The 17 Greatest Omega Watch Models Ever, Ranked

The Constellation was released as a massive flex on the rest of the watch world. The watch gets its name from the emblem on the caseback depicting a constellation of eight stars above an observatory. The eight stars represent the precision records that Omega set at testing facilities like the Kew-Teddington and Geneva Observatory. Before the Seamaster 300 and the Speedy, this was the Omega to own—especially if you liked being on time for stuff.

After 70 continuous years in production, the line has evolved in many ways. The early era of the Constellation is defined by the recognizable “pie-pan” dial, which refers to its slightly domed shape that looks like it could cook up next year’s Thanksgiving dessert. In 1982, the brand debuted the Constellation Manhattan, which was like if the elegant Swiss watch underwent a hairy transformation during full moons. Suddenly, the Constellation had claws (known as griffes) at 3 and 9 o’clock that held the watch tightly together to make it both thin and water-resistant. Over the years, Omega has made versions of the Constellation as a boxy “Electroquartz” or bulked up with complications, like the Double Eagle chronograph or its version of a Day-Date watch.

And if all that technical hoopla isn’t attractive to you, maybe Cindy Crawford will do the trick. Omega signed the iconic supermodel as a partner in 1995 and immediately paired her with the Constellation watch. She even gave design notes on the watch to help steer Omega away from “a lot of stereotypically ‘guy stuff,’” she said, and become “a fashionable watchmaker.”

3b. Constellation Globemaster

While I mentioned several of the Constellation’s many iterations above, one deserves a special carve out. In 2015, Omega put out the Constellation Globemaster, the first-ever watch to hold “Master Chronometer” status. In addition to sounding very cool, that standing signified that the watch had passed the highest and most rigorous set of tests in Switzerland. Omega itself helped develop the standards with the Swiss Institute of Meteorology (METAS).

To become a Master Chronometer, a watch must first go through COSC, Switzerland’s primary agency for timing tests, before even attempting the METAS rigors, which include dropping it in a pressurized water tank and exposing it to extreme levels of magnetism. Today, Omega puts many of its watches through these paces, but other large brands, like Tudor, are adopting these standards, too.

“The important things to mention about Omega is the coaxial escapement, METAS, and Master Chronometers,” Davidoff said. The Constellation covers two of those three, while the De Ville knocks out the third.

2a. Seamaster Diver 300M