Released at last year’s Baselworld 2015, the Omega Globemaster (hands-on here) showed off the brand’s newest Co-Axial Master Chronometer movement while hearkening to the past with a design inspired by the Constellation watches of yesteryear. Now, new for Baselworld 2016 comes the Omega Globemaster Annual Calendar which has a new complication and a bigger size, measuring in at 41mm – up from the standard Globemaster that is 39mm. What’s even more noteworthy is that it’s going to be asking 7,800 CHF which is just around what the price of the least expensive Globemaster was last year. An aggressively priced METAS certified annual calendar watch by Omega is certainly a welcome surprise.

The hallmark pie pan dial and fluted bezel look as handsome and elegant as ever, and it is here where the single most important addition to the Omega Globemaster becomes immediately apparent: the annual calendar complication! Personally, I am really happy Omega made the decision to bypass the day of the week indicator and just stick to date at 6 o’clock and month printed in between the applied hour markers. It all just helps maintain a relatively harmonious and clutter-free dial.

Rather than busy up the dial beyond the “pie-pan” shape and fluted bezel, the months in script font and instantaneous jumping hand keep the identity of the Omega Globemaster very much intact. Of course, launching an annual calendar watch right after a leap day (here, we’ll just say that the leap day actually isn’t the 29th, but the 24th of February) is a good way to get attention to it… but the Omega Globemaster Annual Calendar really seems like the logical next step for this truly elegant and restrained line of dressier watches by Omega. If you are wondering what the differences are between a perpetual and an annual calendar, practically the only thing to bear in mind is that an annual calendar will require adjusting once every year, at the end of February (regardless of whether it is a leap year or not), while for all other months, it’s all set. Perpetual calendars require no adjustment at all – until the year 2100, which the mechanism will believe to be a leap year, though it is not.

Interestingly, it appears that the Omega Globemaster Annual Calendar will only come in steel for now – when it comes to more rare complications, we often see brands do the opposite and debut said pieces exclusively in precious metals. Steel should help keep prices relatively down – although we’d love to see this Omega Globemaster Annual Calendar in Omega’s 18k Sedna Gold. The blued hands, text, and signature star look downright beautiful in the photos, so the steel definitely works in making this watch have that timeless look that initially drew fans in. The dial is a new shade of grey for the line, or so they say, and the rich metallic look gets that final touch of refinement from the sun ray brushing.

The Omega Globemaster Annual Calendar features the new Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8922 movement, an addition to a constantly expanding line of in-house made movements that Omega puts through its METAS certified tests. Most of you are probably familiar with METAS by now, but if you’re not, you should read our detailed explanation of it here. In short, METAS refers to Omega’s in-house movement tests which check every so-called Master Co-Axial movement (as well as the individual watch) for reliable performance after exposure to a magnetic field of 15,000 Gauss, for average daily precision in a range of temperatures and positions to be between 0 and +5 seconds, as well as testing of water resistance and power reserve.

If you’re a fan of the Omega Globemaster, like myself, you’ll more than likely find it damn near impossible to not fall in love with this piece. It’ll be great to see how the watch looks and wears in its new 41mm-wide size – and we’ll be sure to bring you a hands-on look very soon. As mentioned, the price for the Omega Globemaster Annual Calendar is 7,800 CHF, which is going to drum up a ton of excitement and chatter about the pricing on this watch, the Globemaster line, and METAS certified Co-Axial Master Chronometer movement watches as a whole. omegawatches.com