Manufacturer: Omega Year: 1957 Reference No: CK 2914 Movement No: 15’373’854 Model Name: Railmaster Material: Stainless steel Calibre: Manual, cal. 284, 17 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Leather Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel buckle Dimensions: 38 mm diameter Signed: Case, dial and movement signed Accessories: Accompanied with Extract of the Archives confirming production of the present watch on September 25, 1957 and delivered to Sweden.
Catalogue Essay
Omega released the very first Railmaster, the reference CK2914, in 1957. The model was the manufacturer’s response to the increasing demand for wristwatches that could resist high magnetic fields in electro-industrial environments. Magnetism can wreak havoc on a mechanical watch by distorting the balance spring, ergo influencing the watch’s ability to maintain a stable oscillation sequence and keep time accurately. The CK2914 adopted a soft iron inner case as a Faraday Cage and a thicker dial to shield the movement from external magnetic influences of strengths up to 1,000 Gauss (a unit that measures the strength of magnetic fields).
Produced in 1957, this vintage Omega is one of the examples of the Railmaster series which was produced only for a short period of time. The caliber 284, used in the Railmaster only from 1957 to 1958, is a manual-winding movement which is renowned for its precision and dependability. Housed in a specially crafted stainless steel case, the hands and hour markers of the watch are faintly luminescent and have developed a lovely, warm patina. The present lot is an incredible tool watch, with everything that a vintage collector would love - the classic Omega broad-arrow hands, beautifully-aged patina and a utilitarian stainless steel case.
Omega'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.