1947 Omega Arabic Numeral 30T2 Dennison Case 13322
Ref: 13322 / 9493

Points of Mention

This watch is sold as "Watch Only" and therefore comes with no original Omega box or paperwork. The watch comes paired with a well-suited tan leather strap. The watch is from Circa. 1947 and is sold in worn, vintage condition, wear is visible on the dial with even patina. The watch comes with our 12-Months Non-Waterproof Warranty.

The Watch

Here we have a 1947 Omega Arabic Numeral 30T2 Dennison Case 13322 with a 33.5mm stainless steel case made by Dennison, engraved on the inside of the case back you find ALD, A.L.Dennison moved to Birmingham around 1871, where he produced high-quality watch cases and in no time Omega took notice and decided to commission ALD, some of Omega’s finest cases are made by Dennison. Tapering lugs with a lug-to-lug length of 40.5mm and a case thickness of just 9mm provide a comfortable fit on the wrist, unpolished surfaces throughout with a stepped bezel holding a domed crystal protecting the tropical dial. The stunning Tropical dial is created by a reaction of the dial to long-term exposure to the sun's UV rays is an organic patina, they are making each watch dial unique and therefore, collectable. It usually means the watch has had a full life, and we can only imagine the stories these watches could tell us, Arabic numerals coated in radium luminance mark the hours, and elegant syringe hands infilled with radium luminance complemented by a sub-second register at 6 o’clock with radial patternation. On the reverse, a snap-off case back, inside a manually wound Omega Cal. 30T2, a Swiss 15 jewel movement beating at a leisurely 18,000 beats per hour and is highly regarded by collectors and industry for its reliability and accuracy, the Cal. 30 series of movements were first produced in 1939 until 1963. The watch comes paired with an 18mm tan leather strap.

Personal Note

The Brand

Formerly known as the La Generale Watch Co. in 1848 founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds. When he died in 1879, his sons carried on his dream. In 1880 they moved to 96 Rue Jakob-Stampfli where they remain today.

The brothers produced their first mass-produced calibre, the Labrador In 1885.  Just a few years later in 1892, they produced the first minute-repeater.

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 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,  when astronaut Wally Schirra wore a Speedmaster on his Mercury Sigma 7 Mission, making it the first Omega watch to enter space. After rigorous 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. In 1969, President Nixon famously said it was “too valuable” and turned down the first-ever all-gold Speedmaster Professional Deluxe.  

As a response to the ever-growing threat of electronic watches to the manufacturers of mechanical watches, Omega and many Swiss brands such as Rolex and Patek Philippe formed Centre Electronique Horloger (CEH). Prototypes began to appear in 1967 with their production starting in 1968. Then In 1972, Omega introduced the reference, 198.030, which included the Omega calibre 1250, a ‘tuning-fork electronic movement made under a 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 Swatch Group.