ReviewOmega’s New Speedmaster Spirate SuperRacing Offers Unmatched Precision
Omega’s latest patent-pending ‘Spirate’ system offers improved accuracy of 0/+2 seconds, making the Speedmaster Super Racing Chronograph the most precise mechanical watch ever
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Every once in a while, an advancement in the horological world changes the way we approach time. Like Omega’s new ‘Spirate’ system launched in January, and housed within the Speedmaster Super Racing chronometer chronograph. This Spirate mechanism allows for a hyper-precision of only 0/+2 seconds per day, an unprecedented move for mechanical watches.
Omega has always led the race. Be it the one against gravity in space missions, the one against pressure in the deep of the oceans, the one against magnetic fields on Earth, or even the one against fictional villains on the wrist of James Bond. Now, with the new Spirate system that utilises Omega’s patented, anti-magnetic silicon balance spring or the Si14, the Speedmaster Super Racing timepiece is way ahead of the curve, with a lag of only plus or minus 0.1 seconds a day, or just about a difference of a minute in one month. While Rolex offers an accuracy of +/-2 seconds per day, which is better than the industry standard of 0/+5 seconds a day, Omega’s Spirate system beats Rolex with their accuracy of 0/+2 seconds.
Spirate: Spiralling To New Heights
Omega’s ‘tiny’ achievement is a giant step in the horological world, and the brand has plans to include this revolutionary new system into their future calibres. This means their calibre 9920 with the Spirate system in the Speedmaster Super Racing watch is just the beginning. Although, the Spirate system may take time to be fitted into other new watch movements with the required case size to accommodate it, a timepiece with a Spirate-powered calibre should be worth the wait.
The calibre 9920 is a certified ‘Master Chronometer’, an approval awarded after a 283-step process set by the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS) that involves eight gruelling tests over 10 days, ‘designed to push a timepiece to its absolute limits’.
To achieve such precision, Omega had to ‘quite literally reinvent the wheel’. ‘Spirate’ is a word born from two functions of a mechanical timepiece. It amalgamates ‘spiral’—the most complex component and the regulating organ or the beating heart of a mechanical watch—and ‘rate’. This new system utilises their patented silicon balance spring—a firm, anti-magnetic material that offers zero friction, stability, and high-tolerance to wear-and-tear—with a modified attachment on the balance bridge. Essentially, what this means is that watchmakers at an Omega boutique can access this using a special tool and make adjustments at increments of 0.01 seconds, ensuring high precision in the timepiece.
An Ode To The ‘Bumblebee’
This Si14 silicon balance spring was first seen in 2013 in Omega’s Seamaster Aqua Terra > 15,000 gauss aka ‘Bumblebee’—the first ever watch to defy magnetic fields (on phones, tablets, computers, speakers, headphones, bags, belts, among other items). Nicknamed for the yellow accents on its black dial, the Bumblebee performs at a chronometric level as defined by COSC, even after being exposed to magnetic fields greater than 15,000 gauss.
To mark the tenth anniversary of the then revolutionary Bumblebee, the new Speedmaster makes subtle references to its predecessor. For starters, there’s the sandwich dial with a honeycomb pattern etched on the top layer and black DLC on the lower layer. The black ceramic bezel ring has the iconic Speedmaster tachymeter scale in yellow.
Other yellow elements include the diamond polished and bevelled arrowhead indexes, and the pencil-shaped hour and minute hands coated with a new, unique Super-LumiNova emitting a yellow glow. A black-to-yellow gradient covers the central chronograph hand. A bee-like, bold, yellow-and-black striped hand operates the seconds sub-dial at nine o’clock. Yellow hands operate the 60-minute/12-hour recorder at three o’clock, which also serves as the second time zone. Positioned at six o’clock is the date window with yellow numerals, and another hidden message: the ‘10’ that appears once a month is in the italicised Speedmaster logo font, as a tribute to the decade since the launch of Bumblebee. Omega has called this ‘Tribute 10’. Completing the look is the Speedmaster logo in yellow, under the white Omega logo at 12 o’clock.
As ‘Buzz’ed As A Bee
Above the date window sits the word ‘SuperRacing’, a feature distinguishing this model from other race watches in Omega’s Speedmaster collection. (Fun fact: while the Speedmaster is known as ‘Moonwatch’ because astronaut Buzz Aldrin wore it during his 1969 walk on the moon, it was originally created as a racing chronograph in 1957, and hence the name.) Like other Omega Speedmaster Racing chronographs, this Super Racing model also features the iconic alternating ‘racing’ minute track, for precise legibility.
The brushed and polished stainless steel case is 44.25 mm wide and 14.9 mm thick. The calibre 9920 with the new Spirate balance wheel can be seen through the display caseback on turning the timepiece over. Additionally, the automatic movement promises a 60-hour power reserve and water resistance up to 50m.
The Speedmaster Super Racing chronograph is mounted on a stainless steel three-link bracelet or a recycled nylon NATO strap with black and yellow stripes—much like central yellow road markings, and another nod to the stripy Bumblebee. Even the packaging is beelike as the watch is delivered in a honeycomb-patterned black box with yellow stitching.
