Omega Chronograph Cal.33.3 18ct 1940

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

Here we have a simply stunning, fully original, unrestored and untouched, extremely rare Omega Calibre 33.3 Chronograph from 1940. This beautiful watch was not specifically designed for professional use, but rather as an expensive, sophisticated dress watch for a gentleman to wear and exhibit his good taste and affluence. Not only does this watch have an beautiful dial, it also has a very high grade Calibre 33.3 Chronograph movement which is all complete with an incredible 18ct yellow gold case which is exceptionally large at 36mm, all of this making this watch extremely rare and highly sought after. This watch comes complete with the original Omega box and most recent purchase receipt date 2021.

The Dial

A beautiful and highly impressive silver dial with three scales, giving it a slightly more technical look. The dial carries a blue outer tachymeter scale, a matching blue seconds scale divided into fifths of a second, and a blue inner telemeter scale.

A tachymeter scale measures how fast an object is moving. The scale can be found either on the dial or in the bezel. Most tachymeters start at 400 and end at 60, but some examples, such as the one we see here, can begin at 1000. Its very simple to calculate the speed: just mark a point and push the start button. After the object has moved for one kilometer (or mile), push the stop button. The number indicated by the hand shows the speed of the object. A telemeter scale measures the distance between the user of the watch and the event seen and heard. It was used extensively to calculate when artillery fired. When you saw the light of the shot of the artillery, you would push the start button and push the stop button when the thunder was heard. The number shown in the scale refers to the distance.

The telemeter scale was an innovation at the time the watch was released. Very useful in combats because it could give the distance an explosion was taking place, for example. By the 1940s, the demand for this watches has increased tremendously.

The dial carries the original blued steel ‘leaf’ hands, and black 1 – 12 Standard Arabic numerals and is correctly signed with the correct period Omega brand and signature. In essence, a highly sophisticated and highly elegant dial – in fact, all of which Omega represents.

As the dial is original and unrestored, this has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its superb condition. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. The hands, likewise, have also been left in their original condition.

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’re seeing 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

As can be seen, just like the rest of this watch, the movement is amazingly clean and well cared for. Generally speaking, a watch movement of this age will begin to show some tarnishing on some of its surfaces caused by moisture. However, this movement has been kept in tip-top condition through regular servicing and proper care and attention. Again, along with the condition of the rest of the watch, the movement indicates this watch has been treated with all the proper care it deserves.

This watch carries the original and super high grade Calibre 33.3, 17 jewels Chronograph movement which, as mentioned above, remains in immaculate condition. The Omega cal. 33.3 Chronograph series, which is considered to be a forerunner of the Speedmaster, is one of the most sought-after Chronographs by Omega. It is said that only 14,000 movements were produced for 20 years.

This movement has been given a thorough overhaul and service by our vintage chronograph specialist watchmaker. This means the movement has been completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected and rebuilt using only the correct original parts where required before careful calibration and testing. Upon returning to stock, the watch is now running to within +8 seconds per day! This is truly outstanding for any vintage watch of this age! When fully wound, this movement also has a 36 hour power reserve. With proper care and attention, we can see this watch lasting another lifetime of faithful service. We therefore have no hesitation in offering this watch with our 12 months’ warranty*

This outstanding movement is correctly signed with ‘Omega Watch Co’, ‘Seventeen 17 Jewels’, ‘Swiss’ and with the correct movement serial number 9387567 dating this watch correclty to 1940.

Please note – It is important to remember that after the chronograph function can be started through the operation of the top button, it should be stopped with the same button and then reset with the bottom button after use. i.e. the chronograph function is not designed to be left running as this will cause unnecessary increased wear to the movement.

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

The Case

Gold Omega chronographs from this period are rare, as most were made of steel or steel and gold. This watch measures 36mm excluding the crown. Most were size 33mm and many were made in case sizes of 30 to 32mm. In fact, there was some competition among watch manufacturers to demonstrate which company could build smaller and smaller chronographs while still remaining accurate and reliable, which is of course, harder to do. But how times have changed!

This is a highly elegant Swiss-made case which is in truly wonderful condition. The case is of a sturdy three-piece design with pleasing straight lugs and ultra thin bezel, giving the dial an even larger feel when on the wrist. The case-back is of full thickness and has never been engraved. It is also tight-fitting and presses back with a nice solid and reassuring ‘pop’.

Inside the case-back is correctly signed with the Omega branding and ‘Omega’ with ‘Fab Suisse’ and ‘Swiss-Made’ just below with the correct 18ct gold hallmarks, all completed with the case serial number 9174625.

The most remarkable aspect of this case, apart from its rarity, is its condition. It is simply superb. From each and every viewpoint it is very difficult to fault, with no signs of scratches, dings or damage visible to the naked eye. After cleaning and careful inspection for integrity, and then some very gentle hand-polishing, the case was very quickly brought back to the condition you see here.

Please note – 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 genuine Omega brown leather strap and gold plated Omega buckle, which we feel suits the watch perfectly. If, however, 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 burgundy and black straps in stock, in plain, padded leather, alligator, crocodile or lizard skin.

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 1940.

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 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 the original 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.