1960 Omega caliber 269

I thought it was at high time to make a more formal presentation of a watch that has gotten a lot of praise over the last couple of months. I bought this Omega very cheap almost four months ago. Partly as a repleacement for a nice Constellation I had to sell, but more because I have loved these "30 mm" Omega's for a long time.
This particular watch is from 1960, has a caliber 269 movement and has just recently been fitted with a sapphire display back. The watch has gone through a full overhaul before I got it and since the dial was in very bad shape, it's a redial. Of course, I would prefere the original dial, but as this is one the better redials, it's O.K with me.

Since it's such a prominent feature on this watch, I thought I'd better present the display back first! A short time after I got the watch, I started to discuss making a display back with my watchmaker. (The Vintage Watchmaker) I had seen the movement before the watch was assembled and it was definetely in good enough shape, both technically and visually, to be on display.
Claus mailed to tell me, that he had made a test display back on an Omega Geneve and he was very satisfied with the result. I thought about it for some time and finally decided that it had to be!

The original caseback has been used for the project. Many will think that's a big shame and indeed it would have been if the original back had been nice. It wasn't, to say the least! Plain and not very attractive.
Claus went for a sapphire crystal to get the maximum strength and durability and did all he could to get as much of the movement visible. I think he did a great job!

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The movement

As many of you will know, the caliber 269 stems directly from the famous caliber 30T2. The 26x line starts with caliber 264 and ends with 269. The most visible differences are the "Novoshok" shockprotection and the screwless balance in the 269. Actually, I prefere the screwed balance in the older movements, but I as I was going to hold on to this one, I decided it didn't matter!
Now, the 26x calibers are basic, simple, reliable and very sturdy movements that in the 30T2 and various other incarnations were used in WWII and later pilot's watches. This suits me fine! I use this watch as a dress watch, but I like to know it's tough enough for whatever it might encounter!
The finish is rose gilding as most of Omega's movements were at the time. There are no decorations like Geneva stripes, perlage or anything, but most of the movement plates have anglage, the jewels are nicely mounted and the screwheads are polished and in level with the plates. All in all, basic finish for the time, but much better than many contemporary movements. While the 269 is no high end piece, one would have to cough up a lot of money to get a contemporary movement of comparable quality.

The case is a typical 50's design, but with the much talked about "bombe" lugs. This one actually has a small flaw. The polished upper edge of the 5 o'clock lug is a tiny bit (0,1 mm to be exact!) wider than the on the 1 o'clock lug. This is very clearly a manufacturing error. I thought about it for some time, had my watchmaker look at it once more and since he didn't think they could do anything about it, I decided to let it be and keep the watch. After all, it's only visible when you know to look for it. A lot of people have studied this watch and never noticed!
There is no way around it; this piece has been used by the previous owner or owners! There are a lot of fine scratches on the case wich couldn't be polished out, but fortunately there are no larger dings of scratches. The sharper the light, the more visible the scratches, so it looks best in soft light!:-)
The case is 35 mm in diameter and including the crystal, it's 10,4 mm thick. The curving design of the lugs. make it follow the wrist admirably and it is extremely comfortable to wear. Even though it isn't superthin by any standard, it slips easily under a shirt cuff.

The dial is unidirectinally brushed silvercolor with goldfilled indexes and arabian numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9. The subdial for the second hand is slightly sunk into the dial. Tritium was re-applied when the dial was restored, but the hands are without any room for luminous material. All three hands are new and while they are original Omega hands, I don't think they are the correct hands for the dial. I am looking around for the right hands, but not hysterically! I like it as it is. If I find the right hands, it's great, if not, I won't loose any sleep over it!

Not much more to say really; it's definetely a keeper! With the addition of the display back, I like it even more. It's funny to think about, that only a year ago, my watchmaker paid less than $ 100,- for these watches and just left them in a drawer for spareparts. These days, they can't get enough and they are sold before they make it to their website!