This Watch

We have here an Omega Seamaster 2848 / 2846 from 1956.  We were mesmerised by aging on this original dial. The black is starting to only just turn a dark chocolate brown.  You can see the dial is clearly original and has pointed slim arrow baton markers and Arabic applied numbers  The dial has aged evenly and we always love the uniqueness of this amount of patina. Gilt text,  hour markers and alpha hour, minute and subsidiary seconds hands. Note a slight two tone effect with a circular engine turned sub seconds .The dial is signed 'Omega, Automatic Seamaster,' with the famous, gilt Omega logo at 12 o'clock .

The 34mm, stainless steel pressured clip back case is a comfortable wear for both him and her.  We love the chunkier, 1950s case designs from Omega - they give the watch real personality.  We particularly love the slightly fatter lugs of this piece, which gives the watch a slightly more contemporary feel.  Inside is the automatic Omega caliber 491, fully serviced by us and running strongly.  We've paired the watch on an unusual tan croco grain leather strap with summer vibes but pretty much any strap would suit this watch.

Founded by Louis Brandt in 1848, Omega started out as La Generale Watch Co., an unassuming, but international business. It wasn't until 1885, when the company had been taken over by Louis' sons, that the first mass-produced caliber, the Labrador, was released. By 1903, the company had renamed itself Omega and only two years later were they the official timekeepers at many sporting events across Switzerland. Omega stepped onto an international stage in 1932 as the official timekeepers at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the first of over 20 Olympic Games. Omega were one of the 12 companies, now known as the Dirty Dozen, commissioned to produce watches for the British Military during the Second World War. One of Omega's most iconic watches, the Seamaster, was introduced in 1948 to celebrate their 100th anniversary. Over 70 years later, it is still one of Omega's best selling watches. Omega made headlines in 1962 when Wally Schirra wore the Speedmaster as part of NASA's first crewed spaceflight programme, making the Speedmaster the first watch to enter space. It was only a few years before the Speedmaster became the official chronograph for the American space missions and was worn by Buzz Aldrin as well as the Apollo 13 crew.

Fully serviced by us in our on-site workshop and comes with our 12 month, non-waterproof service cover.

What we think

The dial is what drew us in to this watch first, but when we inspected closer we realised how special the dial actually is!  Generally vintage black dials seemed to suffer over time and also less were produced.  Maybe a combination of the chemical make-up of black dials, combined with the elements, caused them to mostly deteriorate, making a survivor a rare watch indeed!  Granted, any vintage Seamaster with these fat lugs I adore!  If you're looking for an affordable, attractive and reliable vintage watch, you'd be pushed to find a better example.  Perfect for the vintage watch newbie but also a must-have for a seasoned collector. 

Spec Stuff