Hong Kong, Nov 25, 2022
LOT 101
OMEGA
POCKET CHRONOMETER, CALIBRE 43.15 S; “GRADE VERY BEST”; LIMITED PRODUCTION OF 300 PIECES; 14K YELLOW GOLD
HKD 79,000 - 118,000
EUR 10,000 - 15,000 / CHF 9,900 - 14,800 / USD 10,000 - 15,000
14K yellow gold, hunting-case, keyless-winding, round-shaped, pocket chronometer, with subsidiary seconds at 6.
White enamel dial with suspended “Breguet” numerals, with the word “Chronomètre” in red at 12 o’clock.
Cover and case-back polished; case-back engraved in taille-douce (fine cut) with the cypher “G H”; cuvette (dome) engraved in taille-douce (fine cut) with the mention “Chronomètre Omega”.
Movement 18’’’, calibre 43.15 S, “Grade Very Best”, rhodium-plated, 23 jewels, going barrel with safety pinion,gold train of wheels, gold screwed-chatons (setting), straight-line equilibrated lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensated balance with gold poising screws and blued steel Breguet hairspring, index regulator with swan-neck spring and precision-regulating device for fast / slow by means of an eccentric snail, adjusted to 6 positions and temperatures.
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: AAA |
Excellent |
Case: 2 |
Very good |
Movement: 2* |
Very good Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense |
Dial: 2-01 |
Very good HANDS Original |
Brand Omega, Bienne / Biel
Model “Grade Very Best”
Year 1921-1922 and circa 1935
Movement No. 5 983 813
Case No. 7 608 910
Material 14K yellow gold
Diameter 52.2 mm.
Caliber 43.15 S, “Grade Very Best”, lever escapement, adjusted to 6 positions and temperatures
Signature dial, case and movement
Accessories original fitted box (with the name of the French retailer, Armand Aubert, Joaillier-Orfèvre, Nantes); Bulletin de marche (Watch rate certificate) No. 3 555, from the Bureau Officiel de Contrôle de la Marche des Montres from Bienne / Biel (dated , November 30, 1936)
Notes
Cal. 43.15 S “Grade Very Best”
The “Grade Very Best” replaced the “DDR” as Omega’s highest quality chronometer movement in July 1922. This calibre was made in 600 examples: 300 “Lépine” movements (for open-face watch) and 300 “savonnette” movements (for hunting-case watch).
The term “Very Best” was trademarked by Omega for dials, cases and movements in 1904.
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-seconds chronograph and 30-minute counter for 2 835 Swiss francs, and a standard 18K gold hunting-case pocket watch with 20’’’ movements 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.