Even the back of the watch is fashionable – a stainless-steel medallion embossed with a large seahorse, the symbol of the Seamaster line.
Three kinds of straps are available: a brushed stainless-steel bracelet with a foldover safety clasp, a black rubber strap for sportier types, and alligator-leather straps in orange or dark brown for the fashionistas among us.
But as fashionable as it has become, for over a century Omega has been known as "the watch the world has learned to trust." My grandmother owned various Omegas and bought some for my mother, who in turn has bought me a couple of Seamasters I’ve relied on for years. I can already see myself investing in an Omega for my daughter, even if at present the Planet Ocean’s dial is as big as her two-year-old fist.
"The Asian market is quite important for us at Omega," says Hugentobler, who notes that Asia comprises 45 percent of the company’s worldwide business. "Here in the Philippines, we’re really confident about the direction we want to go, and so far we are happy with this year."
Omega founder Louis Brandt opened his first "pocket watch" assembly workshop at La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848. Within 50 years his famous 19-line caliber won at the 1900 Paris World’s Fair, and it’s been one milestone after another since then. The Speedmaster Professional was the first and only watch worn on the moon and its accurate timing helped save astronauts’ lives on the crippled Apollo 13. First to invent electronic timing and the photo finish, Omega has also been the official timekeeper at 21 Olympic Games and will continue to do so.
Now a part of the Swatch Group, which is number one in the world, Omega occupies the position of number-two watch brand in the world.
"One day, I truly think we can be number one again," Monachon declares. Omega has become the watch of choice for not only Phelps and Thorpe but also Nicole Kidman (who recently signed on as ambassador for the Quadrella watch in certain parts of Asia), tennis star Martina Hingis, golfers Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia, 007 himself – James Bond – and supermodel Cindy Crawford, the brand’s ambassador for 10 years, who actually helps in product development.
"To be an ambassador you have to have soul, spirit, character and personality, and Cindy is a really great person," Monachon says. "In November 1999 in Paris where we launched the Constellation Quadra, I had a chat with Cindy and she said, ‘Listen, JC, what product are you going to do for 2000? You don’t have anything with 2000 on it.’ I said, To put 2000 on the dial or bracelet – in 2001 and 2002 it will look a bit stupid to have that on your wrist. And she looks at me and says, ‘Why don’t you put 2,000 diamonds on the watch?’ And we did it. After I went back to work and studied the case with colleagues, we did a Quadra with 2,000 diamonds in the watch."
Even after all the successful lines he’s helped develop, and all the ideas he’s gleaned from creative types like Crawford and Omega’s own archival museum, Monachon tends to wonder about the significance of what he’s trying to achieve.
"Do you really need time today on your watch?" he asks. "You have time today everywhere – on your mobile, microwave, TV, in your car – everywhere you have time."
My answer to that would be yes, we need time today – now more than ever. Time – and therefore, Omega – is precious.