1974 Omega Seamaster Ploprof 1000 "The Grand" 166.093
Ref: 166.093
Specification
Lugs : 22mm
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 its original 22mm Omega thick shark mesh stainless steel bracelet with a seatbelt-style clasp simply push the end of the strap into the clasp for a satisfying click. To remove, flip up the clasp to release the strap end, the bracelet will fit up a 7 1/4inch wrist. The watch is from Circa. 1974 and is sold in worn condition, the watch comes with a service bakelite bezel, service dial and hands. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
The Watch
Here we have a rare 1974 Omega Seamaster Ploprof 1000 "The Grand" 166.093, nicknamed "The Grand" due to its 1000m depth rating. First introduced in 1972 with the Cal.1002 movement, Omega produced fewer than 150 pieces, later Omega introduced the 2nd version with the Cal.1012 movement producing only 300 pieces. Prince Rainier III of Monaco commissioned Omega to produce 50 watches that could be presented to friends at the Monaco Oceanographic Research Institute and Museum, the 166.093 was selected and he presented one to Jacques Cousteau who was director of the museum from 1957 – 1988. The 44.5mm stainless steel tonneau case is monocoque (coque in French means hull) in design shaped from a single piece of steel, access to the movement is by removing the crystal and bezel with a special tool. The sloping sides and aggressive styling have a lug-to-lug length of 53.5mm and a case thickness of 13.5mm giving the watch an impressive wrist presence. At 9 o’clock we have a signed screw-down crown protected by crown guards, the unidirectional dive bezel has deep knurling for extra grip and a black 60-minute scale insert. A flat thick crystal sits above a dark blue dial, an outer minute track has painted luminous batons marking the hours. At 3 o’clock a framed date window and plongeur hands with an orange frame around the minute hand adds a pop of colour and are highly visible when diving complemented with a square counterweighted sweeping second hand. At 12 o’clock we have the Omega motif printed in white and at 6 o’clock “Seamaster 1000m/3300 ft Professional”. On the reverse, we have deep horizontal lines engraved across the flat surface, inside an automatic Omega Cal. 1012, 23 jewels, 28,800 beats per hour, this movement was in production from 1972-1984. The watch comes fitted on its original 22mm Omega thick shark mesh stainless steel bracelet with a seatbelt-style clasp simply push the end of the strap into the clasp for a satisfying click, to remove, flip up the clasp to release the strap end.
Personal Note
It's not every day you get to see one of these, arguably one of the rarest Ploprofs that were made. I have only ever seen one example that wasn't service parts and it was priced at £17,000+, so whilst I know we would all love an "all original example", the chances of that are slim but also the price difference is huge. I personally don't mind the service parts, they are original from Omega and look fantastic, they still give all the vintage charm and appeal and still have their time to age and develop patina.
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 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.