1961 Omega Automatic Classic 14748 SC-61 33mm
Ref: 14748 SC-61
Specification
Lugs : 18mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : None
Case Material : Stainless Steel
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 paperwork. The watch comes paired with a suitable 18mm leather strap. The watch is from Circa. 1961 and is sold in worn, vintage condition, wear and age can be seen throughout the watch, as you can see from the photographs, the case back has wear and age. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15NsGEXPsJRPt3gWL9bpL9zgQGcpwSvy-?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 26:53 - https://youtu.be/4Rj3XfUnuAI
The Watch
Here we have a 1961 Omega Automatic Classic 14748 SC-61 with a 33mm stainless steel case that curves over your wrist with chamfered-edges tapered lugs, a lug-to-lug length of 41mm and a case thickness of 9mm ensuring a comfortable fit. On the right side, a signed crown and a smooth bezel hold a domed crystal above an eggshell-coloured dial with an even patina. An outer minute track surrounds applied slender baton indexes marking the hours, elegant slim baton hands are complemented by a tapered sweeping second hand, and at 12 o’clock we have the Omega motif and “Automatic” printed underneath completing this simple dress watch. On the reverse a plain case back which is aged and worn, inside an automatic Omega Cal. 552, 24 jewels, beating at 19,800 beats per hour, this workhorse movement was in production from 1958 until 1969. The watch comes paired with a suitable 18mm leather strap.
Personal Note
The patina on this dial is beautiful and really adds to the charm of the watch, that is one thing I love about vintage! This in 33mm wears incredibly well on the wrist and for those saying it's too small, give a smaller watch a real shot on the wrist for a few days and I am pretty confident you will soon come around, don't forget watches for the most part have been smaller on a whole far longer than they have been these new enlarged sizes we typically see today!
The Brand
They were 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'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, 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 Horologer (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 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 Swatch Group.