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Sport a Shah Rukh Khan watch!
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MANIKA
GUPTA
Last
week, Swiss watchmaker Omega launched its classy wristwatch
line, De Ville, in India. While Cindy Crawford, Pierce Brosnan,
Michael Schumacher and Anna Kournikova are its international
brand ambassadors, in India its brand ambassador is Shah Rukh
Khan and official spokesperson is Sonali Bendre.
The De Ville collection is a combination of the traditional
and the futuristic. While designwise it is traditional, its
technology called `co-axial escapement' is very modern.
The difference
is essentially in the escapement. As Mr Claude Monachon, product
development director of Omega says: "Usually, a mechanical
watch has lever escapement, the new collection incorporates
pioneering technology called co-axial escapement."
While
the idea of the coaxial escapement was conceived in 1993,
it took some years for the collection itself to be launched.
"Long-term accuracy of the watch has been given maximum
thrust in the new escapement watches," says Mr Monachon.
He said
this is the result of intensive development work in collaboration
with renowned British horologist George Daniels. The escapement
or the heart of the watches consists of an intermediary wheel,
a double co-axial wheel.
In any
modern watch escapement energy must be transmitted to the
oscillator in both clockwise and anti-clockwise vibrations.
In co-axial escapement, the clockwise escapement is done in
a way that there is less friction and that goes to improve
long-term accuracy of the watch.
While
launching the brand in India, Mr Khan said: "I wear it
all the time as a habit and this new co-axial escapement collection
is the most significant invention in the history of watch-making.
The best thing about it is that this collection will last
a lifetime." Mr Khan has been a brand ambassador for
Omega for three years in a row. Adds Mr Monachon: ``"He
endorses Omega's young and dynamic men's collection."
The watch,
available in 18-carat yellow gold or stainless steel, resembles
classic designs of successful, old Omega models, like the
Central Tourbilion, which was launched in 1994. The purity
of lines of the fully-polished case is accentuated by the
horns, which were inspired by the prestigious models of the
1950s. One particularly striking element reminiscent of the
1950s is the unique metal bracelet.
The yellow
gold models are elegantly set off by silvered or dark blue
dials, with the steel models in contrast available with black
dials. The dials are raised 0.35mm and feature an applied
Omega logo.
The different
versions of the new De Ville collection with co-axial escapement
are: the standard chronometer model, Omega Calibre 2627, with
a power reserve indicator at 6 O'clock and small seconds counter
at 9'clock, and Omega Calibre 2628, with a central 24-hour
scale for reading a second time zone.
Each watch
has power reserve of 44 hours and is water-resistant to 100
mt. In India, the watches are priced between Rs 1.25 lakh
and Rs 5.50 lakh and are available from leading retailers
across the country.
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