By Rebecca Doulton
Earlier this year, Omega watches welcomed Eddie Redmayne into its elite club of Hollywood ambassadors, joining forces with megastars George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. Wearing Omega’s new Globemaster, Redmayne’s watch features a medallion with an observatory on the caseback - a detail his character in The Theory of Everything would have appreciated. And who could forget Redmayne’s multi-award-winning role as Stephen Hawking? Even the Queen was impressed, so much so the talented British actor was appointed as Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) during the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
The handsome 39mm Omega watch has a distinguished presence and features a fluted bezel plus the iconic pie-pan dial - which looks like an upside-down baking pan - first introduced on the Constellation models of 1952. Redmayne is usually photographed wearing the stainless steel model with a sun-brushed blue dial, although there are variations in gold and combinations of gold and stainless steel.
Like any good actor, the repository of talent lies under the surface and the Globemaster is actually Omega's most advanced mechanical movement. It is also the world’s first Master Chronometer, blessed with a new certification process developed by Omega watches and approved by the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS). Pushing the envelope beyond the traditional parameters set by COSC chronometry tests, the new eight-test process measures the precision and performance of watches and their movements, both during and after exposure to magnetic fields of 15,000 gauss. If they pass, they are awarded with Master Chronometer status - a new standard in the industry to which any brand can submit its watches but to which not many brands will be able to aspire.
Equipped with Omega’s 8900 automatic movement with Co-Axial escapement (another formidable Omega breakthrough of 1999 - the first significant watch escapement to be invented in the last 250 years) plus a sizeable 60-hour power reserve, the Globemaster has both COSC chronometry status and the new METAS Master Chronometer seal thanks to its resilience to magnetic fields.
It is unlikely that Eddie Redmayne will be wearing his Globemaster during his next film, The Danish Girl, but keep your eyes peeled for his Omega watch at next year’s awards ceremonies.
