46
Omega
Ref. 5942.30.31
De Ville Co-Axial Skeleton Limited Edition
An elegant limited edition white gold skeletonized automatic wristwatch with co-axial escapement, engraved rotor, guarantee, and presentation box, numbered 7 of 33
Full-Cataloguing
• Numbered 7 of a limited edition of 33 pieces
• Skeletonized and engraved automatic movement with co-axial escapement
• Full set
- With its first application in 1974, Dr. George Daniels developed the co-axial escapement in order to improve timekeeping capabilities in wristwatches without use of lubricant. Daniels’ Co-Axial mechanism was constructed with three pallets as a means to separate the locking function from the impulse. The clockwise and anti-clockwise impulses of the Swiss lever escapement were delivered indirectly, which result in significant energy loss, whereas with the Co-Axial movement, the clockwise impulse is given directly to the pallet. This design relied on radial friction, as opposed to sliding friction found with lever escapements, giving the escapement greater reliability, mechanical efficiency, and improved accuracy.
- It took almost 2 decades, but the invention finally found purchase with Nicolas Hayek and Omega, and the caliber 2500 was finally released in 1999 as the first commercially produced wristwatch featuring Daniels’ invention. The caliber 2402 is the skeletonized version of the caliber 2500, and housed within the reference 5942.30.31, a limited edition of only 33 pieces.
- The present example is numbered 7 of 33, and is complete with its guarantee dated 2002 and original accessories.
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.