This is a lovely gold dress watch from Omega, which has an unusually large case for the time - it measures 37mm excluding the crown. Watches of this size are really rather rare - these days all sizes up to about 45mm are quite common, but in the mid 20th century manufacturers only produced what were called 'oversize' cases in relatively small numbers. The size is well suited to contemporary tastes though and certainly possesses more presence than a standard size watch of the period. The case is made in 18 carat rose gold, rose gold was a very popular case material in the 1950s and 60s and I think this watch is a wonderful encapsulation of that triumphant period of Swiss watchmaking. The dial has a cross hair design and a vertical guilloche finish, this gives texture to the dial and creates a very elegant appearance. The dial has applied gold hour markers and unusually an applied gold Omega logo (I have only rarely come across this on Omega watches of the period).The case is in good order and retains what I imagine is the original brushed finish around the body of the case. There has been a slightly heavy handed repair to the fixed lugs at some point, which I've preferred to leave as it's not visible from the front and looks like it will certainly hold. The watch is powered by an Omega calibre 268, this is a superb example of the mid-twentieth century manual wind movements that Omega produced. It's fully jewelled, with a jewel count of 17. This means that all the wheels in the train are jewelled on both pivots. Seventeen is pretty much the maximum number of jewels which a manual wind movement functionally benefits from, so it runs with the minimum amount of friction. This family of movements were the mainstay of the Omega company from about 1939 all the way up to the early 1960s and are always a pleasure to service as all the components are really well made and they go together with a bare minimum of fuss!Case diameter: 37mmCase material: 18 carat rose goldStrap width: 19.5mm, fixed lugs time keeping: Grade A
