Swiss watchmaker Omega has unveiled three new De Ville Prestige timepieces that celebrate the brand’s partnership with Orbis International, a non-profit organisation dedicated to treating avoidable blindness in some of the world’s most remote regions. 

Along with the Orbis colour blue, the comforting touch of the Omega teddy bear – created to comfort children undergoing eye surgery - has been used as the inspiration behind this playful watch collection. In fact, the teddy bear logo on the vertically brushed caseback has been specially designed just for these watches. 

The men’s edition of the new De Ville Prestige Orbis has a 39.5 mm stainless steel case and is equipped with Omega’s Co-Axial Calibre 2500. The sun-brushed and lacquered blue dial features a subtle Omega teddy bear pattern as well as polished-domed Roman numerals. The watch includes rhodium-plated hour and minute hands and an Orbis blue central seconds hand. There is a date window at the 3 o'clock position and the watch comes presented on a handsome blue leather strap.

For women, a 32.7 mm version has been created with a stainless steel case and an elegant polished Prestige bracelet. Also equipped with Calibre 2500, the timepiece includes a white mother-of-pearl dial with the teddy bear pattern. The dial also features polished-domed Roman numerals as well as eight sparkling diamond indexes. The rhodium-plated hour and minute hands are complemented by an Orbis blue central seconds hand, while a date window has been positioned at 6 o'clock. 

The 27.4 mm stainless steel version for women is equipped with Omega's Quartz Calibre 1376. The sun-brushed and lacquered blue dial features the teddy bear pattern as well as polished-domed Roman numerals and eight sparkling diamond indexes. The hour and minute hands are rhodium-plated and the final watch comes presented on a polished Prestige bracelet.

Omega will donate a portion of the De Ville Prestige Orbis sales to the work of Orbis International. By purchasing these watches, customers will be helping to make a difference around the world.

Since 2011, Omega has been a proud supporter of Orbis International, which was founded in 1982 and has successfully carried out programmes in more than 90 countries across the globe. Not only has it performed millions of medical and optical treatments on board its Flying Eye Hospital, the organisation is also dedicated to training new eye care professionals who can continue the great work in the visited locations.

The partnership with Omega began with an insightful documentary called Through Their Eyes, and followed Omega brand ambassador Daniel Craig on his visit to the Flying Eye Hospital in Mongolia. The film proved to be such an effective tool in raising awareness of Orbis International's life-changing eye care, that a new documentary, The Hospital in the Sky, was produced in 2015, this time featuring Omega brand ambassador Cindy Crawford, who visited the Flying Eye Hospital with her daughter in Peru.

Other Omega brand ambassadors have backed this partnership too. In 2015, a series of print advertising featuring Nicole Kidman, Cindy Crawford, Chad le Clos, Michael Phelps and Sergio Garcia was released to highlight the work of Orbis and celebrate World Sight Day on October 8.

As well as raising awareness through film and advertising, Omega supports Orbis in several other ways, including the provision of teddy bears to young patients and the donation of vital funds. 

On June 2, Orbis launched a brand new MD-10 aircraft as the newest Flying Eye Hospital which is equipped to perform the latest and most advanced eye care operations.

Following its launch in Los Angeles, the first missions of the new Orbis Flying Eye Hospital will commence in September, with visits planned for China and Indonesia.

With so much success so far, the partnership between Omega and Orbis is set to continue for many years to come. And with the unveiling of a brand new plane, the future is looking very bright.

“I feel truly proud to witness the incredible partnership between Omega and Orbis International. Eyesight is so important and it’s very inspiring to go to these remote regions and see how the treatments are changing millions of lives. For that reason, we are always honoured to support this organisation in every way we can,” says Raynald Aeschlimann, the President & CEO of Omega.