1917 Omega Wrist Watch

Outstanding and welcome

yes minute hand is wrong for the era.

search Forum for many threads on Trench Watches, many pictures.

get it serviced and avoid all the Radium lume!

In his book Watchmaker’s and Clockmaker’s Encyclopaedic Dictionary, Donald DeCarle calls that style of hand, “Skeleton”. Here is a picture of a matching pair of these hands.

Grant,

Truly a remarkable piece of memorabilia to go with your Omega. Knowing the provenance of a watch adds so much to the interest in owning it. And the vitreous enamel dial is in remarkable condition. I feel that the hour hand is likely original to your watch, and a matching minute hand will improve the look tremendously. I think you have an acrylic crystal in the Omega. I am almost certain it would originally have been fitted with a glass crystal. If you’d like a NOS glass crystal for it, give me precise metric dimensions for the opening in the bezel, and I have a glass crystal for you, gratis.

@Grant Perry, a replacement hour hand and that watch will look the goods.
Just a word of caution, if you're doing the work yourself, be very careful of loose radium luminous compound from the dial. It may no longer glow, but is still hazardous if ingested.

@Canuck, a couple of questions.

1. How do you fit glass crystals to the case? Do you heat/expand the bezel, or is it a close tolerance fit?
2. What are the marks around the edge of the case (movement pic)? Made to close the case to the movement a bit?

The case back is hinged to the case ring, so I suspect the bezel would be, as well. I have used the heat method in the past, on removable bezels. Find the biggest crystal that fits the bezel well, then go to the next size larger, heat the bezel, and drop it onto the crystal. But the safest way with the Omega case (if the bezel is hinged), would be to epoxy the glass in. My crystals are French, and the labels are marked in lignes. A measurement I have never understood, except to say that one ligne is 1/12 of a French inch. I have cross referenced my round crystals on a chart showing the French measure, but also in millimeters. The metric difference, one size to the next is about 0.05 mm.

As to the marks? Their purpose would be anyone’s guess. But it might be to tighten the case back.