Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Omega Marine, ref. CK679, 1930s
- Maker / attribution
- Omega (maker)
- Date
- 1930s
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- Stainless Steel
- Stock no.
- CUR348
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Watches of Knightsbridge (CUR348)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 1930s Omega Marine CK679 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Watches of Knightsbridge (dealer), London (stock number CUR348), this is a wristwatch by Omega, made in Switzerland, dated 1930s. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Stainless Steel. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Watches of Knightsbridge
The Omega Marine was the first watch tested to withstand subaquatic depths, and the design was patented in 1932. Instead of screwing down the case stem like the Rolex Oyster design, Omega simply placed the watch within a secondary case that clipped onto the interior case. As the watch descended into deeper depths and pressure increased, the clip tightened to the case and improved water-tightness. It features two separate crystals protecting the original dial within. When one thinks of diving watches in the modern era, hulking pieces of metal with large, rotating bezels come to mind; this watch, on the other hand, has elegant Art Deco lines and a beautifully laid out dial with no luminous material. This example remains in very good original condition (serviced) and is one of Omega’s most important historic models the early 20th century.
Specifications — Watches of Knightsbridge
Reference: CK679; Metal: Stainless Steel; Movement: Manual-Wind, Calibre 19.4.T2; Bracelet/strap: Molequin Tan Smooth Leather Strap
Historical context
Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.
The wristwatch overtook the pocket watch. Military use in the First World War, aviation, water-resistant cases (1926), automatic winding (1923–31), rectangular Art Deco designs and early chronographs and calendars defined the period.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution
Atlas type guide
Dive and water-resistant watches
Keeping water and dust out of a wristwatch was a long-standing challenge. Rolex's screw-down Oyster case (1926) and Omega's Marine (1932) were landmarks; in the early 1950s Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms and Rolex's Submariner defined the professional dive watch with rotating bezels for timing dives, luminous dials and high water resistance. The ISO 6425 standard (1982) later codified what a 'diver's watch' must do.
Dive watches became icons of post-war design and exploration, and their evolution — helium escape valves, ceramic bezels, saturation-diving depth ratings — records the history of underwater work.
What to look for
- Unidirectional or bidirectional rotating bezel with minute markings.
- Screw-down crown and case back; depth rating printed on the dial.
- Luminous hands and markers (radium before c. 1960, tritium c. 1960–1998, then Super-LumiNova).
- Reference numbers on the case between the lugs or inside the back.
Dating clues
- Screw-down Oyster cases: from 1926.
- Professional dive watches: from 1953.
- Tritium 'T' marks on dials: c. 1960–1998.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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