Omega Cal.266 9ct 1953/54

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 40s also saw the first tourbillon wristwatch and the first of the famous Seamaster watches, whilst the 50s 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.

Description

Here we a have a wonderful example of a classic 1950s, gentleman’s hand-wound Omega, with a good sized 33.5mm 9ct watch case in fully restored, A1 condition. This watch contains the Omega flagship, Calibre 266 version of the famous Omega ’30mm’ series of hand-wound movements. First produced in 1939, this movement helped establish Omega as an ‘invincible’ watchmaker by continually winning top prizes for accuracy and reliability during its production span of 25 years.

The Dial

Simply beautiful! Slightly off-white with applied gilt ‘arrowhead’ indices and 3, 9, 12, numerals, matched with gilt ‘Dauphine’ hands.

Please note – the hands are original and restored and have been kept, rather than replaced to retain their originality and character. We use a very high definition camera and macro lens which picks up every detail, much more so than the naked eye. The camera images therefore, can be a little unflattering whereas in real life, the slight tarnishing you may notice on the hands is hard to see. In fact, if noticed at all, the effect is quite charming. However, if you would prefer to buy this watch with new correct set of replacement hands fitted, we will be pleased to arrange this free of charge.

The dial is signed ‘Omega’ with the applied Omega brand and ‘Swiss Made’, at the very bottom of the dial. The dial also carries the classic 1950s subsidiary seconds dial at ‘6’.

This is the original dial which has been restored to the highest standards by our dial restorers, who are considered to be the best in the UK.

The Movement

This watch contains its original and very special Omega 17 Jewel, Calibre 266 hand-wound movement. As can be seen, it is in sparkling clean condition and signed ‘Omega’, ‘Swiss’ with the Calibre no. 266, the Serial no. 13,751,944 and ’17 JEWELS’. The serial number dates the watch to late 1953.

The Omega Calibre 266 movement is perfectly designed and ideally proportioned for superb accuracy and reliability. This timepiece has every luxury feature that one could possibly imagine, including a very complex and ingenious 7 stage mainspring evolution system that gives the watch an impressive 42-hour power reserve.

Our vintage Omega specialist watchmaker has just given the movement a full inspection, overhaul and service and commented that he found the movement to be particularly clean and also indicated it has been properly maintained. Following the service he has carefully calibrated the watch and following our final checks, including testing the watch for accuracy on our electronic test instrument, we found the watch to be keeping time within +4 seconds per day. This is outstanding for any watch of this age.

We are very happy to offer the watch with our 12 months’ warranty*. With care and with regular servicing, say every 3 – 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to run quite happily for many more decades to come!

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

The Case

This watch has obviously been very well cared for and has seen only light use. The beautiful 9ct solid yellow gold case has swept-back lugs which raise the case slightly on the wrist and emphasises its presence. At 33.5mm in diameter, excluding the crown, this is a  typical sized watch by the standards of its day.

The watch has been very well cared for and after a close inspection 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 no marks or scratches visible to the naked eye. Even under high magnification, it is very hard to find any signs of wear, indicating this watch has seen very little use and has had a charmed life.

The case is of full-thickness and has never been inscribed.

Inside the case-back, all is correct and as expected, signed ‘Omega Watch Co.’, with the case serial number 599141 and with 9ct Birmingham UK hallmarks. This case is also signed ‘Dennison, Made In England’ since Dennison produced the majority of Omega watch cases for watches sold in the UK during this time.

Please note – The Birmingham UK hallmarks date the watch case to 1954, therefore this watch could rightfully be described as a 1953 (as per the movement serial number) or a 1954 watch.

The case has been professionally inspected, cleaned and lightly polished and is in superb condition, showing only very minimal signs of wear with no scratches, dings, or other damage visible to the naked eye.

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

The Strap & Buckle

A new, high quality brown Lizard 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.

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 1954/54.

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 Omega presentation box shown in the photographs is included with this watch.

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.