Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Omega wristwatch, ref. CK, Single Push-Piece Chronograph Enamel Dial, circa 1938
- Maker / attribution
- Omega (brand / maker)
- Date
- c. 1938
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- stainless steel
- Auction house
- Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
- Lot
- Lot 345-23
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: LOT 23, Hong Kong, December 5th, 2021
- Catalogue title (original)
- OMEGA REF. CK 808, SINGLE PUSH-PIECE CHRONOGRAPH, ENAMEL DIAL, STAYBRITE STEEL (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva (lot Lot 345-23), this is a wristwatch by Omega, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1938. 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 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
Staybrite stainless steel, manual-winding, cushion-shaped, gentleman’s wristwatch, snapon case-back, faceted bezel, white enamel dial with suspended luminescent Arabic numerals, subsidiary seconds at 9 and two horological complications, including 1/5 second chronograph and 30-minute counter (3 o’clock).
Lot specifications (Antiquorum)
Reference: CK 808; Movement No.: 9 370 544; Case No.: 8 845 174; Buckle: stainless steel buckle; Caliber: 29.8 CHRO; Dimensions: 40.6 x 32.4 mm; Signature: Case, Dial and Movement; Accessories: Red service “patrimony” box with outer box, Certificate of Authenticity
Inscriptions & marks
Case, Dial 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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