Brand president and CEO Raynald Aeschlimann talks about Omega’s new watches of 2022; but will there be a watch NFT?
One day after the unveiling of Omega’s 2022 novelties, the brand’s president and CEO Raynald Aeschlimann talks about the new, record-breaking Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep model. The first Ultra Deep watch was sent down the Mariana Trench in 2019, when explorer Victor Vescovo took it down to a depth of 10,935m. Now in 2022, the Ultra Deep is available to the public for the first time with the release of seven new models, each water-resistant to 6,000m, a new high—or low, as it were—for the watch industry. Omega also released new Seamaster, Constellation and Speedmaster watches for 2022.
Tell us about the Ultra Deep: what makes it such an iconic watch?
I hate the word icon because everyone talks about icons. For me, Planet Ocean is iconic because it’s top of the line, and it has set a new standard with this milestone [of 6,000 metres in depth]. Our brand image is not just about marketing, but also about our innovation. Technology is part of what we believe in and what makes our brand so strong.
I love the “manta lugs”—I had the chance once to to visit one of the islands in the Caribbean where there are plenty of manta rays. It’s such an incredible way of linking the watch to nature and the protection of the environment.