Property of an Important American Collector
117
Omega
An extremely rare, oversized, and interesting yellow gold chronograph wristwatch with fixed lugs and black multiscale dial
- Estimate
- $8,000 - 16,000•
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Omega
- Year
- Circa 1938
- Movement No
- 9’388’138
- Case No
- 9’174’734
- Material
- 18K yellow gold
- Calibre
- Manual, cal 33.3, 17 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- Fabric NATO
- Dimensions
- 37.7mm Diameter
- Signed
- Case, dial, and movement signed.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
Omega’s manual-winding caliber 33.3 CHRO is an icon amongst collectors. First manufactured by Lemania, it was launched in 1933, originally as a monopusher chronograph within the ref. 710. By the late 1930s, Omega redesigned it and used the movement in some of their finest two pusher chronographs. As the predecessor to the caliber 320 and later, the 321, it is the ancestor of all Omega Speedmaster movements.
The present watch is an impressive, hardly-ever-seen example with an 18K yellow gold, fixed-lug case measuring an impressive 37.7mm – quite large for an era where 36mm was considered oversized. Faceted, downturned lugs contrast with olive-shaped pushers and a multi-tone, gilt multi-scale black dial. Extraordinarily rare, this large chronograph is a rare gem from the annals of Omega.
The present watch is an impressive, hardly-ever-seen example with an 18K yellow gold, fixed-lug case measuring an impressive 37.7mm – quite large for an era where 36mm was considered oversized. Faceted, downturned lugs contrast with olive-shaped pushers and a multi-tone, gilt multi-scale black dial. Extraordinarily rare, this large chronograph is a rare gem from the annals of Omega.
Omega
Swiss | 1848Omega's rich history begins with its founder, Louis Brandt, who established the firm in 1848 in La Chaux de Fonds. In 1903, the company changed its name to Omega, becoming the only watch brand in history to have been named after one its own movements. A full-fledged manufacturer of highly accurate, affordable and reliable watches, its sterling reputation enabled them to be chosen as the first watch company to time the Olympic Games beginning in 1932. Its continued focus on precision and reliability ultimately led their Speedmaster chronograph wristwatch to be chosen by NASA in 1965 — the first watch worn on the moon.Key models sought-after by collectors include their first, oversized water-resistant chronograph — the reference 2077, early Speedmaster models such as the CK 2915 and 2998, military-issued versions of the Seamaster and oversized chronometer models such as those fitted with their prestigious caliber 30T2Rg.
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