Omega
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 the 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.
Description
A beautifully original, unrestored and untouched Calibre 453 ladies hand-wound 18ct yellow gold dress watch from 1960 with a wonderful art-deco dial. This watch is in superb condition, having only been lightly worn and has therefore just required only a light hand-polish to return it to the almost ‘as new’ condition you see here.
The Dial
The beautiful original, unrestored and completely untouched art-deco honey coloured dial carries wonderful gilt ‘cube’ hour indices which are swept by the original ‘dauphine’ hands. It is simply signed with the Omega brand and signature and ‘Swiss Made’ at the bottom.
Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however, we decided in this case, due to its unique condition, to retain its originality and charm for the many collectors who prefer this. This watch has a unique dial due to next to no signs of ageing. Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you see here may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.
The Movement
The watch contains the high grade Omega Calibre 483 hand-wound, copper-plated beryllium-bronze movement which as can be seen, is in absolute tip-top sparkling condition.
The movement has been fully overhauled by our vintage Omega specialist watchmaker. This means disassembling the watch movement down to all its component parts, careful inspection under high magnification, replacement where necessary with only genuine Omega parts, then careful reassembly and adjustment before final calibration and testing. This watch winds, sets and runs perfectly accurately and reliably within +9 seconds per day, averaged over 5 positions and this has been checked and confirmed on our electronic watch timegrapher. Please bear in mind, this performance is outstanding for any watch, particularly of this age. The movement also has a 50-hour power reserve when fully wound. We are therefore highly confident in offering 12 months’ warranty with this watch movement*.
The movement is signed ‘Omega Watch Co’ and ‘Seventeen 17 Jewels’, along with the Calibre No. 483 and the serial number 17865249, which dates the watch to 1960.
*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.
The Case
The sturdy 18ct solid yellow gold case measures just 19mm in diameter, excluding the Omega signed crown which as mentioned above, makes this quite a small watch by todays standards. However, the case is very robust, therefore the watch, while ‘ladies cocktail watch size’, is still suitable for everyday use. This incredible watch also carries ornately engraved block lugs which are simply stunning.
Inside the case-back, all the markings are correct with The Omega Watch Co. triangle and 18ct hallmarks. The case-back carries the Omega model reference number 10943-5 and is signed ‘Omega Watch Co’, ‘Fab Suisse’ and ‘Swiss Made’.
The case has been cleaned, carefully inspected and carefully hand-polished, which was all that was required to bring it back to its current tip-top condition with no scratches dings or marks of any kind visible to the naked eye.
Please note – as always, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.
The Strap and Buckle
The watch is fitted with a black leather strap and plain gold-plated buckle. However, if you have a preference for a different colour or style of strap, please let us know and we will do our best to supply and fit your preferred strap for no extra charge.
Box and Papers
Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating this watch to 1960.
Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. 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 this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.
This watch comes complete with an Omega presentation box.
Payment and Delivery
If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.
Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.
We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.
For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.
As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.
In Conclusion
This is a superb, highly collectable and totally usable vintage watch from horology’s most famous name, which will provide an excellent financial investment as well as be something to treasure and enjoy! It will make the perfect gift as well as a practical, accurate and reliable timepiece to use on a regular basis, as you so wish.
A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring them 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 means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are some well-known stores in West London which are highly 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.
Please note, we also welcome part exchanges. If you have a watch or a small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.
We will also be happy to Service your watch, Repair your watch or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.
If you have any questions please call us on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.
Please take a look at our other fine vintage gold watches.
Thank you.
Andrew M via feefo 
3rd December 2024 
JLC1891 
