Omega Marine Chronometer
[3][4] The calibre 1500 ‘Elephant’ (known so because of the design of the movement with two large battery compartments resembling large ears) boasted an accuracy of 12 seconds per year, which equated to 1 second per month, five times more accurate than the beta 21 (the first Swiss production quartz watch) introduced to the market the year previous.
The calibre 1500 was Omega’s first in-house quartz movement developed under project leader John Othenin-Girard by SSIH.
[5] The development of the calibre 1500 and subsequent successors cost Omega 30 million Swiss Francs with the sole intention to produce a wristwatch of unparalleled accuracy and performance.
One of the major flaws of the calibre 1500 was battery consumption (from the twin cells), although untested until recently when one of the prototypes came to market as a running watch in 2011.
Of the 1000 calibre 1511 watches produced approximately 900 had solid 14-carat bezels and plaque and 100 had stainless steel bezels and plaques, specifically designed for the French market in response to French law at the time requiring visible hall marks on all gold.
The 1511 Marine Chronometer was famously owned by Oceanographer Jacques Cousteau and when introduced in 1974 had a list price of £761, by contrast the Moonwatch was on the market at £124.50 and the now coveted Omega Bullhead was only £114.50.
Calibre 1510: A non Marine Chronometer designated watch with an accuracy of 1 second per month branded as the Constellation Megaquartz.
The watch came in a very similar case to the Marine Chronometer but without the plaque and 14K bezel, available in Stainless Steel or 18 carat gold.
It is rumored that the caliber 1510 was also sent to Besançon for certification, however despite being tested and performing to the same level as the Marine Chronometer was never certified.
In 1978 the French Naval Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (French: Service hydrographique et océanographique de la Marine or SHOM) requested a Quartz Ships Chronometer to acquire a reliable autonomous time source independent of external satellite and radio signals.
The ships clock featured an external electronic connection “1Hz – 1 V”, an electronic switch to stop the movement or operate at normal or double rate (the second hand advancing in ½ second increments for optimal timing of celestial objects angle measurements) with a locking knob to prevent accidental actions, power reserve switch with power indicator to check the battery condition, and a frequency regulator.
Nevertheless, French Navy regulations still required an independently operated timepiece on board so that, in combination with a sextant, the ship’s position could be determined by celestial navigation.
The ships clock was supplied accompanied by an official "Quartz Marine Chronometer" certificate in a sturdy mahogany box with brass fitting and was very much a case of function over form and built to the highest of military specifications including anti-magnetic shielding.
The main movement of the watch was based on an Omega calibre 1343 Elan series but designated as 1522 it utilised a revolutionary 4.19 MHz micro quartz circuit, however there are only two known operational prototypes, one of which is now in the hands of a US collector and the other is in a collection in the UK.
