McGonigle Ogma | Introduction

Borna Bošnjak legendary Irish watchmaker Stephen McGonigle reveals the final design of Ogma, a watch that has been rumoured since mid-2024. Tuscar’s successor features McGonigle’s new design language, but retains familiar elements such as oversized balance and balance cocks like Sceptre. Incredibly, the Tantalum’s first run of 20 pieces was sold before collectors even knew what the watch would look like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgbkvfgk9a

Let’s face it. The era of perusing watch forums like WatchProsite has been largely replaced by Mike Nouveau’s scrolling through another post that bends a little Cartier in Paris or a rapper posing next to a handle full of Richard Mills. But the old school still has value. You might whisper about such a watch: McGonigle Ogma. Back in mid-2024, rumors about new watches by Irish masterwatchmakers began to permeate, but were confirmed in September by the publication of the above video by McGonigle. Now, we’re finally looking closely at the new OGMA, which has been significantly reduced compared to McGonigle’s past watches, but we don’t lose the handmade beauty we expect from someone who has been entrusted with repairing the Breguet Pendulum empathy.

ogma is an eloquent Irish god and is named after the inventor of the Ogham script, which has been featured on all McGonigle watches up until now. You will see that this will be in use soon. With a diameter of 39.3mm, the OGMA is set to be much more wearable than its predecessor, Tuscar, which was fitted at 43mm. The prototype we see here shows off intricate frost and refined finishes in steel, but the first OGMA series is actually a tantalum piece run. I look forward to seeing those photos as the infamous muted bluish tints of metal, difficult to work with, give the Ogma a different dimension.

Looking at the dial from afar, the layout is a subtle and pleasant evolution from the Tasker. Time will no longer be displayed in the center, then move to the offset sub-dial, 8 balances small seconds and 10 new power reserve indicators. All timetelling dials are set on a PVD coated brushed and German silver frost background.

The center of the dial is still an escape, but the cantilever, large balance wheel makes it easy to tell that this is a McGonigle watch. It is a fleece pulling, with a Breguet overcoil, with a large adjustable weight at the point of cardiac espoing, and a slower speed of 3Hz. I also love how polished steel components are the remaining refined steel components of the escape, as the uniquely shaped bridge, escape wheels and pallet forks contrast with the matte elements on the dial.

And speaking of escape and finishing, Ogma boasts a new move despite the nomenclature carried over from the previous McGonigle Watch. It is still called the MCG01 and is manually wound with a 90-hour power reserve, but rather than featuring a double barrel design like the Tasker, it chooses a large single that can be seen from the cutout on the top left. Ogma also isn’t particularly flashy about its interior, and firmly hides the German silver plates. I am a huge fan of the visual division between Frost and the hand-carved section, the latter sports a design created by Stephen McGonigle’s sister Francis. It is also where you find the aforementioned Ogham script, and as you would expect, I will write “Ogma”.

McGonigle Ogma Pricing and Availability

The McGonigle Ogma debuted on Tantalum as a limited 20 series, all of which were on sale before the watch was announced. McGonigle will soon unveil the next series of OGMA watches: Price: CHF 79,000 (Tantalum), TBC For Future Series

Brand McGonigle Model OGMA Case Dimensions 39.3mm (D) Case Material

Water Resistant 50m Crystal Sapphire Front and Back Dial Deutskin Silver, PVD Coated Strap Natural Rubber, Hand-Used Pin Buckle Movement MCG01, In-house, Manual Winding Power Reserve 90 Hours Function

availability

Price: CHF 79,000 (Tantalum)
TBC for future series