Omega Teases That It’s About to Shake Up Another Iconic Watch

There is a game that watch brands play about which the general public is largely unaware.

For big pop culture events like the Oscars and the Met Gala, luxury watch brands lend out their watches to attendees in the hopes of generating buzz. Sometimes, brands are particularly strategic on which watches are worn by which celebs, with brand ambassadors tending to get the most calculated loaners.

Omega has proven itself to be particularly adept at this game. The brand teased future Speedmaster and Seamaster models on the wrist of 007 himself, Daniel Craig, at several high-profile public showings in the past few years.

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At last year’s Met Gala, “friend of the brand” and actor Colman Domingo slyly debuted the “Speedy Reverse” in Moonshine Gold many months ahead of its release. And as recently as the Oscars in March, the brand outfitted actor and nominee Delroy Lindo with its then-unreleased Constellation Observatory.

As Omega’s newest and hottest watch, the Observatory made a handful of appearances at last night’s Met Gala, with actors Connor Storrie, Dónal Finn and Tom Francis all wearing different references of the watch.

But it was a different Constellation at the event that got my attention, mainly for what it may be hinting at regarding the watch’s future.

The Manhattan Project

The Omega Constellation’s history is long and uneven. The watch debuted as the brand’s new flagship in 1952, created as a flex to celebrate Omega’s dominance over the prior two decades of Swiss chronometry trials.

Throughout the 1950s and ’60s, the “Connie” remained a classy, high-end dress watch, often characterized by such now-classic design hallmarks as a pie-pan dial and angled dog-leg lugs. Both features were resurrected in the new Observatory this year, which is very much designed to emulate those original Constellations.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

In the late ’60s and lasting through the 1970s, the Constellation got a new “C-Shaped” case design and often sported a fluted bezel. It became larger, sportier and more of a Rolex Datejust competitor. There were also a million weird electronic and quartz Connies during this period, but the biggest, most-lasting change occurred in 1982.

That’s when Omega debuted the Constellation “Manhattan.” Intended to modernize the line, it featured an integrated bracelet, Roman numerals and distinctive “claws” at 3:00 and 9:00 that held the case together while keeping thickness down.

Omega

The Manhattan has more or less stayed in Omega’s lineup ever since as the de facto Constellation model, with the most recent overhaul coming in 2020. But it looks to me like the Manhattan is about to get another makeover, one that will likely make it more competitive against its natural rival, the Land-Dweller, which Rolex launched last year, partly inspired by its own OysterQuartz that debuted in the ’70s.

Where did I get this idea?

Well, Omega had three of its biggest ambassadors in attendance at the Met Gala last night: Actress Nicole Kidman, who’s been with the brand for over 20 years; actor Colman Domingo, who’s recently emerged as one of Omega’s favorite faces; and pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, currently the brand’s most dominant Olympic athlete.

Omega

Curiously, all three of them wore vintage Constellation Manhattans from 1982. Kidman wore a 23mm “Jewelry” edition, Reference DD 895.0004, and both Domingo and Duplantis sported men’s 33mm “Grand” versions, Ref. DB 368.1201 for the former and DD 398.0866 for the latter.

Now, could all three of these faces of Omega have chosen the same model from the same year, all on their own? Sure, it’s possible. Did they? Probably not.

Tinfoil hat time

My theory is that Omega strategically had its three ambassadors wear original Constellation Manhattans to the Met Gala to generate buzz ahead of a new Constellation Manhattan later this year. The Manhattan has felt dated forever, even after its 2020 refresh, and if there’s one watch from Omega in need of an overhaul, it’s this one.

Omega sent out a press release describing its Met Gala watches this year, and there are some similarities the brand used to describe all three vintage Manhattans. The presser mentions the “half-moon facets” at the north and south ends of the case, along with the four claws for all three models. This tells me that if we’re getting a new Manhattan, these features will likely stay.

Omega

Other things to note that aren’t directly called out by Omega: All three models have their Roman numerals on the dial as indices, rather than on the bezel. The Roman numeral bezel has been a fixture of the Manhattan since the early ’90s, and I’ve personally never liked it, so maybe this is a sign that the hideous trend is finally on its way out. (My general belief is the fewer Roman numerals used on a watch, the better.)

The bracelet links of these vintage pieces are also all flatter and thinner than they are now, and the claws are more curved. The bezels are also flat as opposed to the convex bezels found on today’s Constellation. Kidman’s and Duplantis’s watches are both quartz-powered, while Domingo’s is an automatic.

The quartz, I think, is more a sign of the times in the early ’80s than any indication of a future direction for Omega. Ditto the 33mm size for the two men’s pieces. But they’re still worth noting.

Omega

If Omega is whetting our appetite for a new Manhattan, what will it look like? Well, I think the brand can take some notes from these vintage watches if that’s what it’s planning.

Give us smaller, flatter links for the integrated bracelet. A flatter bezel and a thinner case while keeping the trademark claws. Kick the Roman numerals off the bezel (and preferably off the dial, too). And make the watch more angular and elegant than it is today.

If Omega pulls that off, then it will transform the Constellation Manhattan into the Land-Dweller fighter I feel it’s destined to be.

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