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THE GENEVA WATCH AUCTION: THREE [Catalogue]

Page 31

115.

OMEGA – A very rare and attractive yellow gold jumping center seconds wristwatch with box

Manufacturer

Omega

Year

1953

Reference No.

OT 14.306

Movement No.

12’201’622

Case No.

10’942’352

Model Name

Synchrobeat

Material

18k yellow gold

Calibre

Manual winding, cal. 372 SCS, 17 jewels

Bracelet/Strap

Crocodile

Clasp/Buckle

18k yellow gold Omega pin buckle

Dimensions

34mm. Diameter

Signed

Case, dial, movement and buckle signed

Estimate CHF 15,000-25,000 ∑ $15,500-25,800 €13,700-22,800

beat’s seconds hand to tick only once per second. Unfortunately, technical challenges arose with the mechanism, and Omega was forced to stop production and recall all unsold watches. Omega ordered all watches to either be destroyed or used as spare parts, with only 17 believed to have escaped destruction. The present lot is without a doubt one of the survivors, and consequently, amongst the rarest of all Omega wristwatches ever produced. Furthermore, it has stood the test of time remaining in exceptional condition with a sharp case still retaining the original factory fnish on all of its surfaces. The dial is pristine, with a delightful, outer minute track connecting all second markers in accordance with the once-per-second beat of the second’s hand. Featuring a precision-oriented cross-hair dial, the caliber 372 was an ofcially certifed chronometer, as indicated at 12 o’clock on the dial. A treasure for any collector of rare vintage watches.

Accessories Accompanied by Omega presentation box and Extract from the Archives confrming production of the watch in 1953

In the realm of collectible vintage Omega watches, there are few that are as mythical as the Synchrobeat. According to scholarship, in 1954, Omega had originally manufactured around 1,000 Synchrobeat watches for the US market featuring a dead-beat, or stop-seconds, mechanism. Fitted with the caliber 372, a rather complicated sub-system precisely controlled the Synchro-

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