Those who dare...

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Dear fellow OFs,

In my experience its becoming harder to find something new or interesting for the collection on the web. Either junk or heavily overpriced stuff in the field of vintage watches (or even parts) in acceptable condition...
Recently I found something which piqued my interest because I knew that Omega pocket watches with central seconds are uncommon and difficult to find. Those with cal. 60x or cal. 23.4 SC can be found from time to time but those with cal. 30 T2 SC are rare as hens teeth.



I asked @OMTOM and @Tire-comedon for their assessment but both were unsure if it was a legit example. @Tire-comedon did not have access to his catalogues to find comparable pieces as he was abroad at the time. So I had to decide myself if I took the gamble or not.
What made me hesitate was the colour of the movement plating. All of the 30 T2 SC examples which had shown up in the past had nickel plated movements. The piece I found has a rose-gold-plated cal. 30 T2 SC PC with shock protection. A case serial number (as expected for these SC-pocket watches) was missing and the 4 digit number inside the case back 1115 could only be identified as a case design number (also called reference number). This made sense matching the inca-bloc rose-gold-plated movement.
But the colour of the movement made me hesitate again as it did not seem right.




It looked like brass as if it had been stripped the rose-gold-plating - nearly the same colour as the spacer which often is made of brass.
Despite all these uncertainties I took the plunge and bought the PW.
When I received the piece and inspected the movement I was positively surprised. The movement is in wonderful condition and the colour is a deep rose-gold. It was the bad lighting in the photo of the seller which nearly mislead me with the much too yellow tint.
Here the photo I made with correct white balance



@Tire-comedon had concerns about the dial. He thought an SC pocket watch should have a dial with 1/5th division of the seconds which would be reasonable.
A close examination under a 10x loupe reveils that the dial is an original in rather good condition with crisp inking. It shows some light scratches and very tiny "bubbles" spread uniformly over the entire surface which makes me confident that it is in original condition and not a re-dial.
I am a happy camper that I finally found a 30 SC powered PW for my collection.
2 sayings here come true again:
"Never say never with Omega..."
"Those who dare..."
 
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Such an appealing and honest watch, it's a great addition to your collection. Crazy how the seller's photo distorted the color so much.
 
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NIce watch.

There are tons of stopwatch (timers) what are PW size. Occasinally one will see a chronograph with timekeeping.

Seeing a high quality post 1920s/1930s with center seconds PW is a real treat.
 
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Been quite some time since I've been a buyer, but back when I was in buying mode many of my best finds were gambles.

Glad this one worked out for you, a lovely piece!
 
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Congratulations on this great find!

That movement looks almost new, and really pretty in rose-gold color... no scratched screws or bridges, no corrosion, and center seconds - what a catch.

The seller photos really didn't do it justice, so this really was a gamble that paid off. "Well played!" ;-)
 
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That movement and its color look stunning.
Congrats on such a nice find.
 
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What a beautiful watch, looks like something Dieter Rams or Jony Ive could have come up with.
 
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I think this is a lovely watch. Looks like something a scientist used back in the day.
 
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@Tire-comedon had concerns about the dial. He thought an SC pocket watch should have a dial with 1/5th division of the seconds which would be reasonable....."

So did Yann offer to "take it off your hands if you didn't like it?"
😉

Even if he did "offer" I'm sure you would have politely refused 😁, although a nicer collection for this example to go to would be his.