Omega 6B/542 ref. 2777-1, Matte Black 'Fat Arrow' Dial RAF-Issued

Dealer description — Oliver & Clarke

Omega is undeniably one of the most historically important timepiece manufactures of all time. In fact, the Speedmaster is probably the most important wrist watch of all time. As a result, the Speedmaster casts a massive shadow over all of its siblings.... even over firmly planted models like the Seamaster and Constellation ranges. The resulting effect is double sided: many vintage Omegas, we feel are incredibly undervalued in the market as it exists today, with the other side of that being that hidden gems are shocking attainable. The piece that we have here is special for a multitude of reasons. Not dissimilar to the 'Dirty Dozen' watches of WWII, this piece was commissioned by the British Ministry Of Defence to produce a watch that met a series of standards. Omega, along with a handful of other prominent watch manufacturers would rise to the challenge to produce a timepiece that had a certain level of resistance to shock, magnetism, dust, and of course, excellent timekeeping. Dating to circa 1953, this example is offered in fantastic overall condition. The 36mm case remains unpolished and shows normal wear with no notable damage or indication this ever really saw the action that it was intended... It features 'fixed' lug bars and a screw-down caseback with all of the correct engravings. No doubt the most intriguing element of the condition on this piece, is the dial. As a general rule with military watches, hands and dials were replaces under contract service, and as a result is accepted in the collector community. The result is that many military-issued piece prior to the 1960s no longer have their original dials with Radium paint, rather later dials with Tritium (this is where the 'Circle T' comes from). With the 6B/542, however, rather than a 'circle T' the MOD choose to denote the presence of Tritium on the new dials with a thicker 'fat' Broad Arrow. The dial itself presents nicely, showing light wear throughout with clear printing and evenly patinated Tritium elements and a correct Tritium 'sword' handset. This piece comes fitted to a very appropriate Admiralty Grey NATO strap from Phoenix and is powered by Omegas Cal. 283 manual-winding movement. Rumored to have only been produced for a year or two, there's no saying how many examples survive today, let alone in condition as well-rounded as this. To many collectors of vintage, regardless of whether the focus is of military watches or not, this piece has everything going for it. Military issued, properly vintage, and its from one of the most storied brands in the history of watchmaking. This is a real piece of history — a phrase often repeated in the world of watches, though rarely as deservedly as in this case.