Omega Co-Axial Escapement Celebrates 10th Anniversary

For Swiss watchmaker Omega, no stranger to distinguished accomplishments over its 160-year history, the year 2009 is special milestone--the ten year anniversary of the introduction of the Omega Co-Axial Escapement.  This ingenious innovation, the brain-child of legendary watchmaker George Daniels, represents the first successful rival to the traditional Swiss lever escapement to come along in more than two centuries.  

The great appeal of the Daniels-designed Omega Co-Axial escapement is in the reduction of energy robbing friction compared to the Swiss lever design.  Since the escapement is responsible for precisely maintaining the rapid oscillations of the balance, a reduction in operating friction produces a worthwhile gain in precision.  An added bonus to the owner of a watch with a Co-Axial escapement is extended intervals between servicings.

Following the debut of Caliber 2500 in 1999, Omega sought to bring the advantages of the Co-Axial escapement to the breadth of its timepiece collections.  2005 marked introduction of the 3313 Co-Axial chronograph movements, but 2007 brought the most awaited surprise: an in-house produced Omega caliber constructed with the Co-Axial technology at its core.  Designated as the Omega 8500 caliber, this movement showcased a distinctive decorative finish to highlight its innovative technical features.  

In 2008, Omega brought out the first Co-Axial movements for ladies timepieces, presenting them in the Seamaster Aqua Terra watch collection.  It also unveiled the 8601/8611 caliber, the first Omega Co-Axial movement with an annual calendar complication.  At present, Omega is working with unabated enthusiasm to fulfill its original goal of bringing Co-Axial performance to every mechanical watch in its catalog.