Early in 2025, signs started to emerge that, after many failed predictions and false starts, this was truly going to be the year of women’s watches — a plethora of new designs emerged with new movements and added complications … But then on June 18 came one of the biggest and most surprising launches of all, with the debut of Omega’s Seamaster Aqua Terra 30mm collection.

 

At first glance, there is nothing too out of the ordinary. The 12 watches are beautiful on the outside, but that is almost a given with Omega’s long history in designing timepieces for women, one that stretches back to pocket and pendant watches of the late 19th century and its first ladies’ wristwatch in 1902.

 

The brand also has other small mechanical models in its current lineup, including a 29mm Constellation. But launched under the tagline “My Little Secret”, where the new Aqua Terra 30mm breaks away from the pack is with the movement inside its delicate gold, steel or two-tone cases.

 

“When we designed this piece, we were looking beyond mere size,” says Omega President and CEO Raynald Aeschlimann. “We looked at who we wanted to talk to. And if you want to talk to women, you have to design for women, not just shrink down a man’s watch.” That, according to Aeschlimann is what Omega has always done. “We’re not a jeweler and we’re not a brand that only builds our products around men. We are universal — and when I say that, I truly believe it. Not just with our watches, but also with our ambassadors. We try to find a balance, with strong personalities from fashion, the acting world and sport. If you visit the Omega Museum in Biel, you’ll see that our ladies’ watches have evolved as women themselves have evolved and as society has moved on. And I’m not anchoring women to moments in the past here — what I’m saying is that Omega has never treated women’s watches as scaled down men’s models.”

 

Passionate to share the story of women’s watchmaking at Omega, and understanding that a trip to a Swiss museum may not be possible for everyone, Aeschlimann and his team put together Her Time, a touring exhibition that debuted in Paris in 2017 and has since visited cities around Europe, Asia and the U.S. Free to visit, not only does Her Time showcase milestone moments in feminine watches, it also presents discussions and forums with watch specialists, tastemakers and friends of the brand, and has successfully highlighted Omega’s contributions to watchmaking for women.

 

From the 1906 Lépine pendant watch to the 1937 Medicus “nurses’ watch” with central seconds, the archival pieces are a tale of women’s changing role in society. Among the highlights — including the 1946 Tubogas watch designed by Maison Brandt Frères; the 1964 Gilbert Albert Moldavita pendant watch that combines precious metals with a material formed by meteorite impact, and is powered by the smallest automatic movement of its time; and Andrew Grima’s Harvest pendant watch collaboration from the 1970s — sit myriad examples of Art Nouveau and Deco pieces, elaborate designs from the 1940s and 1950s, and secret watches from the 1960s.

 

 

As with the above, the Aqua Terra 30mm — like any new Omega watch — had to have a purpose, had to earn its place in the brand’s portfolio and had to bring something new to the table. “We’re not just making a ladies’ watch because we think we are missing 50 percent of the world as potential customers,” says Aeschlimann. “It’s the opposite. We are walking a path that we know well, but we are doing it the Omega way. That means we have developed a totally new movement — something I have wanted to make for many years.”

 

Introducing new calibers: 8750 and 8751

And this is where the Aqua Terra 30mm stands apart from any watch that has gone before it, by introducing two new movements: the self-winding Co-Axial Caliber 8750, which will be used for the stainless steel and two-tone models, and a special “luxury” finish Caliber 8751 featuring a rotor and balance bridge in Sedna Gold, which will be used for the full gold versions.

 

Measuring just 20mm in diameter, with a free sprung balance and silicon balance spring, the movement provides 48 hours of power reserve and has been Master Chronometer certified by METAS (Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology).

 

Caliber 8750 involved four years of development, enabling it to be just 3.98mm thick (4.08mm for Caliber 8751) — 1.3mm thinner than the Caliber 8700, which is currently used in watches such as the ladies’ Constellation. While both movements have the same diameter of 20mm, being able to shave a massive 24.6 percent from the movement height is a game changer in terms of the potential for slim and elegant women’s watches in the future.

 

 

Beyond the miniaturization — no small feat in itself — the biggest technical challenges involved finding optimum balance between design and practicality. “Not only did we have to guarantee our standards of quality and reliability,” says Aeschlimann, “but we also had to retain enough power and energy for Master Chronometer certification, while also refining the movement as much as possible to achieve the desired size.

 

“To master such a challenge, we had to reduce the available power without compromising the watch’s chronometric performance. Our aim was for the calibers to qualify for Master Chronometer certification without any problems, so our watchmakers had quite a job. When facing a task like this, you can’t simply rescale parts and reduce their size. The laws of physics are very rarely linear. Therefore, everything had to be recalculated and adapted to make it work. We had to completely reimagine it and every single gear has been rebuilt more incredible that we could create an entire family of watches for the initial release.”

 

Aeschlimann says that the experience gained from creating Caliber 8750 will benefit the Swatch Group as a whole — not necessarily in terms of miniaturization, but certainly in terms of technical brilliance. “The Caliber 8750 is neither the thinnest nor the smallest movement on the market,” he says with a shrug. “But it is certainly the smallest movement in the world to be awarded the dual Chronometer and Master Chronometer (METAS) certifications.”

 

Just a fraction bigger in diameter than a U.S. penny, Omega watchmakers had several hurdles to overcome to ensure Caliber 8750 was capable of passing the tests of COSC and METAS. The smaller the movement, the more susceptible it is to variations in rate caused by shock, changes in position and temperature, and manufacturing tolerances, where even tiny imperfections will have a more pronounced effect on timekeeping accuracy.

 

 

Energy storage and regulation are another consideration in smaller watches where reduced mainsprings and balance wheels could potentially affect the steadiness of energy delivery, a key factor in maintaining the daily rate and positional variation requirements of both COSC and METAS. Although the COSC tolerances are slightly more lenient for smaller movements, achieving the required precision is still a challenge with the mean daily rate requirement for a Category 2 caliber (20mm or less in diameter) being -5 /+8 seconds per day.

 

For METAS Master Chronometer certification, the Caliber 8750 is again rated as a Category 2 caliber requiring a mean daily rate of 0/+7 seconds per day in six different positions over a 10-day period. The watch must also withstand a magnetic field  of 15,000 gauss and meet both the water resistance and power reserve specifications of the manufacturer.

 

With all these considerations, it is unsurprising that Caliber 8750 took so long to develop. “I like speed, but I had to get it right before launching,” says Aeschlimann. “We are constantly creating and evolving our families of watches. We already have a small movement in the Ladymatic and the Constellation, and some people might have said ‘well, just use that,’ but we wanted to take the Seamaster Aqua Terra 30mm to a new level.

 

“The movement had to be small and slim and it had to be the best quality, hence it took four years to perfect. In the time it has been in development, we have made an anti-magnetic Moonwatch and created one or two very high-end complications as well as continuing to innovate the existing Speedmaster and Seamaster lines. But I think Omega had to grow in the Western world — particularly the U.S. — and for that next success, it was about creating a movement. We could have gone quicker, but we had to show dedication to the women’s market and that meant this new caliber.”

 

 

The Aqua Terra 30mm is launching with a dozen models in Moonshine Gold, Sedna Gold, steel and two-tone metal, with or without a diamond bezel and diamond hour markers, and with dial colors ranging from matte black and frosted silvery white, to sunray-finished champagne, anthracite and chocolate, jewel shades of emerald, sapphire and amethyst, and options in gold or mother of pearl. “It’s a whole collection, which is something unusual and special for a watch launch,” says Aeschlimann.

 

“We aren’t just coming with one or two dials, we are bringing an entire family from the start, which is helping us to create a whole world — and that’s something that our female clients have told us they want. ‘Diversity’ is such an important word in life generally and that’s what I wanted to deliver. I think this watch is probably one of the most attractive in the industry. We want it to appeal to every woman and the best way to do that is with the launch of a brand-new, top-flight caliber, and with a very coherent line-up.

 

“We have a core of women clients, just as with men. They all know about Omega, so we’re not entering a totally new world here. But what is important is that up until now, it was very much linked with the Ladymatic and the Constellation — two watches that are very recognizable but that have distinct aesthetics that may not be to the taste of everybody around the world. We wanted to make a new feminine icon and I think that the Aqua Terra 30mm will be that.”

 

Aqua Terra — whether for men or women — is for Omega a symbol of sporty elegance. Bordering on dressy, it is a daily wear watch — very robust, instantly recognizable. “For me, that’s exactly why we have so much success with Aqua Terra,” says Aeschlimann, “because it has its own personality within the Omega collection. And it’s those qualities that our female customers have been waiting for. I didn’t want to launch the 8750 in a Seamaster 300M. I didn’t want it to be in a Speedmaster. I didn’t want a jewelry watch. I wanted this style because it is beautiful, but at the same time can be worn on a daily basis.

 

“It’s a bit of a paradox because we are already selling about 40 percent of all our watches to women. Why? Because boy-size is popular today, but a watch worn by a woman doesn’t make it a women’s watch. I don’t want to categorize the size into ladies or men. What I do want to categorize is the appeal — why we’re creating it, and which kind of a look we’re working on. I call it a female look. This is a women’s watch and it’s beautiful and if men want to wear it, then that’s fabulous.”

 

“My Little Secret” campaign

Emphasizing that the Aqua Terra 30mm is a watch collection to suit every woman, as well as wanting to highlight the power and strength within, Omega has chosen to headline a new campaign with a diverse lineup of ambassadors, all new to the brand. The six women come from different disciplines and backgrounds but each one has found success by going their own way.

 

Headlined “My Little Secret”, the campaign features portraits of each of the women, showing them with their index finger pressed to their lips indicating that they know a secret. In other shots, they are seen whispering to each other and sharing that secret. As Aeschlimann explains, referring to the Calibers 8750 and 8751 within the cases: “The most beautiful part of the watch is the one you cannot immediately see.”

 

Fronting the campaign are global K-pop artist Danielle Marsh, Industry and Back to Black actor Marisa Abela, Academy Award-winning actor Ariana DeBose, model Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, Grammy-winning musician Tems, and model and businesswoman Ashley Graham. Each woman has chosen a different model of Aqua Terra 30mm to suit her personality and lifestyle.

 

Meeting the demand for Master Chronometer certification in women’s watches

The initial brief for the Aqua Terra 30mm was to create a thinner, smaller watch. A case design was already in mind from the outset, as was the aesthetic for the adjustable integrated bracelet, so the designers had to work closely with the movement engineers from the start.

 

 

“I suppose the process was product first,” says Aeschlimann. “And then we brought in some incredible technology to make the movement the size we wanted. In terms of adding value, this movement was exactly what was needed. I didn’t want to just have a mechanical movement for the sake of it. I wanted to see value added to the whole product, which means that although the size and the technological aspect were important, I did not want to make a watch around a movement — that is not the way to be creative. We had to evolve both caliber and case together.

 

“Details are becoming increasingly important, so we knew we needed to keep the Aqua Terra DNA but to refine things like the bracelet and case. We wanted to retain the almond-shaped hour markers that are very much an Aqua Terra signature, and there was a lot of discussion about how to balance the spirit of Omega in a watch that would appeal to a new generation of watch enthusiasts.”

 

Refreshingly, Omega and Aeschlimann chose to listen to the target market in terms of what they want in a watch, with feedback coming from existing customers and visitors to Omega boutiques who had failed to find what they wanted. “When you open a boutique, you’re like a chef and you should spend time in the dining room beside all the people that are coming for your food, so that you can hear their thoughts on what is on offer and what they’d like to see on the menu. Our store managers receive all of this feedback from their staff and they present it to us.

 

“Whether you enter an Omega store on Fifth Avenue, or in London, or Hong Kong, or here in Biel, you’re always going to be greeted the same way, and our staff talk to our customers. We opened the first-ever monobrand boutique in the world precisely because we wanted to be close to our customers. One thing I learned from Mr. Hayek Sr. was to concentrate on our own brand over what everyone else is doing. To go into our world, talk, propose, discuss instead of studying a big mood board of the market.”

 

The main feedback that came from female customers was about Master Chronometer certification. “But they wanted it in watches created for women,” says Aeschlimann. “So, for me, it was very clear that we had to offer a new line. That was the beginning of the whole discussion. It was about making it from scratch while still embracing the Aqua Terra spirit so that it is not simply a small men’s watch.

 

“Once we decided to create a women’s mechanical, sporty watch, we knew that we had to develop a new movement. It was very much me pushing for it, because we have shown the world that precision, accuracy and anti-magnetism are all possible with the Master Chronometer, which is now a standout in the industry. So, it was time to demonstrate exactly the same on a woman’s watch.”

 

 

At the heart of the Caliber 8750, the smallest Co-Axial movement that Omega has ever built, is the escapement that was developed by George Daniels in the early 1970s and that was eventually industrialized by Omega in the 2000s. Now used in the majority of Omega’s watches, the Co-Axial was the first major development in watch escapements since the Swiss lever escapement. It was intended to reduce or negate the need for lubrication by using a system of three pallets and two escape wheels on the same axis, thereby eliminating sliding friction.

 

Celebrated as one of the greatest watchmakers of the 20th century, Daniels, Aeschlimann believes, would have approved wholeheartedly of Caliber 8750. “I only had the privilege to meet with George once,” he says. “I felt that his biggest pride was that we could make the Co-Axial on an industrial scale. He was not an inventor that saw himself solely as an artist — that would mean guarding his secrets and being the only one who could make them. On the contrary, his quest was not about personal ego, it was about delivering the next level of quality and being able to say, ‘My invention is a revolution. I need everybody in the world to know about it.’ A breakthrough is only a breakthrough when a brand like us is able to demonstrate to the world that it is possible to replicate at scale.”

 

With those words, Omega’s latest breakthrough finds its own place in the burgeoning watch scene — the world’s smallest Master Chronometer movement, housed within a slim, sporty, elegant case, that delivers something brand new but still retains its links to a century of innovative watchmaking.

 

“Omega’s history in women’s watches is vast and that’s why we wanted to recreate that universe — the universe you see in our Her Time exhibitions,” concludes Aeschlimann.

 

“Our groundbreaking collections are all in our museum, they are locked in our DNA. Nobody can say, ‘Oh, hello, Omega is starting to make ladies’ timepieces now.’ No, we have always made women’s watches and we have always made the watches that women actually want. The Aqua Terra 30mm continues that direction.”

 

Tech Specs: Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 30 

Movement: Self-winding Co-Axial Master Chronometer METAS-Certified Caliber 8750 and Caliber 8751; 48-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours and minutes; central seconds; date
Case: 30mm; Moonshine/Sedna Gold/stainless steel/two-tone  (with or without diamonds)
Dial: Gray/silver/black/blue/purple (stainless steel); gold/mother-of-pearl/green/chocolate/silver (Sedna or Moonshine gold)
Strap: Coordinated metal bracelet
Price: From USD 6,600 to USD 40,100 (with applicable taxes)