Omega has unexpectedly released a new series of 20 Constellation models with meteorite dials. While it wasn’t anything I expected them to do, it’s a very good move from a brand that keeps trying to garner increased market share and compete with Rolex. Especially in a market where meteorite is so desirable right now due to the hype of the meteorite dial Rolex Daytona models, this would seem to be a smart decision for Omega to release them in more easily available watches and in metal options that allow for increased access from a price standpoint. Omega has recently produced a few other meteorite dial watches, my favorite of which being the meteorite Speedmaster Grey Side of the Moon in grey ceramic, but this new release helps to get the material in more daily wear watches and watches in multiple sizes that work for both men and women.
The meteorite dials for these watches are cut from one of the oldest known meteorites on Earth, the Muonionalusta meteorite in northern Scandinavia, which was first discovered in 1906. As this is a natural stone dial with graining unique to each slice, no two dials will ever look the exact same. Omega has decided to use a number of color treatment technologies, such as PVD and galvanic treatments, to allow for five different meteorite dial color options for each size instead of only the more often seen silver to grey meteorite color. As this watch comes in four different sizes, that gives us a total of 20 different options in this collection.
Getting into the full breakdown of the watches, the new meteorite dial Constellations come in 41, 29, 28, and 25mm case sizes. Within the 41’s, we have three steel models, a Sedna™ (rose) Gold one, and a Moonshine™ (yellow) Gold one, all seemingly only available on a bracelet. The meteorite options for these watches are rhodium-grey, blue, green, a Sedna™ Gold colored one, and a Moonshine™ Gold colored one, respectively. The 41mm models are fitted with Omega’s Cal. 8900, an automatic movement that beats at 3.5 Hz and has a power reserve of 60 hours.
For the 29, 28, and 25 models, each size has a steel, steel and Sedna™ Gold, steel and Moonshine™ Gold, Sedna™ Gold, and Moonshine™ Gold option, again all on bracelet. All of these models are fitted with diamond bezels and indices, and only the 29mm option features a date at 6 o’clock. The 29mm version is fitted with Omega’s Cal. 8700, an automatic movement that beats at 3.5 Hz and has a power reserve of 50 hours, while both the 28 and 25mm versions use Omega’s Cal. 4061, a quartz movement.
Overall, I think this is a great release. I always like a meteorite dial and seeing it used in more attainable steel watches is always nice. Having said that, I do wish that all of these models (the entire Constellation collection honestly) were about 10% or so less than they’re currently priced at. I’m also not a huge fan of the Constellation bracelet, but it’s not a dealbreaker either. I had always wondered when meteorite dials would come to this collection when they started producing their silk-embossed dials a few years back that looked similar to meteorite. The meteorite dial definitely fits the theme of the “Constellation” collection name. The only two things I’m hoping for are that Omega will also make this model available on a strap, like they did with the silk-embossed dial Constellations, and they’ll release two-tone models on straps for the 41mm model. The contrast of a nice alligator strap would really help to break up the somewhat monotone look of some of the 41mm models, and a strap plus two metal colors would put this watch over the top. Outside of this collection, it would be nice to see meteorite dials used for Seamaster models, either on a 300M or an Aqua Terra. A meteorite Seamaster would really help to propel the Seamaster line… although so would getting rid of the 300M’s ugly helium escape valve.
The Omega Constellation Meteorite models are priced from 9,300 to 42,400 USD for the 41mm models and range from 8,400 to 33,700 USD for the 25-29mm models.