Over the years, we have met with the ever affable Stephen Urquhart a number of times. He is always warm and approachable, and particularly direct, as you’d expect from such an industry veteran. He began his professional life with Omega in 1968, then worked at Audemars Piguet between 1974 and 1997 before joining the Swatch Group as president of Blancpain.

Two years later, he would move to Omega as its president, and for the past 17 years has guided the brand through a significant transition and period of maturity, culminating in the introduction of the
Master Chronometer certification. Little did we know when we met him again at Baselworld that he would be retiring a few weeks later, leaving Omega as of June 1st in the hands of Raynald Aeschlimann, who has been the brand’s vice-president and international director of sales since 2001.

We’re extremely honored to have one of Mr. Urquhart’s last interviews as president of Omega, where he talks us through the raison d’être for the Master Chronometer certification, and his particular focus on making watches as user-friendly as possible.

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This year there’s a strong focus on the Master Chronometer certification; why is it so important to make this transition for the majority of the collection?

It’s very important, if we are to stay consistent with our messages. Going back to the beginning with the co-axial [escapement], it’s a product that had been developed by the famous George Daniels, who is no longer with us, and which has been acquired by our dear Mr. Hayek in the early 1990s. When he brought it to Omega, we thought we’d use it for a limited series of watches, but he said no; the goal was to introduce the co-axial escapement and its technology into the whole collection, all the calibers, which we have done.

Then we had to build on the co-axial, which we started doing since 2007; we came with the silicon balance wheel in 2009, then we introduced the anti-magnetic “technology” in 2013. It’s then that we realized that it’s something that was very important for the mechanical watch, more important in 2015 than it was in 2005, given how much has changed with magnetism that’s everywhere.

As we did with the co-axial, we did a limited series in 2014, the [Aqua Terra] 15,000 Gauss, but that wasn’t the goal, to do [just] one watch. We said that this technology, like the co-axial, we’ll use it everywhere. Before we could get there though, we couldn’t simply have an anti-magnetic certification, there needed to be a new quality standard; that’s when we approached Metas, which is a Swiss federal institute, therefore completely independent, who make medical instruments, [equipment for] the railroads, everything that is related to metal. With them we agreed on eight criteria that would certify the finished product. So we keep 

the COSC [certification], they do the movement, which we get back with a certificate, and we start on the ei ght criteria. This year, at Basel, we’ve introduced six new calibers, and the goal is that by 2020, all mechanical Omega watches will be Master Chronometer [certified]. It’s something that’s tangible, there’s aspects which aren’t only on precision such as the amplitude range, the power reserve, and of course the anti-magnetism; it’s all very actual. That’s the brand’s mission statement for the next years.

Do you feel this is something that’s well perceived, or understood by your clients, given its technical aspects?

It’s not really technical, anti-magnetism is very basic. People should understand it because there are a number of them who tell me that it [anti-magnetism] doesn’t concern them, but it’s not true. We have to work on showing this to people. It’s similar to humidity, which was a big problem 50 years ago, especially in a country like Hong Kong; when Swiss watches arrived there, there was condensation [inside the watch], because the majority of watches weren’t protected. We only had “sweat-proof” at the time. It’s take time for people to realize this.

Magnetism is not harmful to human beings, that’s not at all the reason why, we tested it to a very high degree that man will never encounter, but it’s like diving watches that are tested to 1,200m; we’ll never dive to 1,200m, but it’s to set a security benchmark. Our anti-magnetic watches have been on the market for a few months, but we have to continue to do our work, and I hope that in a year, two years, three years, or four – I don’t know – that the message will sink in.

Above all, what’s important to us is that the Omega client, who has made his choice, will appreciate and understand the fact that the product isn’t necessarily or only performing better, but that it’s more user-friendly and durable over time than a normal watch. It clear that it takes time, but we’re aware of that.

Do you think that, over time, this is something that other brands will also develop?

The can, yes, but I don’t know whether they will. From the beginning, Metas absolutely wanted that this certification be available to everyone, and not just Omega, so we’ll see; making a 15,000 Gauss watch isn’t straightforward. Whether other brands will follow us, that’s a different story.

Could the certification be adapted or modified?

This particular one, no, but they could always see Metas for another kind of certification if they wish, absolutely. But not Master Chronometer, its requirements have been agreed with Metas.