Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces

Geneva, May 14, 2017

LOT 89

OMEGA, CHRONOMETRE, THE VERY BEST Omega, "Chronomètre", No. 5983774, case No. 6490404, Ref. OV 241 JV. Sold on July 30, 1925. Very fine, rare and important, hunting-cased, 18K yellow gold keyless pocket chronometer, one of a series of 300 pieces made circa 1925. Accompanied by the Omega extract from the archives

CHF 5,000 - 8,000

HKD 40,000 - 64,000 / USD 5,000 - 8,000

Four-body, "bassine", hinged gold cuvette engraved "Chronomètre Omega". Two-tone champagne and silver with arabic numerals, outer minute divisions, subsidiary seconds, painted Omega name and sign in black and the words "Chronomètre" in red at 12 o'clock. Cal. 43.15 S Very Best, rhodium-plated, "fausses côtes" decoration, 23 jewels, most in screwed gold chatons, safety pinion, bimetallic cut compensation balance, adjusted to 6 positions and temperatures, blued steel Breguet balance spring, eccentric cam micrometer regulator, gold wheel train.


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent

Case: 2-8

Very good

Slightly scratched

Movement: 2*

Very good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense

Dial: 2-8-01

Very good

Slightly scratched

HANDS Original

Notes

Dial, case and movement signed.. DIAM. 52 mm. The present watch cost 1,085 Swiss francs in 1929. By way of comparison, that same year Tiffany & Co. sold a Patek Philippe minute-repeating perpetual calendar pocket watch with moon phases, split-second chronograph and 30-minute counter for 2,835 Swiss francs, and a standard 18K gold hunting-cased pocket watch with 20''' movement could be bought for 385 Swiss francs. The fact that this watch cost nearly 40% as much as a highly complicated Patek Philippe and over four times as much as that company's standard production is due to the cost of manufacturing such a high-precision movement. Precision movements are made to much smaller mechanical tolerances than standard watch movements and often take as long to manufacture and regulate as complicated movements. Precision watches were also prized possessions and were often reserved for the manufacturer's best clients. Cal. 43.15 S Very Best The "Very Best" grade replaced the "DDR" as Omega's highest quality Chronometer movement in July 1922. This caliber was made in 600 examples, 300 Lépine and 300 Savonnette. The term "Very Best" was trademarked by Omega for dials, cases, and movements, in 1904.