Ornatus-Mundi reports on the reopening of OMEGA's refurbished and enlarged museum section within its Vienna boutique, a unique feature among OMEGA's global retail presence. The article details the event, attended by key OMEGA figures, and showcases a selection of historical timepieces, including rare Speedmasters and Seamasters, offering a deep dive into the brand's heritage.
It might not be well-known, but the
OMEGA Boutique in Vienna hosts a surprise no other OMEGA Boutique worldwide can offer: A permanent museum section where selected historical exhibits from OMEGA’s factory museum in Biel are on display in a
dedicated museum corner:
Located directly at the intersection of Vienna's two prestigious avenues, the Kärntnerstrasse as well as Am Graben, OMEGA's own boutique enjoys a prime location with an unaobstructed view on Vienna's famous St. Stephen's Cathedral.
Three weeks ago,
OMEGA’s Brand manager Austria, Ms Maria Fojtl (center), together with
Thomas Schmolek, CEO of the OMEGA Boutique Vienna (right), invited guests on the occasion of the reopening of a refurbished and enlarged museum section of the boutique. Guest of honour was
Petros Protopapas, International Brand Heritage Manager and Director of the OMEGA Museum in Biel (left), who gladly assisted in the ribbon cutting ceremony:
Of course, dedicated tools were used:
The spacious and light museum invites customers and friends of the brand to delve deeper into the history of the brands, with important historical watches and instruments as well as books to peruse.
Watches are displayed in a thematic contexts:
Highlights currently exhibited in the museum section include:
A
Seamaster XVI from 1956, commemorating the
award of the Olympic Order honouring OMEGA’s contributions to time measurement at the Olympic Games:
Look at this fantastic dial:
A
Ladymatic from the early 1960s:
A fantastic
Speedmaster 2. Generation (CK 2998) from 1959:
A
Speedmaster Professional (ST105.012/ST145.012; 1966), later nick-named
„Moonwatch“ (left), and a
Speedmaster 3. Generation (ST 105.003) from 1963/64, subjected to the NASA test procedures (right):
A
Speedmaster Professional Mark II from 1969, in its fantastic
orange version:
The
prototype of the
Speedmaster X-33, tested during the early
SpaceShuttle programme. This watch is the only watch currently in OMEGA's possession that was actually flight-tested (all other exhibits, also the Speedmasters worn by astronauts in outer space, are loans):
Prototype engravings:
The
dial has an interesting history: The space authorities of both NASA and the Russia required that watches officially issued as outer space equipment must feature an analogue dial. Reason was that
LCDs won't work once astronauts leave the capsules due to the lack of air pressure.
A prototype of the
Seamaster 600 'Ploprof' (
PLOngeur PROFessional or "professional diver" in English), used by
COMEX, a French underwater research and exploration company, extensively during test dives in the late 1960s and in
September 1970. The watch accompanied the three divers of the
Janus II underwater exploration at a depth of
253 meters in the Ajaccio Gulf in France.
A funny anecdotical fact is that the Seamaster 600 underwent a series of hypostatic tests that revealed that
the watch functioned up to a simulated depth of 1370 meters at which
point the 4mm thick crystal was compressed pressed inward that much that touched the seconds hand, stopping the
watch...
A
chronometer competition movement, most likely a
Cal. 30GD , in its competition case:
Note the side opening allowing setting and winding without a crown:
Finally, an adorable
Cal. 30T2SCrg chronometer, likely from the 1940s:
To familiarise attendants with the superbly rich watchmaking history of the brand, OMEGA historical wizard par excellence,
Petros Protopapas, was introduced by
Thomas Smolek:
Mr Protopapas gave a vivid synopsis of the brand's rich and impressive chronometric history, starting with the foundation of the brand, its chronometric records and finally up to the co-axial escapement. He paid specific reference to the ladies’ timepieces (and this to the Ladymatic), which spurred the development of the wristwatch, and - inevitably - to the outer space history of the Speedmaster. OMEGA curated a special thematic exhibit on ladies' timepieces last year, btw.
Piked with anecdotical evidence and substantiated with copies of
historical documentation, Petros Protopapas shared with excitement most
recent revelations concerning the history of the OMEGA Speedmaster and
the NASA.
If there ever was a more entertaining, knowledgeable and energetic OMEGA evangelist - I would sure like to know!
Following his presentation, Mr Protopapas was immediately summoned by
enthusiasts and collectors to discuss the new discoveries, and Mr
Protopapas was more than eager to go really in-depth, presenting copies
of NASA requisition requests, military evaluation data and much more.
Several collectors brought their vintage Speedmasters along, and went home with completely new insights on the historical importance of their pieces. I have at times spotted some of them tenderly caressing the crystals of their watches…
If you want to learn more on the discoveries, I urge you to stay patient until our
own KIH will publish his report on a
sister event held in Tokyo - it will provide you with lots of detailed fascinating information on most recent historical discoveries!
A small number of experienced collectors of vintage OMEGA watches seized to opportunity to share with Petros Protopapas their newest acquisitions.
Here for example a ca.
1940s red gold complete calendar wristwatch with moon phase display - a marvellous piece, excellently preserved; and, as Mr Protopapas emphasised, with an unmolested, (thus rare!) caseback:
Again, an excellent and adorable dial:
I would like to thank OMEGA for extending an invitation, for answering my questions and for supplying a few images (watermarked) to fill the voids I left because the watch distracted me too much... And also, a special thanks goes to Petros Protopapas for his intoxicating enthusiasm and energy, and for that special offer (you know well...) ;-)
Cheers,
Magnus
This message has been edited by Ornatus-Mundi on 2016-05-12 08:46:27 
