A rare 1950s Omega military wristwatch is one of the highlights of the Spring Fine Jewellery, Watches and Silver Sale on 15th March. In May 1953 circa 5,900 Omega watches were issued to the RAF, which are today often appropriately nicknamed “53 Omegas”.
Designed for use in combat, they were built to a very high standard; they were waterproof and had the 283 calibre stockproof movements finished in rose gold, and a soft iron inner casing to make the watch less magnetic, thus reducing the risk of interfering with an aircraft’s instruments whilst not altering the efficiency of the watch.
The first of this consignment of watches were issued with ‘Thin Arrow’ radium dials, like in the present example (estimate: £2,500-3,000). However, there was concern within the MoD that the radium might be a safety issue when the watches were all stockpiled; the watches were recalled and re-dialled with a safer alternative – the tritium ‘Fat Arrow’ dial.
The vast majority of the original radium dials were replaced by the MoD, and it is thought that only a few hundred of the Omega ‘Thin Arrow’ watches escaped the upgrade, and few still survive today, particularly in good condition.
