Dear all, I have write to Omega to ask about the balance wheel in my Omega deville 8500b, but the answer was misterious (for a misterious reason I think). Here is their answer: The exact alloy which is used for the balance wheel is kept secret by our specialists. However, we can say: It is a specific material made of non-ferromagnetic alloys and covered with a black PVD coating. Kind regards, Your Omega team. So I know nothing more. I was thinking that the material used for the balance wheel is a nickel-phosphorus alloy, but know not for sure. The PVD coating is kept secret also, but I would like to know what coating that is. So I hope you can tell me what the balance wheel (and coating) is made of in the 8500 (Si14) Kind regards, Arno
It's been mentioned in several articles that it's titanium but not sure if that's accurate. Would make sense though.
Found today a site who stated in 2010 that the escapement wheel is indeed made of a nickel-phosphorus alloy suggested in my post above. Further I found that Rolex uses this alloy too for their balance wheel. The balance wheel in the Omega 8500 is made of Decaflor (Cu-Ni-Sn alloy). Why so misterious? https://www.dzwatches.com/omega-launches-industry-leading-movement-production-line-in-grunchen/