Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Omega wristwatch, ref. ST, quartz electronic LCD (liquid crystal display) digital, circa 1978
- Maker / attribution
- Omega (brand / maker)
- Date
- c. 1978
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- stainless steel
- Auction house
- Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
- Lot
- Lot 345-36
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: LOT 36, Hong Kong, December 5th, 2021
- Catalogue title (original)
- OMEGA Ref. ST 186.004, quartz, electronic LCD (liquid crystal display) digital, multifunction, prototype glass dial, calibre 1621; “Speedmaster Professional Quartz” “Seamaster”; “ALASKA IV” prototype; (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva (lot Lot 345-36), this is a wristwatch by Omega, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1978. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: stainless steel. The record is illustrated with 4 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
Stainless steel, quartz, vertical “tonneau”-shaped, gentleman’s wristwatch, water-resistant with snap-on case-back stamped with “Seamaster” logo, bezel with black insert; electronic LCD anthracite dial with central digital display, day indication underneath digital aperture, with multifunction, including:· Time I - hours (12 or 24), minutes and seconds, and by a down-arrow day of week· Time II - hours (12 or 24), minutes and date, as well as day of week by the down arrow· 1/100 second chronograph, able to accumulate up to 23 hours 59 minutes and 59.99 seconds· Split-second chronograph (as above)· Lap time· Split / stop of 2 consecutive times· Light source for illuminating the display at night, powered by a separate battery· Calendar programmed for leap years
Lot specifications (Antiquorum)
Model: “Speedmaster Professional Quartz” “Seamaster”; Reference: ST 186.004; Bracelet: Black leather strap; Buckle: Stainless steel Omega buckle; Caliber: LCD 1621, 32 768 Hz (high precision unit manufactured by SSIH, with “BETA” light); Dimensions: 42.2 x 36.7 mm. / Ø 35.2 mm. (bezel); Signature: Case, Dial and Movement; Accessories: Red service “patrimony” box, Certificate of Authenticity
Inscriptions & marks
Case, Dial and Movement
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
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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