Post by Houston on Nov 5, 2007 9:35:12 GMT -5
November 5 2007
OMEGA 1894 CENTENARY COLLECTION
While Louis Brandt opened his comptoir d'etabilissage, a sub-contracting sales office for watch manufacture in 1848, the first completely new movement did not go into production until 1894 and the OMEGA name was not applied to the dials of the watches until then. In 1994 OMEGA produced just 100 sets of a special series of three watches to commemorate this special anniversary. Two of the watches had line dials and the third, a wonderfully artistic floral dial made of enamel.
The two very fine and rare “ line ” dial watches were in platinum with two-toned silvered dial and pink gold with two-toned pink gold dials respectively. The dials featured applied markers on an inner hour track with Roman numerals at 12, 2, 4, 8 and 10 o’clock which alternated with dot indexes. A small seconds sub dial was located in the six o’clock position. An outer minute track bore line minute markers with accents at five minute intervals and each minute was presented graduations, each representing a fifth of a minute. The dial itself was split into four quadrants by intersecting perpendicular black lines meeting in the center of the leaf-style hour and minute hands.
A spectacular aesthetic offering comes in the third presentation of the series with its’ very prominent enamel, cloisonne flower in the central zone of the dial. To preserve the beauty of the floral arrangement, the dial is therefore kept as elegantly minimalistic as is possible with a Champagne chapter ring with applied gold dot and facetted indexes with the hands in yellow gold matching the case and crown. The Omega legend which is crowned by the symbol which is in applied yellow gold is placed unusually in the six o’clock position and follows the curvature of the dial.
Power for the Omega Centenary Limited Edition is courtesy of the cal 269 ( lined dial models ) and cal 286 ( cloisonne flower dial ) with 17 jewels and straight-line lever escapement, monometallic balance, shock absorber, self-compensating flat balance spring and index regulator. The case measures 35.7mm and is 10mm in depth in respect of the lined dials and 11.2mm for the cloisonne flower dial with a display back and appropriately signed on the dial, case and movement.
Pictures – antiquorum.com
ZIN
Not usually shaken nor stirred ;D ;D ;D
Please Note that our Homage to Bienne Series was created to present the timeless beauty and desirability of rare and unique OMEGA watches. As such most of these items are discontinued though some may be replaced by newer models
SEMPER FI - THERE IS NO COMPROMISE 
