Omega Cal.283 18ct 1950 36mm

Omega Watches

Since the company was founded in 1848, Omega has pioneered a huge range of innovations. Britain’s Royal Flying Corps chose Omega watches in 1917 as official timekeepers for its pilots and again in 1940, RAF Pilots watches were supplied by Omega. The 1940s also saw the first tourbillon wristwatch and the first of the famous Seamaster watches, whilst the 1950s and ’60s introduced the legendary Constellation, Speedmaster, Seamaster 300 and Railmaster. Over these years, everyone from John F Kennedy to Elvis wore Omega watches on official duties. What’s more, in 1962, astronaut Wally Schirra took his Omega Speedmaster to space on NASA’s Mercury Sigma 7 mission, and in 1969 two Speedmasters landed on the moon, worn by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

In 1932, the watchmaker became the official timekeeper of the Olympics, inaugurating a multimillion-dollar marketing effort. This was recently extended to the 2032 Games.

Description

A beautiful, fully restored Cal.283 gentleman’s 18ct gold dress watch from 1950. The star of the show here is undoubtedly the stunning cross-hair dial, quickly followed by the movement which was a development of the tremendously successful Cal.30 series, simply one of the finest hand-wound movement designs ever conceived. It is also an important movement in the record books, for its incredible standards of accuracy and reliability attained at all the competitive trials it entered and won. See below.

Other notable features of this watch include its substantial 36mm oversize watch case which is typically 1950s in its style.

The Dial

The white-ivory cross-hair dial is furnished with applied ‘dagger’ hour indices and ‘3 – 6 – 9’ Arabic numerals, with art-deco influences. The numerals are swept by the original set of ‘dauphine’ style hands which have recently been restored to the ‘as new’ condition you see here. The cross-hair design gives the dial a slightly technical look, without appearing too ‘busy’. As a whole, this dial speaks of another level of quality and confidence, in keeping with the quality of the case and movement.

The dial simply carries the Omega brand and signature, with ‘Swiss Made’ the very bottom. A new lens has been fitted as part of the restoration.

This is the original dial which has been restored to the highest standards by the best dial restorers in the UK.

The Case

The sturdy 18ct yellow gold case measures 36mm in diameter, excluding the Omega signed winding crown. This makes this an exceptionally large wristwatch for the period, where standard sized watches measured 33mm in diameter. The case is of a three-piece construction, with a case-back of full-thickness which has never been engraved. This is tight-fitting and presses down with a pleasing and reassuring click.

After a close inspection, the watch case has simply required a careful clean and a gentle polish to bring it back to its current, almost as new condition. The case, the case-back and bezel are all in superb condition with almost no marks visible to the naked eye, indicating this watch has been very well cared for.

Inside the case-back, all is correct and as expected with the case serial number 376434 and 18ct Birmingham UK hallmarks. This case is signed ‘Dennison, Made In England’ and ‘A.L.D.’ as Dennison produced the majority of Omega watch cases for Omega watches sold in the UK during this period.

As ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Movement

The Omega Cal.283, 17 Jewels movement here forms part of the Omega 30mm series first released in 1939, which was so successful it remained in production until 1963. It became famous for winning first prize ‘for Precision’ i.e. accuracy and reliability, at the Kew Observatory trials in 1946 and went on to win back to back 1st prizes at the worlds most competitive trials in Geneva and Neuchâtel throughout 1947-1951. It not only beat all comers, including Patek Philippe, but also relegated Omega’s own Tourbillon movement to second place! The continued success of this calibre was due to its precision and resistance over time, its easy regulation, the simplicity and logical design of the movement that made it a favourite of watchmakers.

As can be seen, this beryllium-bronze movement looks spectacularly pristine having been well cared for and properly maintained. It is marked  ’17 jewels’ with the serial number 12077081 which means the date of manufacture was 1950.

The movement has just been fully overhauled and serviced by our vintage Omega specialist watchmaker and the watch therefore winds, runs & sets smoothly and it is keeping excellent time. Following its service, it has been calibrated and is currently running arrow straight at -10 seconds/day! This excellent for any watch of this age and has been verified on our electronic timegrapher instrument. The watch also has an excellent power reserve of 45 hours. We are therefore more than happy to offer 12 months warranty on the movement of this watch*.

*Please note, our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the full list price is paid.

The Strap & Buckle

A new, high quality brown Alligator strap has been fitted, along with a gold-plated Omega buckle. We feel the strap matches the watch nicely, however, if a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown and black in stock in plain padded leather, crocodile skin or lizard skin, however, we can also obtain most types and colours at short notice from our partners at Watch Obsession.

The Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, all the numbers and markings on the watch are correct, dating the watch to 1953.

A detailed ‘Particulars’ document will be included in the sale, along with our detailed receipt and 12 months warranty*. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will also be provided at the time of sale, along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If at any time, this watch proves to be anything less than totally authentic, or not as described, Vintage Gold Watches of London will offer you a full refund at any time”.

The vintage Omega box shown in the photographs is included in the sale.

In Conclusion

This is a first class example of a highly collectable and highly practical vintage gold watch from one of horology’s most famous names which will provide an excellent financial investment as well as be something to use, wear, treasure and enjoy! This will make an excellent evening wear dress watch as well as a practical highly accurate and reliable timepiece to use on an everyday basis.

Vintage Omega watches are highly collectable and the rarity of this watch means the value will always remain strong. This watch will make an excellent investment and family heirloom piece and even though vintage Omega prices have risen markedly recently, we feel fine examples such as this still remain undervalued. As each year goes by and the world market for vintage watches expands, availability will become more limited so prices are surely destined to climb ever higher!

A word about our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring these to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post sales care and service. This approach inevitably means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are a number of well-known stores in West London which are very successful, charging between two to three times the price you see here. We therefore consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.

We are happy to accept PayPal as this is the quickest method of payment. However, if you wish to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to pass on a 3% transaction saving to you. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or International Bank Wire Transfer, we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please note, we welcome part exchanges and if you have a watch or small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.

We will be happy to Service, Repair or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.

If you have any questions, please call us on 0207 727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.

Please take a look at our other fine vintage gold watches.

Thank you.