Deeply rooted in WWII history, Omega’s new Seamaster 1948 watches are a tribute to the Swiss brand’s peaceful use of wartime technology. Between 1940 and 1945, Omega delivered more than 110,000 timepieces to the Royal Air Force and other branches of the military. The watches were highly valued by British airmen and sailors for their water resistance and reliability.
At the end of the war, Omega responded to the demand for a timepiece with the same robust technology but more aesthetically suited to civilian life. The result was the Seamaster line, Omega’s first family of watches: beautifully-designed timepieces, given even greater water-resistance than their military counterparts by Omega’s novel use of the O-ring gasket technology.
As part of the Seamaster 70th Anniversary celebrations, Omega is releasing four limited edition tributes to those early battle-proven timepieces: two stainless steel models first seen at Baselworld 2018 and two luxury editions in platinum. All four watches are driven by METAS-certified Master Chronometer movements, tested at the industry’s highest level and resistant to magnetic fields of 15,000 gauss.
Tough in steel
Both stainless steel models feature a polished bezel and opaline silvery domed dial. Each timepiece is presented in a special soft brown leather collector’s box, with spare NATO strap in the original Admiralty grey colour, spare leather strap and strap changing tool. The polished crown and polished-brushed stainless steel buckles are embossed with a vintage Ω.
On the Central Second model, driven by the Master Chronometer 8806, the hour hand, domed minute and domed seconds hand are all in diamond polished 18K white gold. The strap is blue-grey leather. The Small Seconds steel model features a subdial at 6 o’clock. The leaf style hour and domed minute hand are in diamond polished 18K white gold. As is the seconds hand. It is presented on a brown leather strap and powered by the Master Chronometer 8804. The stainless steel models are limited to 1948 pieces each.
Luxurious in platinum
These two watches add an extra touch of elegance to the battle-proven design. In keeping with the luxury platinum finish, the Master Chronometer movements include an 18K Sedna™ gold rotor and balance bridge. Features common to both watches are a 950 platinum case, a polished bezel, opaline 950 platinum domed dial and polished crown embossed with a vintage Ω. Each platinum edition is presented in a special soft brown leather collector’s box, with additional leather straps and strap changing tool.
The platinum Central Second features 18K Sedna™ gold hands and is presented on a brown leather strap. It is driven by Omega’s Master Chronometer calibre 8807. Powering the Small Seconds version with hunter green strap is the Master Chronometer 8805. Both platinum models are fixed to the wrist by a polished-brushed 950 platinum buckle with a vintage Ω. The platinum editions are limited to just 70 pieces each.
