Omega Cal.268 1961

Omega Watches

Since the company was founded in 1848, Omega has pioneered a huge range of technical innovations in watchmaking. 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 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 into space on NASA’s Mercury Sigma 7 mission, and in 1969 two Omega Speedmasters were the first watches to arrive on the moon, worn by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Description

Here we have a fine example of an early 1960’s gentleman’s wristwatch. Despite its age, this watch retains much of its originality in the dial, case and movement. As a package, this is a large vintage watch with a robust stainless steel case, a fully serviced and guaranteed Omega movement and a tastefully aged original dial. A perfect watch for casual, daily use, overflowing with history and character.

The Dial

The original, unrestored and untouched tropical silver dial is simply beautiful. This dial adds something so special and unique which is why we decided to leave the dial completely alone. The dial has original baton hour indices and original lance hands and this dial is completed with a perfectly proportioned subsidiary seconds dial at 6.

The dial also carries the original gilt Omega brand and is correctly signed Omega Seamaster below 12, along with just below 6, ‘Swiss Made’.

As this dial is in original, unrestored condition, 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, due to its unusual tropical condition and to retain its originality and charm for those who prefer this. 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 untouched 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

This watch is complete with its original and very special Omega 17 Jewel, Calibre 268 hand-wound movement. As can be seen, this couldn’t be cleaner as it is in sparkling condition.

The Omega Calibre 268 movement forms part of the Omega 30mm series and is perfectly designed and ideally proportioned for superb accuracy and reliability. This timepiece has every luxury feature that one could possibly imagine, including a modern glycadur balance combined with a Breguet overcoil hairspring. The movement also carries a very complex and ingenious 7 stage mainspring evolution system that gives the watch its impressive 45-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 +8 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!

The movement is signed ‘Omega’, ‘Swiss’ and ‘Seventeen 17 Jewels’ with the Calibre No. 268 and the movement serial No. 18678739 which dates this watch to 1961.

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

The Case

This very large 36mm Omega Swiss made case features a remarkably thin bezel, making the dial area very large indeed. Short straight sweeping lugs enable the watch to sit beautifully on the wrist

The very high quality, oversized stainless steel watch case measures a massive 36mm in diameter, excluding the correct unsigned crown. This is an exceedingly large gentleman’s watch for the early 1940s making this a very rare watch.

The inside of the press-fit case-back is inscribed with the Omega Watch Co triangle, as well as the case serial number 14389-61-CSP.

This watch has not been tested for water resistance and this is not guaranteed. Our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap & Buckle

This watch has a high quality brown leather strap fitted and this watch has also been fitted with a matching steel Rolex buckle. 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. We can also obtain most types and colours from our partners at ‘Watch Obsession’ within 48hrs. Please take a look at their huge range of straps if you wish here.

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 1961.

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”.

The watch comes complete with a high quality hardwood presentation box.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Paying by bank transfer for a 3% saving will not affect your 12 months warranty. 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.