1967 Omega Seamaster Chronometer 18ct Yellow Gold 168.022
Ref: 168.022-67
Specification
Lugs : 19mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : None
Case Material : 18ct Yellow Gold
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold as "Watch Only" and, therefore, comes with no original Omega box or original Omega paperwork. It comes paired with a quality 19mm leather strap and pin buckle. The watch is from Circa. 1967 and is in vintage worn condition, though very fair for its age as you can see. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1yZohIiczQsVr_TkJvmQLNMF3ZUwUI81l?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 7:27 - https://youtu.be/aAQXUoTS5H8
The Watch
Here, we have a rare 1967 Omega Seamaster Chronometer 168.022, with an 18ct yellow gold 36mm case that elegantly slopes towards the tapered flat-ended lugs, the brushed and polished bevel-edged flanks lead to a lug-to-lug length of 41mm and a case thickness of 10mm, ensuring a comfortable fit on your wrist. The brushed and polished surfaces transition with crisp lines. On the right side a coin-edged signed crown. The smooth polished and brushed bezel holds a slightly domed crystal, protecting a sunburst silver engine-turned dial, an outer minute track surrounding gold, and black baton hour markers for hours; slim baton gold and black hands are complemented with centre-sweeping seconds hand. A date window at 3 o’clock position. At noon, we have the gold-applied Omega motif, “Automatic Chronometer Officially Certified,” printed underneath and “Seamaster” printed at six o’clock completes this striking, versatile timepiece. On the reverse, a screw-down 18ct yellow gold case back with the embossed Omega Hippocampus in the centre, a seahorse that represents Neptune, the God of the sea, it was conceived by Pierre Borie after seeing a picture of Neptune riding a chariot pulled by seahorses, it is the reason why the seahorses are wearing a bridle, first seen on the Seamaster in 1958. Inside, we have an automatic Omega Chronometer Cal. 564, 24 jewels, beating at 19800 beats per hour, this is an excellent choice of movement as the Seamaster line typically did not feature a Chronometer movement, which puts it within the realm of the Constellations of that period. It comes paired with a quality 19mm leather strap and pin buckle.
Personal Note
When the opportunity comes my way to stock a beautiful and rare gold Omega, I tend to immediately jump at it. This rare 36mm Seamaster Chronometer, reference 168.022, in 18ct yellow gold, was no exception! It wears incredibly well on the wrist thanks to the larger case size for the period and offers a ton of value for anyone in the market for such a model. But act quickly, these references do not come up often at all!
The Brand
Formerly known as the La Generale Watch Co., it was founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848. When he passed away in 1879, his sons quickly stepped in to carry on their father’s vision. In 1880, they moved to 96 Rue Jakob-Stampfli, where they remain today. In 1885, the brothers released their first mass-produced calibre, the Labrador. Later, in 1892, they developed the first minute-repeating timepiece. In 1903, they renamed the company Omega until 1982, when they officially changed their name to Omega SA. During WW1, Omega watches were used as official timekeepers for the Royal Flying Corps and the US Army. In 1930, Omega and Tissot merged together to form Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère (SSIH). In 1931, another group was formed - Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG). Where SSIH was primarily French-speaking, ASUAG was founded by the more German-speaking members of the Swiss watch industry. In 1948, they introduced the first edition of one of its most symbolic watches: the Seamaster. Omega first introduced the Constellation in 1952. At the time, it was Omega's flagship timepiece. The first models had a Cal. 354 bumper movement in them. Later, in 1955, Omega introduced the Automatic Cal. 50x, followed in 1959 by the Cal.55x (no date) and 56x (date) versions. Many of the Constellations came with pie-pan dials, diamond indexes, and fancy lug configurations. All the gold Constellations of that time have the Observatory of Geneva's hand engraved on the back. The stainless steel and stainless steel/gold versions had a gold medallion on the back with the Observatory of Geneva. The eight stars above the Observatory stand for the many exploits of Omega in the world Chronometer competition. Celebrating the fact that all Constellations are Chronometer Certified. In 1962, Omega made history when astronaut Wally Schirra wore a Speedmaster on his Mercury Sigma 7 Mission, making it the first Omega watch to enter space. After stringent tests, NASA used Omega for all their Apollo missions, including the 1969 Moon landing of Apollo 11. Today, Omega is still an astronaut's first choice of timepiece. In 1969, President Nixon famously turned down the opportunity to be gifted the first-ever all-gold Speedmaster Professional Deluxe because he deemed it to be “too valuable.” As a response to the ever-growing threat of electronic watches to the manufacturers of mechanical watches, Omega, in collaboration with Swiss brands such as Rolex and Patek Philippe, formed Centre Electronique Horloger (CEH). Prototypes began in 1967, and production started in 1968. Then, In 1972, Omega introduced the reference 198.030, which included the Omega calibre 1250, a ‘tuning-fork electronic movement which was made under licence from Bulova. Later we saw a merger of SSIH and ASUAG into SMH, or Société de Microélectronique et d’Horlogerie. This merger took place in 1983. In 1992, the company acquired Blancpain, and in 1998, it officially rebranded itself from SMH to the Swatch Group. Then, in 1999, they purchased and integrated Breguet into the group.