During the 1930s and early 1940s, Swiss watch manufactures were just beginning to innovate techniques and produce watches meant as tools, rather than time-telling wrist adornments. In the early 1940s, Omega excelled in creating multi-scale chronographs, complete with tachymeter, telemeter, and pulsometer scales, that were equaled in their practicality only by their beauty. The present example, cased in 18K pink gold, with a glossy galvanic black dial offset by copper, silver, and gold printed scales, has retained its delicate charisma for over seven decades.
Underneath the gorgeous dial beats Omega’s manually-wound chronograph caliber 33.3. Originally manufactured by Lemania and introduced in 1933 as a monopusher chronograph, it was redesigned in the late 1930s and placed within the manufacture’s finest two-pusher chronographs. Research shows the present lot was delivered to South America in 1940. With its well-preserved case, resplendent dial, and charming wrist presence, the present Omega chronograph will certainly be a colorful and exquisite addition to any horological collection.
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.
