Important Swiss 18K gold keyless chronometer Circa 1925

Gold hunting cased precision watch
–
An important Swiss 18 carat yellow gold hunting cased keyless pocket chronometer, circa 1925. One of a series of 300 pieces made. Accompanied by the Omega Extract from the Archives. A hinged gold cuvette engraved with Chronomètre Omega. Two tone champagne coloured and silver dial with Arabic hour numerals, outer minute divisions, subsidiary seconds and heavy moon hands. Rhodium plated movement in quality Very Best with Geneva striping decoration, 23 jewels of which most are in screwed gold chatons, a safety pinion, bimetallic cut compensation balance, adjusted to six positions and temperatures, a blued steel Breguet balance spring, eccentric cam micrometer regulator and gold wheel train. Dial, case and movement signed.
–
Diameter: 52 mm
–
Signed: Ω Omega Chronomètre Importé de Suisse
–
The Grade Very Best replaced the DDR as Omega’s highest quality chronometer movement in July 1922. This caliber was made in 600 examples: 300 Lépine movements for open faced watches and 300 movements for hunting cased watches. The term Very Best was trademarked by Omega for dials, cases and movements in 1904.
–
In 1929, the present watch cost CHF 1.085. By way of comparison, that same year Tiffany & Co. sold a Patek Philippe minute repeating perpetual calendar pocket watch with moon phases, split seconds chronograph and 30 minute counter for CHF 2.835 and a standard 18 carat gold hunting cased pocket watch with 20”’ movements could be bought for CHF 385. The fact that this watch costs nearly 40% more as a highly complicated Patek Philippe and over four times more as that of 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.