
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Stainless steel Omega Cosmic Triple Date Calendar wristwatch, 1948
- Maker / attribution
- OMEGA (maker)
- Date
- 1948
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- stainless steel
- Dimensions
- Case 35 mm
- Stock no.
- O.3385
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Somlo Antiques (O.3385)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Stainless steel OMEGA Cosmic Triple Date Calendar wristwatch. Made 1948 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Somlo Antiques (dealer), London (stock number O.3385), this is a wristwatch by OMEGA, dated 1948. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: stainless steel. Recorded dimensions: Case 35 mm. 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
Dealer description — Somlo Antiques
Introduced in 1947, the Cosmic was OMEGA's first watch to combine the time and date with a calendar function displaying the date, day of the week, month, and the phase of the moon. The Cosmic collection was the most exclusive line of watches offered by OMEGA. The Cosmic was produced in two sizes 34 - 35mm and 37.5mm and in four different case materials, and in steel, gold capped, gold filled and in either 14ct or 18ct sold gold variants of rose or yellow gold. All OMEGA Cosmic models were fitted with a calibre 27 DL PC AM which was subsequently changed to a calibre 381. The coding of the calibre referred to the type of movement. 27 stands for the movement being 27mm in diameter and 5.25mm in thickness, DL for triple date and moonphase, PC refers to the shock absorber and AM is for antimagnetic. The OMEGA Cosmic collection continued production until 1956 is probably one of most revered of watches by collectors today. Brand: OMEGA Made: 1948 Model: Cosmic Reference: 2471/1 Calibre: 381 Movement: Manual Material: Stainless steel Features/complications: Triple date calendar with moonphases Dial: Aged dial featuring outer minute track with polished baton hour indices, date/month windows at 12 o’clock, subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock with moonphase window, sword shaped hands with central blued day hand and corresponding outer day register Case dimensions: 34 mm Bracelet/strap: Leather strap Accessories: - SKU: 03385
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
Atlas type guide
Calendar, moon-phase and perpetual calendar watches
Calendar complications range from a simple date to the perpetual calendar, which automatically allows for months of different lengths and leap years until 2100. Pocket watches with perpetual calendars were made in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; Patek Philippe made the first perpetual calendar wristwatch in 1925, and series production followed in 1941. The annual calendar (Patek Philippe, 1996) needs correction only once a year.
Moon-phase displays use a disc with two moons and 59 teeth advanced daily, approximating the 29.5-day lunation; more precise trains reduce the error to one day in over a century.
What to look for
- Apertures or subsidiary dials for day, date, month and leap year.
- Moon disc under a 'bosom' shaped aperture.
- Recessed correctors on the case band for setting the calendar.
Dating clues
- Triple-date wristwatches: popular c. 1940–1955.
- Perpetual calendar wristwatches: from 1925 (unique) and 1941 (series).
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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