There’s an old aphorism about the dancing duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It goes like this: Ginger did everything Fred did… except backwards and in high heels. When someone is pretty, like Cindy Crawford, pictured here at an Omega event in London, we often don’t recognize how much thought and effort goes into projecting an aura of elegance. The same holds true for Crawford’s timepiece—the Omega Ladymatic Pearls and Diamonds.
Crawford has been one of Omega’s ambassadors since 1995. The company initially chose the supermodel because she was literally at the height of fashion at the time. Even then, the former House of Style host was known as being the most industrious and intelligent of the supermodels. She would get out of bed for less than $10,000—which is why she is still an enduring icon today.
The Omega Ladymatic Pearls and Diamonds
Likewise, the Pearls and Diamonds is a super glamorous part jewelry, part watch distinguished by its stunning 18K Sedna gold bracelet studded with 52 Akoya pearls and 310 round brilliant diamonds. In Inuit tradition, Sedna is the goddess of the sea, so it’s also fitting that the precious jewels are set in a wave pattern (and that the watch is water resistant to 10 bars).
But it can! The Ladymatic line was introduced in 1955 and was among the first self-winding timepieces created especially for women. Like Ginger in her heels, Omega miniaturized its self-winding movement to deliver the same precision as a men’s watch but in a daintier package.
The movement driving the Ladymatic is Omega’s in-house, COSC-certified chronometer caliber 8521,which is powered a Co-Axial escapement, one of the most important developments in modern mechanical watch making. This innovation was popularized in 1999, when Omega introduced the first mass-produced watch incorporating the technology. Basically the Co-axial escapement reduces friction, which in turn results in greater accuracy and fewer trips to the watchmaker for service.
The watch is also equipped with Omega’s Si14 silicon balance spring to protect the mechanism from bumps and other external disruptions. And if you want to see how beautiful this baby truly is, the polished sapphire case back reveals the sophisticated inner workings.
Which brings us back to Crawford. Did you know that she won a scholarship to Northwestern for chemical engineering? Like the Pearls and Diamonds, she’s all about the beauty and the brains.
