2007 Omega Specialities Olympic Seamaster Chronograph 2896.51.91
Ref: 2896.51.91
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with its original Omega box and Omega paperwork, including a 2021 Omega Service. The watch comes paired with its fitted 20mm Omega Seamaster black rubber strap and signed pin buckle. The watch is from February 2007 and is in worn condition but is overall in fair condition, as seen by the photographs. The watch comes with our 12-Months Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1i7I1OA_IJguj4YAna_s2I8QfG5ZWL1yx?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 4:15 - https://youtu.be/rNaeJEGnglM
The Watch
Here we have a 2007 Omega Specialities Olympic Seamaster Chronograph 2896.51.91 with a polished and brushed 316L stainless steel case that sits comfortably on your wrist thanks to the characteristic twisted lugs. Made for the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games held in Shanghai, China, where Omega were Official Timekeepers. A lug-to-lug length of 48.5mm and a case thickness of 15mm give the watch an impressive wrist presence. Down the right side, we have the chronograph pushers and a signed screw-down crown, which is protected by crown guards in the centre. On the left side, at 10 o’clock, you find a manual Helium escape valve. The scalloped unidirectional stainless steel bezel has a black 60-minute dive aluminium insert with silver numerals and markings and a slightly domed sapphire crystal AR coated sits above a dynamic black lacquered dial. An outer minute track is precisely executed, surrounding white Arabic numerals marking the hours; at 3 o’clock, we have a 30-minute register; at 6 o’clock, a 12-hour register and a colour-matched date window at 6 o’clock; finally, at 9 o’clock, the small seconds register, each slightly recessed with concentric circular pattern and a red stick hand, broad sword hands filled with Super-LumiNova are complemented by a red-tipped, Olympic symbol counterweighted chronograph hand, at 12 o’clock we have a red Omega motif completing this Olympic themed chronograph. On the reverse, a screw-down case back with an Olympic symbol and “Omega Official Timekeeper” embossed in the centre, inside an automatic Omega Cal. 3303, 33 jewels, beating at 28,800 beats per hour, this column wheel chronograph is based on the Piguet 1285/3301. The watch comes paired with its fitted 20mm Omega Seamaster black rubber strap and signed pin buckle, and it comes with its special Omega presentation box and paperwork, including 2021 Omega Service paperwork.
Personal Note
With the Olympics approaching now is the perfect time to snap this watch up and have it on your wrist for the main event itself. Other than the Olympic rings counterweight for the chronograph seconds, you'd not really be aware that this is an Olympic Seamaster Chronograph, making it perfect to wear regularly and yet still stand out among the crowd as something unique and different. The big, bold red logo contrasting against the deep black dial is spectacular, I really would not hesitate to add this to your collection today!
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.