This is a surprise
1957 Omega Seamaster
420 movement
32mm case
17mm strap
This came as a bit of a surprise to me and probably to a few of you as well. As some of you on the Crunch were aware I was waiting on the January sales in order to buy a Hamilton Aviation Pioneer.. and there lies the problem. With a few weeks to wait on January 1st, my mind and my eye began browsing auction sites and one watch in particular, kept drawing me back.When I first saw it, I thought.. That's Nice, but 32mm, I couldn't.. Could I?
On the 17mm strap it came with
But, as the days went on, I kept going back to it and my desire for the Hamilton became a distant memory. When the auction ended with no bidders (including me), I thought, well, I'll start looking for a Hamilton pioneer again. But the worst thing possible happened, the Seamaster was relisted at a lower price. The temptation was becoming too much for me, and I started pestering the seller with questions. He assured me he is an Omega certified watchmaker and serviced and refurbished the watch himself. Of course, you cannot rely on everything you're told on the internet, but the guy had great feedback from previous Omega sales and he was always prompt in answering my questions. A little haggling followed and with a further reduced price, the watch was mine. It's now my oldest watch, my smallest watch, and my very first Swiss Made watch.
Squeezed into an 18mm khaki green suede strap
I can hear a lot of you cry.. "32mm. Not for me". But I can honestly say, once you have it on the wrist, it doesn't feel that small. It's obviously a great dress watch, but I'm not really a dressy sort of guy, I envisage wearing this as an everyday watch, whilst travelling, camping, hiking, etc. and why not. Back in the 40s Omega supplied more than 100,000 watches to the British Armed Services and again in 1952, Omega was appointed as an official supplier to the British Navy, Air force, and Army, and it is these military grade watches that inspired the civilian models to come.
As Omega stated in the 50s ",If you must have a watch you can rely on - always - the Seamaster is the watch you need
I
Yonder.. the man who stares at watches. 🥸
Pure vintage excellence!
Beautiful, Jon. I was looking forward to seeing the Hamilton, but this is just lovely. Congratulations!
You did well. 32mm will eventually feel natural (making 36mm seem enormous).
The dial has been badly repainted. Ghastly relume job is just one flaw. The Omega font is all wrong, the minute track is quite dreadful as well.
What a fantastic Seamaster. Size is only a number it looks great on wrist!
Yes. As much as I love Hamilton, I'd go for the Omega first. Well done.
Stunning mate 🔥👌🏻👍🏻👊🏻
Lovely watch. I recently purchased a 34mm and am loving the look and comfort of it.
Love the strap on this one!
Congratulations John! What a stunning timepiece. Wear it in good health my friend
32 mm with very little bezel and a white dial. Feels like 36 mm. Great find!!!!
Great watch! Vintage par excellence.
I love it, and after collecting and wearing dozens of watches something that is on the edges of the bell curve is just fun to switch things up and appreciate. You might already know this but if you ever want it to feel larger, try a bracelet which will blend with the metal (mesh or maybe beads of rice) and makes it feel a single thing on your wrist instead of drawing attention to just the small case, and of course there’s alway a bund strap for added ooomph. The Omega here is 33mm and the Illinois is 30mm:
I love it, and after collecting and wearing dozens of watches something that is on the edges of the bell curve is just fun to switch things up and appreciate. You might already know this but if you ever want it to feel larger, try a bracelet which will blend with the metal (mesh or maybe beads of rice) and makes it feel a single thing on your wrist instead of drawing attention to just the small case, and of course there’s alway a bund strap for added ooomph. The Omega here is 33mm and the Illinois is 30mm:
An elegant time piece for sure glad you got the the watch
That's very very nice John! Great choice!
Congrats again, John! Beautiful!
Congrats again, John! Beautiful!
Careful, Lawrence, people will start talking about us 😂
Also32mm. In white gold....
Also32mm. In white gold....
Great looking watch.
This is 32mm?? How do they make it look so big? What size strap is it? 🤓
Thanks for the pics, Chris. It looks great. Am I right in thinking your's is a 34mm, 35mm maybe? And also did you say you used your own strap and threaded that through the bund. What is your lug size?
That's very very nice John! Great choice!
Thanks a lot, Dominic 🤓
Beautiful. Well played. Wear it well
Thank you 🤓
Thanks for the pics, Chris. It looks great. Am I right in thinking your's is a 34mm, 35mm maybe? And also did you say you used your own strap and threaded that through the bund. What is your lug size?
Mine is a 34 and the lug width is 18. Vario do a 20 and an 18mm bund. I fitted my own strap as I didn’t want the rivets, I didn’t think they would suit the Omega 👍
Also - the Vario straps can come up a bit short on a smaller watch for my 7” wrist. The Junghans is on the limit with its short lugs.
Mine is a 34 and the lug width is 18. Vario do a 20 and an 18mm bund. I fitted my own strap as I didn’t want the rivets, I didn’t think they would suit the Omega 👍
Also - the Vario straps can come up a bit short on a smaller watch for my 7” wrist. The Junghans is on the limit with its short lugs.
Thanks, Chris. My lugs are 17mm I've managed to squeeze the 18mm suede strap on (it's really soft), but I'm not sure I could manage anything thicker
Thanks, Chris. My lugs are 17mm I've managed to squeeze the 18mm suede strap on (it's really soft), but I'm not sure I could manage anything thicker
I should double check mine to be honest. I’ve always squeezed an 18 in but it is tight. I’ll get the callipers out in the morning 👍
Great looking watch.
This is 32mm?? How do they make it look so big? What size strap is it? 🤓
It looks bigger because it's all dial....18 mm. strap
How much did that run you? Love it
How much did that run you? Love it
Less than I thought it would. But more than I was going to spend 🤓