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Lot Essay
The Megaquartz model was developed following a request from the French Navy in 1978 looking to purchase a quartz ship chronometer as a reliable time source independent of satellites and radio signals. The aim was a timepiece with a precision better than a 1 second deviation a month. A total of 36 watch and clock manufacturers applied but Omega was chosen after a year of testing the Megaquartz under difficult circumstances at sea.
This high precision instrument (less than one second of deviation per month) successfully passed the most rigorous scientific tests at the Neuchâtel Observatory: temperature variations, thermal shocks, magnetic fields and others and after 47 hours of examination earned the official title "Quartz Marine Chronometer".
Launched into the market in 1980 as the "Omega Megaquartz Marine Chronometer", it is thought that less than 1000 pieces were made out of which the majority was delivered to the French Navy. Swiss Government also used the Megaquartz as official gift and examples were given to King Carl Gustav of Sweden, French President Mitterrand and King Hussein of Jordan. The city of Geneva presented it to Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev during the America-Russian summit in 1985.
This high precision instrument (less than one second of deviation per month) successfully passed the most rigorous scientific tests at the Neuchâtel Observatory: temperature variations, thermal shocks, magnetic fields and others and after 47 hours of examination earned the official title "Quartz Marine Chronometer".
Launched into the market in 1980 as the "Omega Megaquartz Marine Chronometer", it is thought that less than 1000 pieces were made out of which the majority was delivered to the French Navy. Swiss Government also used the Megaquartz as official gift and examples were given to King Carl Gustav of Sweden, French President Mitterrand and King Hussein of Jordan. The city of Geneva presented it to Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev during the America-Russian summit in 1985.