THREE HIGH-PRECISON WATCHES FOR SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS...
Speedmaster, Seamaster 3oo & Railmaster

Written by Bill Sohne <bsohne@timezone.com>
on 14 November 2001 - 18:38:29
All rights reserved…

   

That title was taken from an Omega sales booklet from the 50's

Well after many years of looking I finally am able to assembly the first Series of Professional watches from Omega....

Seamaster 3oo... Case reference CK 2913 ...

Under the hood it has a caliber 501 full rotor automatic. The Steel screwback case good to 20 ATM (660 ft). You should take notice of the counterclockwise calibration of the time reserve indicator, the bezel acts as a countdown ..... Omega introduced the Naiad crown as a self sealing (non screwdown)crown. The greater the depth, the greater the pressure, the tighter the crown seals against the crown tube. I have also written more in depth on this model in this linked article.

The Railmaster Case reference CK 2914 ...

This watch was specially designed for Electrical engineers and scientists. Working in the field of electronics these professionals are exposed to powerful magnetic fields a standard wristwatch would fail under those conditions. The Omega Railmaster is an Antimagnetic watch. It actually has two case... numetal (a soft iron) inner case that covers the movement completely and the outer steel steel screwback case to protect it against the elements. The Railmaster's movement (Omega caliber 286) is immune to magnetic flux up to 1000-gauss intensity. The outer Steel case is rated to a depth of 200 ft thanks to its armored glass, Omega 'Naiad' winding crown and o-ring protection. Photo credit: James Dowling.

The 1957 Speedmaster, Case reference CK 2915 ...

Well , this watch needs no introduction it became a signature watch for Omega. The first model used the same arrow hands that the Railmaster and Seamaster 300. The Arrowhead hands helped in visibility (Seamaster 300), here on the Speedmaster they obscure the view of the sub-dials so in later versions of the Speedmaster the hands were changed. The steel bezel was also replaced, under bright light conditions the markings on the bezel are hard to read.... so out went the steel bezel w/ black type and in came a black bezel with white/steel type (easier to read). What you see here was Omega's first attempt of the Speedmaster.... CK 2915-2.... in my example when I got the watch it had an " in-the-field" upgrade... had modern stick hands and a black bezel...... so I had used modern replacements.

Omega for the first time (from my research, if someone has additional info please post or email me thanxk you in advance...) used in its quest for water proofing watch cases...

  1. The use of the Naiad crown system
  2. Armored Glass crystal
  3. O-ring gaskets... and the special groove needed to take full advantage of that o-ring.

Personally I have been looking for these three watches for my collection for years and after the help of fellow collectors and dealers. I have finally completed this task....

What do you think?

Good Hunting.....

Bill Sohne


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Sources include my own research, images gleaned from various sources on the web, Omega Publications, web sites and communications with Omega.ch.

Permission for personal, educational or non-commercial use is granted. The author retains all other rights not specifically mentioned here.

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Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and knowing me should be taken with a grain or two of salt...