Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Omega wristwatch, ref. CK, Chronograph Minute Counter, circa 1942
- Maker / attribution
- Omega (brand / maker)
- Date
- c. 1942
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- stainless steel
- Dimensions
- diameter 33 mm
- Auction house
- Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
- Lot
- Lot 361-50
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: LOT 50, Hong Kong,June 13, 2023 , 2022
- Catalogue title (original)
- OMEGA REF. CK 2078, CHRONOGRAPH, MINUTE COUNTER, BLACK DIAL; STAINLESS STEEL (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva (lot Lot 361-50), this is a wristwatch by Omega, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1942. 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. Recorded dimensions: diameter 33 mm. The record is illustrated with 3 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
Antiquorum catalogue description
A fine and rare, stainless steel, manual-winding chronograph wristwatch with snap-on case-back, black colour dial with subsidiary seconds at 9.
Lot specifications (Antiquorum)
Model: Chronograph; Reference: CK2078; Movement No.: 9390136; Case No.: 9 979 322; Material: stainless steel; Buckle: stainless steel buckle; Caliber: 28.9 CHRO (based on Valjoux 13’’’ by Reymond Frères, Les Bioux, Vallée de Joux); Diameter: 33 mm.; Signature: dial, case and movement; Accessories: Extract of Records dated June 30th, 2008
Inscriptions & marks
dial, case and movement
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
Chronographs and split-seconds watches
A chronograph is a watch with an additional seconds hand that can be started, stopped and returned to zero independently of the timekeeping. Louis Moinet built an early example in 1816 and Nicolas Rieussec a recording 'chronographe' in 1821; Adolphe Nicole's heart-shaped reset cam (patented 1862) made the modern return-to-zero possible. Split-seconds (rattrapante) chronographs add a second hand that can be stopped for intermediate times; flyback chronographs restart instantly.
Chronographs were essential tools for doctors (pulsometer scales), artillery (telemeter), engineers and sport. In wristwatches, Valjoux, Venus, Lemania and later the automatic chronographs of 1969 (Zenith El Primero, the Chronomatic Calibre 11 group and Seiko 6139) are milestones.
What to look for
- Push-pieces on the case band or a single button in the crown (monopusher).
- Subsidiary registers for minutes and hours; tachymeter, telemeter or pulsometer scales.
- Column wheel versus cam control visible in the movement.
- Calibre markings of specialist makers (Valjoux, Lemania, Venus, Landeron).
Dating clues
- Pocket chronographs with heart cam reset: after 1862.
- Wrist chronographs: from c. 1910; two-button designs from the 1930s.
- Automatic chronographs: from 1969.
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.
Read next:Flyback chronographChronograph
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