Omega - The Geneva Watch Auction: XIII Geneva Saturday, May 8, 2021 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Omega
    Year: 1968
    Reference No: 166.077
    Movement No: 00'066'584
    Model Name: Seamaster 600 "Ploprof"
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. 1002, 17 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Rubber
    Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Omega pin buckle
    Dimensions: Width 54mm. Length 45mm.
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and buckle signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Omega Extract from the Archives confirming the watch was produced in Uranus steel and assembled internally by the prototype testing department in late 1968 to be delivered for active use in the Janus experimental dive by COMEX.

  • Catalogue Essay

    Famously developed with COMEX, the Seamaster 600 “Ploprof” is surely the world's most uniquely designed dive watch. The massive 54mm case is hewn from a single block of “Uranus steel”, the very same metal that COMEX selected to build their ultra-resilient diving bells. The present watch is confirmed by the Extract from Omega’s archive as one of the very few assembled by the protype & testing department in 1968 for COMEX’s “active use in the Janus experimental dive”.

    Worn extensively by the divers testing the limits of technology and physiology in their underwater habitat this early 166.077, with very low 00066xxx movement number, sports a number of features that never made it to the civilian production models.

    Most striking is the rare, red, locking nut that secures the square crown between its two hulking guards, the patent for which was only submitted in October of the same year this piece was built.

    Although the red nut is pictured in early advertisements from 1970/71, by the time Omega made the watch commercially available, it had been replaced by a more pedestrian steel variant. Importantly, the deep blue dial is devoid of any depth rating, and has not yet ‘earned’ its Professional designation. Accordingly these dials, have only been found in the very earliest protype and pre-production models and matches the configuration on COMEX founder, Henri Delauze’s own prototype 600.

  • Artist Biography

    Omega

    Swiss • 1848

    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.

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Ref. 166.077
A historically important professional divers watch made for the COMEX Janus dive programme

1968
Width 54mm. Length 45mm.
Case, dial, movement and buckle signed

Estimate
CHF30,000 - 50,000 
€27,200-45,300
$32,700-54,400

Sold for CHF138,600

Contact Specialist

Alexandre Ghotbi
Head of Watches, Continental Europe and the Middle East

41 79 637 1724
aghotbi@phillips.com

 

 

The Geneva Watch Auction: XIII

Geneva Auction 8 - 9 May 2021