In 2017, playing the inspired vintage game is still a very popular market. No matter the brand is big or small, accepted or less welcomed, it still keeps playing the game, like TAG Heuer's new Monza, Girard Perregaux's Heritage 1957, or even Tiffany's East-west replica watches that takes inspiration from one of their desk clocks from the '40s. And now Omega's Global master Annual Calendar revitalizes the Global master and takes the heritage intended to a new level.
In the last few years, Omega has reissued everything from the MKII Speed master to the Seamaster 300, and even the weird and polarizing Bullhead that I still have a weird soft spot for. Last year brought the 3-hand date model of the Global master and the first movement to receive Master Chronometer certification, making it the most proper Omega ever produced. The Global master added a clever annual calendar complication this year, a change in dial color and a 2mm bump up in case of diameter (bringing it up to 41mm over the previous 39). It boasts the same cutting-edge features in its movement as the 2015 release did, a co-axial escapement, silicon balance spring, a free-sprung, adjustable mass balance, not to mention METAS certification against magnetic fields up to 15,000 gausses.
My first choice of Omega of the Basel world 2016 was that the Meteorite Speedy would be my top pick, but the Speedy proved too large for my liking after some days of wear. I didn't get too close a look at the Global master in Basel, but I thought it might win me over after reviewing the press imagery.
Many of the folks who aren't overly familiar with Omega's history were brutally quick to jump on the brand's back for "ripping off Rolex" by using a fluted bezel. we didn't go into it much when first talking about the launch of the Global master or Annual Calendar, but Omega had a few variations of the Constellation back in the day that used a fluted bezel (seen here via Omega forums.net), so to neglect their history is unlucky. If you desire to receive even nerdier, the fact that the bezel is made of ultra high-polish tungsten, and the fluting is much tighter on the Omega than it is on any current Rolex makes them that much more distinct than one another.
with so much light reflection coming off the bezel, replica Omega was smart to leave the majority of the case in brushed stainless steel. Aside from a polished bevel running down each side of the case, the case lacks any useless details that would detract from the lovely "Pie-Pan" dial. I'm going to call this here and now. Sunburst gray with blue text and hands is THE one to buy. If you have a soft spot for gold, the Sedna Gold version with a slate dial is still respectable, and if you want to ratchet things way up to the platinum model, well, you're on your own. The execution of this Annual Calendar is nothing short of awesome. Last year H. Moser & Cie rolled out their Perpetual Calendar that used a central pointer hand for the month indication at each of its 12 indices, but the use of script and a jumping pointer hand aimed at the gap between each marker gives a clean and concise read of month and day without cluttering the dial with an additional window. while not everyone will be fond of the script used for each month, I'll take this over things like the Zenith El Primero Winsor Annual Calendar or other conventional executions any day of the week.
The Globemaster arrived on its matching blue leather strap. The strap was a comfortable fit for the piece until temperatures cranked up into the low 90s. The dark shade of blue matched most of my wardrobe, it's another replica omega watches that I found to transition quite well from day tonight. On my 6" wrist, the Globemaster was never overpowering on my wrist, but its cause is still somewhat thick, which means those liking a slim-cased watch for under their shirt cuffs might want to try on the cheap replica watches before purchasing. Of course, casual me went down the path of NATO. I wasn't entirely sure how well the pairing would work out firstly, however occasionally throwing it onto a gray NATO strap worked out rather nice. But what you have to be warned of is that the watch winds up sitting pretty tall once you throw two layers of fabric behind it. If you're already concerned about case thickness — after all the piece is already with the sickness of 14.71mm, you'll want to stick with the suggested leather band.
Due to the clean dial execution and contrasting blue hands, legibility on the Global master is pretty gorgeous and special. It's the kind of piece that you can look at quickly, though your focus seems no longer lean on to linger solely because of wanting to admire how the light reflects off it (rather than to read it). The polished Tungsten is perfectly reflective, so there's no being "under the radar" when walking around with the Global master unless it's hidden under a shirt or jacket cuff. Getting back to the whole Rolex comparison, this is one respect where I'll admit a resembling. You can't hide a Day-Date, surely you cannot hide a Global master without any doubt.