This elongated 1947 art deco solid 14 karat gold gentleman’s Omega is one of the most charming vintage watches for sale on our site at present. The case style is particularly eye catching, with very distinctive stepped ends that were very much in vogue in the late 1930s. Patek-Philippe, Jaeger LeCoultre and IWC all offered variations on this theme, as did Rolex with its Egyptian Prince. Vintage Omega watches with this case style don’t crop up for sale with much regularity and are not often seen outside well established private collections. Even Anton Kreuzers’s celebrated work “Omega Designs, Feast for the Eyes”, though giving the honour of a double page colour photo spread on pages 46 and 47 to a similarly styled rectangular watch from the same era, doesn’t picture an example that is as attractive and highly stylised as the one shown here.

The development of the wristwatch case in all its myriad forms is a fascinating subject, but one that is too complex to be discussed here. Let it suffice here to say that the earliest wristwatches were circular and took their inspiration from the pocket watch styles that had preceded them. In the 1930s, the “form watch” developed, this being so named as a reference to the case styles having a distinctive wristwatch form of their own, often in rectangular and cushion styles. The wristwatch had broken free from the constraints of inherited pocket watch design and had at last established a clear identity in its own right.

While waterproof wristwatches had been available since the mid-1920s, a trend for these models began in earnest in the war years which influenced the tastes of the buying public after the end of the conflict. Creating a sealed watch with a rectangular case is an enormously difficult task and has hardly ever been achieved successfully. The majority of the high-end rectangular deco watches of the 1930s and early ‘40s, like this one, though among the most sought after and beautiful watches ever made in the eyes of modern collectors, are not water resistant and were intended only for dry weather conditions. Accordingly, they fell victim to this change in fashion and, even a decade later, by the mid 1950s, catalogues from the Swiss luxury makers were almost entirely filled with round cased timepieces.

And so the glorious age of the rectangular luxury watch came to a close, usurped by the more utilitarian waterproof circular watches of the late 1940s and ‘50s. Though often attractive in their own right, the circular offerings don’t quite have that “Clark Gable” art deco magic that oozes from these earlier models which may explain the very high prices that are paid for the best rectangular vintage watches now.

This watch is in superb condition throughout, its very heavy solid gold case having only the very faintest of imperfections that are to be expected on any watch of this age. It should be noted that this is a large watch, with a width of nearly 25mm and an elegant, flowing length of just under 37mm. These deco cases were carefully hand soldered together when new, a process that was very labour intensive and added considerably to the retail price of the watches. The case structure is so complex on these examples that it was impossible to simply machine them out a solid block of steel as was the norm when producing the standard circular fare.

The case back interior is fully signed “Omega, 14 Karat Gold” and carries the case reference 492265. This is an important point that must be considered by any potential purchaser. This watch has a case reference that is correct for its movement and dial, and is consistent with the age of the rest of the watch, but so many imitation watches are now being offered that have incorrect case references and have been thrown together from spare parts cannibalised from worn out and heavily modified examples.

Incidentally, the use of 14 karat gold here almost certainly tells us that this was a watch intended for sale originally in the American market. 9 and 18 karat gold were the norms in Europe and Great Britain, with 10 and 14 karat being the standards over the Atlantic. There are exceptions, but in general terms, when a vintage watch is housed in a 14 karat gold case, it is safe to assume that its intended market when new was the USA.

The purchaser of this piece need have no concerns as to originality. It is guaranteed to be entirely authentic and correct in every respect. The watch has no changed parts whatsoever and is almost the perfect example of this particular model.

The fully signed, completely original dial is in very fine condition, with only the very slightest degree of ageing that has occurred with careful use over many years. This is extremely attractive, the gold subsidiary seconds minute track contrasting with the black background surface. Due to them not being waterproof or significantly resistant to dust, 1930s and ‘40s rectangular models do tend to suffer from dial discolouration and corrosion, which rather makes the example here, in almost mint condition, even more remarkable. Very few of the rectangular watches that were manufactured during this period still retain their original dials in excellent condition and in the vintage market place today, those that do command high prices on account of their rarity and evocative antiquated looks.

The movement used in this watch is the hand wound Omega calibre R17.8, one of the most successful rectangular mechanisms to have been ever manufactured in-house by Omega. Though initially launched in 1940 with 15 jewels, this up-rated 17 jewelled version was introduced in 1944, three years before the watch here was made, and was also offered with centre seconds as an option as calibre number R17.8 SC. It had a remarkably fast beat rate for its time of 21,600 half beats per hour, and certainly this is a considerable feat that contributes greatly to the reputation that the R17.8 had for extreme accuracy. This unit became so respected through the luxury watch industry that Omega actually began fitting it to some of their top level circular watches, with a carefully machined spacer being included inside the case to pack out the redundant extra space that would otherwise have been present.

Notice that this movement does not have a calibre number stamped into it. This is absolutely correct. Omega completely revised its movement classification system in August 1949 and mechanisms manufactured before this date should not feature calibre numbers on them. In the re-numbering process, the subsidiary seconds R17.8 was assigned the new calibre number 300 and the centre seconds version became calibre 310.

If the movement photograph accompanying this listing is scrutinised in detail, the letters “OXG” can be seen stamped next to the regulator. In the years immediately after World War II through to the mid-1950s, American legislation required that every Swiss watch movement imported to the United States be identifiable by a three letter code that indicated its importing agent. Every unit was allocated its own serial number and it was, theoretically at least, easy to spot those movements that had not been imported officially and been subject to the high levels of duty imposed on European goods at that time. OXG was the code used by Norman Morris Inc of New York, which was Omega’s sole US agent during the vintage period. It is worth pointing out how the OXG code on the movement ties in perfectly with the 14 karat gold used for the case, this been the norm for the American market. A lot of the techniques in assessing vintage watches for authenticity are no more than cross referencing of components to ensure consistency throughout an entire piece and this example is typical of a basic check that can be carried out by the most inexperienced newcomer before the purchase of an ostensibly American market vintage watch is made.

The movement in this particular watch is in remarkably fine condition and is fully signed “Omega Watch Co, Swiss, Seventeen Jewels”, together with the serial number 11019302. Falling between the two extremes of vintage Omega movement production for that year of 11000000 and 11333333, this clearly dates this unit as having been manufactured in 1947. As stated above, it has no changed parts whatsoever and is entirely original down to the tiniest detail. It has been fully serviced throughout its life with no regard whatsoever to expense and is working perfectly.

We have fitted the watch with a black crocodile skin type strap of the very highest grade. This is not an original Omega item, the one supplied with the watch having disintegrated many years ago, but it is in a style perfectly in keeping with the vintage nature of the piece and, being unworn and in mint condition, certainly need not be replaced.

We have priced this item at £1475 GB pounds, which dually reflects its superb condition and the fact that we deliberately try to undercut the prices realised at the specialist horological sales held by Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Bonhams and Antiquorum. Our business, like any other, thrives on turnover of stock and at this level, this piece is offered , at very most, at half of what it would be sold for in a central London vintage watch dealer’s shop. Our policy has always been to sell watches relatively quickly, pricing them accordingly, rather than having items linger in our safe for years on end.

Overall, this is one of the rarest and most attractive vintage Omega watches that the company offered in the immediate post-war period. Its styling is actually very 1930s influenced and even at the time when it was purchased new, it must have looked somewhat anachronistic at a point when the general trend was towards circular watches. The combination of a solid 14 karat gold case, the art deco stepped case sides and the very sought after original, near mint, black dial makes this the perfect antique watch for investment purposes or as a centrepiece in a collection of vintage Omega models.