Sixty years have gone by; two generations between a father and a son, 1,000 Gauss of resistance against magnetic fields the former and 15,000 Gauss (+) the latter. In 60 years of evolution, among which there is also its exit from the catalogue, the Omega Railmaster comes back on the scene as the reference point for resistance to magnetism and with a new strong and concrete technical design.
The year 2017 has been a fabulous year for Omega, thanks to its historic re-editions coming back as limited editions, among which is also the Omega Railmaster ’57 that we tackled already in the pages of Horbiter®; the end of year is the moment when we look at things and draw conclusions and also the moment when the maison from Bienne swishes its tail and launches on the market a modern re-interpretation of the Railmaster; namely the Omega Railmaster Master Chronometer 8806, something the fans of the brand have been waiting for since a long time.
The technical vocation of the Omega Railmaster Master Chronometer 8806 is quite clear, both from the mechanical point of view (a Co–Axial 8806 calibre that is METAS certified and 100% in–house built) and from the style point of view (a symmetric case measuring 40mm in diameter and an entirely matted bracelet that proves useful in day-to-day situations, when you don’t always have the time to be careful with your watch). The dial sports a finishing that is quite rich in personality, it is vertically satin-finished and equipped with a thin cross, whose centre is in the pivot of the counters, hollow indexes filled with SuperLuminova® and a vintage detail given by the seconds hand with its “lollipop” style.
The 8806 calibre is the evolution of the 8400 calibre hosted inside the Seamaster 300, it maintains the same 25,200 oscillations per hour and it guarantees a power reserve of up to 55 hours, thanks to its double barrel. The refined Côtes de Genève finishing is not visible on the back of the timepiece as the case-back is made of stainless steel and it sports a NAIAD Lock (a patent of Omega that allows the writings to always maintain the same position) and the embossed seahorse logo.
The winding crown with a screw mimics the style of the Aqua Terra’s crown, but it is slightly flared towards the case. The degree of impermeability of the Omega Railmaster Master Chronometer 8806 is up to 150 metres; keep in mind that the recent re-edition of the Railmaster ’57 is water resistant up to 60 metres. From this small detail, you can understand that the aim of Omega was to keep the historic re-edition as faithful as possible to the original model, while taking the new Railmaster to a more “current” level of specifications.
The Omega Railmaster Master Chronometer 8806 comes in two different dial versions, either with a bracelet or with a strap (I find the nylon strap especially beautiful) and it retails a quite a competitive price (4,600 euro for the strap version, while the stainless steel bracelet version retails at an additional 100 euro). The lack of a date makes this timepiece slightly less versatile when it comes to a day-to-day use, but this small detail is easily obscured by an extremely neat and symmetrical look. Horbiter®’s readers can clearly see that I am a big fan of the Omega brand and this Railmaster confirms, once again, my special bond with the maison; a manufacturer that stays faithful to its roots and that is always ready to experiment, take risks and challenge the market. I wonder how this watch would look like with a see-through case-back…
(Photo credit: courtesy of OMEGA)
Matteo Bulla @Horbiter®
