Globemaster Co-Axial Master Chronometer Annual Calendar (or GMAC for short), up close and personal
These were my initial reactions to the new GMAC after having two quite different examples in my hands at the Omega Boutique on Neuer Wall in Hamburg, Germany.
First up is the Model 130.33.41.22.06.001 i.e. Gray dial variant.
My very first reaction was not to pick up on the abbreviated month text, but rather to notice how comfortable the GMAC sits on the wrist (well on mine at least). This Globemaster has grown from the previous 39mm to 41mm and benefits from it in my opinion. Two millimetres doesn’t sound much and indeed it isn’t across the case, but what I did notice was the lug-to-lug length increase. The lugs seem more elongated, rather like those on the Seamaster 300M or Speedmaster ’57. The radially brushed finish on the lugs is more pronounced than on my regular Globemaster, which contrasts nicely with the highly polished edge bevel.
My focus was then drawn to the long tapered annual calendar hand. It is noticeable lighter (towards Azure) and more subdued than the hour, minute and second hands, which helps this pointer blend in better and sort of vanish to nothing as it approaches the edge of the central dial surface.
As far as I was able to tell the GMAC has a three position crown.
1) Fully inserted = normal operation,
2) 1st detent = Quickset for date wheel and calendar hand, clockwise for date, anti-clockwise for calendar…I may have that the wrong way round though
3) 2nd detent = Hacking seconds, hours and minutes adjustment. There did not appear to be a quickset for hours like on the smaller Globemaster.
So this is not a watch that wants to be quickly adapted to changing time zones. I get the impression it was designed to be part of a collection, stored in a safe and quickly brought to the right month, date and time when it finally gets to see the light of day. In the short time I got to play with the GMAC I didn’t test the 30/31 day capabilities of the annual calendar complication…maybe another time.
The gray dial model (like the blue 39mm GM) has a sunburst brushed dial finish, but the result is different. It creates a sort of spiral effect which you will only see when the watch is moving.
Looking at the case side-on, it has obviously grown a little thicker and looks somehow stubby, but nowhere near as pronounced as on the Seamaster GMTs; the previously long lugs now looking curiously shorter.
The most noticeable case-related difference between the smaller and larger Globemasters is the sapphire crystal. Where the 39mm GM has a very subtle curvature, the GMAC is clearly domed and I really like it! It seems warmer and has somehow lost those annoying multiple white rings that you see on flatter sapphire crystals (Hesalite Speedmaster aficionados will know what I mean).
OK, I can hear you thinking “get to the important bit already; what’s with the ugly abbreviated month text poisoning the dial?” So, let’s put things into context. I’m a fully paid up member of the over 50s club, which means anything nearer than the end of my arm is a blur and consequently fine detail will be rather lost on me in the real world. Cameras (and eagle eyed youngsters) see things rather differently of course. So, yes, I think the text detracts from an otherwise super watch. Having said that the technical execution of that text is excellent, with a relatively narrow character width and colour that helps it to blend into the gray dial to some extent. This is most definitely NOT the case with the white dial variant.
My initial reaction to the white dial GMAC was something like shock. It is very “in your face”, which grates for someone more used to understatement. Here there is absolutely no attempt to hide the main “features” of the GMAC. There doesn’t appear to be any special surface treatment on the dial, it is just plain (enamel?) white. I was trying to think what this blue-on-white reminded me of? Sinn Porcelain or Dutch Delft pottery perhaps?
Comparing the white and gray GMACs alongside the smaller GM I still think the original is the best, but I must confess that the GMAC live is better than expected and I find myself warming to it. Is this just Omega fanboy talk? I can assure you that I really hated the idea of that “girly” text on the dial based on the press photos. I even turned up at the OB wearing my austere German Sinn 857 UTC, so well-armed for an objective comparison.
Strangely, now that I have slept on the results and had (almost) 24hrs to let the experience sink in I find that the white dialled GMAC is also OK. It’s sort of whimsical, contrarian. What is absolutely sure is that it picks up where the GM left off and adds an extra dollop of controversy on top to assert its status of solving a problem we never knew we had in a way we never knew was thinkable.
I suspect it will not be a big market success and predict that it will not stay in the Omega product portfolio for long…which begs the question “will people just buy it to speculate on future rarity?”
My overwhelming impression though was: here is the basis of a really great GMT model that doesn’t end up looking like an ice hockey puck on the wrist. Perhaps that was at the back of my mind the whole time while handling and viewing the GMAC.
It also reminds me of the cursive italic style fonts on female body tattoos
