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 Accessories: Accompanied by Omega presentation box and Extract from the Archives confirming production of the watch in 1953
Catalogue Essay
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 Synchrobeat’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 finish 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 officially certified chronometer, as indicated at 12 o’clock on the dial. A treasure for any collector of rare vintage watches.
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.