About this watch

A gorgeous example of an original 50-year-old Omega Chronograph. More than a regular watch, a chronograph also incorporates a stopwatch function to display elapsed time, and Omega’s reputation here – as the first and only official timekeeper of the Olympic Games – remains unsurpassed.

Original features include: silver dial with silver markers; chronograph with extra 12-hour register; manual movement (which has been fully serviced and regulated) with 18,000 bph, 17 jewels, caliber 321, ref. 101.010; and signed 35mm case and crown. The only addition is a new black lizard strap. The watch runs very well, holds a good charge and keeps very good time.

A little history: Omega chronographs have always been favoured by those needing to measure very precise and/or repeated timings around complex, high-performance machinery, test pilots being a prime example. And it wasn’t too surprising that in 1965 NASA chose the Omega marque (the Speedmaster in particular) to be its official timekeeper.

Other cultural happenings that year included the London debut of Help!, the Beatles film, the opening there of the Post Office Tower, and the publication of Ian Fleming’s The Man with the Golden Gun.