Omega, one of the leading luxury watch manufacturers, offers watches with a sense of elegance that suits any occasion, from business to social gatherings. We will introduce the features and appeal of the "Co-Axial escapement," which is the heart of most of the models currently released, as well as the models that feature it.
What is Omega's unique mechanism, the Co-Axial escapement?
When talking about Omega, it is impossible to leave out the "Co-Axial escapement." The Co-Axial escapement is full of innovation and can be said to be a mechanism that symbolizes modern Omega. Let's delve into the depths of the Co-Axial escapement while exploring its features and mechanisms.
Characteristics of the Co-Axial Escapement
"CO-AXIAL" means "coaxial." Its greatest feature is that it thoroughly reduces the friction of the escapement. This has succeeded in extending the maintenance cycle.
The escapement is a mechanism that transmits the power of the mainspring from the escape wheel to the balance wheel via the anchor. To keep accurate time, the gears need to rotate at a constant speed. The escapement converts the power transmitted by the rotation of the gears from the barrel containing the mainspring through the barrel wheel to the wheel train into the reciprocating motion of the balance wheel, and controls the wheel train with the regular vibrations generated by the balance wheel, which acts as a regulator.
The two pallet stones in one pallet fork transmit the rotational energy from the escape wheel, a circular gear, to the pallet fork, converting the rotational motion into reciprocating motion. The pallet stones come into contact with the teeth of the escape wheel 5 to 10 times per second, generating intense friction.
While a standard mechanical watch requires an overhaul every four to five years, a Co-Axial escapement can last for eight to ten years without any maintenance.
How the Co-Axial Escapement Works
The 8-10 year interval between overhauls is significantly longer than that of a typical luxury watch, meaning it has the potential to continue functioning reliably for roughly twice as long as most other timepieces.
The secret is that friction in the escapement has been reduced to the utmost extent possible. By thoroughly minimizing the load inside the escapement, maintenance intervals have been extended.
A typical escape wheel is one, but a coaxial escapement uses two, which are stacked and arranged on the same axis.
By doubling the number of escape wheels, the number of pawls on the pallet fork also increased to three, resulting in a structure known as a double coaxial wheel, which dissipates energy and significantly reduces friction.
Higher standard of coaxial escapement
The coaxial escapement is synonymous with Omega, but there are also higher-level escapements. Here we will take a closer look at two of them.
Master Co-Axial with excellent magnetic resistance
The Seamaster, which debuted in 1957, was designed for underwater professional use and was highly acclaimed. The 2014 model of the Seamaster is equipped with the Master Co-Axial.
Its greatest feature is its impressive magnetic resistance of 15,000 gauss. Of course, even before that, manufacturers had been working to improve magnetic resistance by encasing the movement in a soft iron inner case, but the limit for most manufacturers was around 1000 gauss.
The Master Co-Axial has been put through MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) without any loss in accuracy, and has also passed the rigorous COSC (Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute) tests, proving its extreme reliability.
Shock-resistant Master Chronometer
After the Co-Axial escapement was invented, its high level of precision became widely known around the world. In 2015, the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS) established a testing system to objectively certify the quality of timepieces equipped with the Co-Axial escapement.
In this test, timepieces equipped with movements that have passed COSC testing were subject to the following eight strict inspection criteria:
- Functioning of the movement when exposed to a magnetic field of 15,000 gauss
- Function of the watch when exposed to a magnetic field of 15,000 gauss
- Average daily accuracy error when exposed to a magnetic field of 15,000 gauss
- Average daily rate of the watch
- Power reserve
- Accuracy error in six positions
- Accuracy error of a watch when the power reserve is at 33% and 100%
- Waterproof performance
Only watches that pass the rigorous testing of COSC and METAS can bear the title of Master Chronometer.
The certification process also involves a shock resistance test equivalent to 5000G, proving that the device can withstand unimaginable shocks.
