In my wanderings down the less well travelled Omega paths, I came across this unusual Polaris on Chrono24 . I was just wondering if anyone had come across this model before. A search of the Omega database and the www didn't seem to turn up anything apart from the Chrono24 listing so I can't provide any more info. My (completely unfounded) speculation would be a German market only issue, but others may know better



*edit* just noticed the dial says "Titan" rather than "Titane" Google translate gives Titan as German for titanium.

 

Don't usually like pillow case watches but this is interesting. Assume 70s?

 

I've seen this one before. Can't find it .. But there's a thread here on OF with more info - it was a limited market release IIRC.

 

Actually listed as 1999. Would put it towards the end of the Polaris line.

 

I had the XL Titane cased multifunction.

Not seen that dial variant before, but they made lots of odd variants in this line.

The crown doesn't look like the right one for this watch, should be titanium too, that looks like a steel one.

 

I found this thread (and d'oh I started it ) https://omegaforums.net/threads/seamaster-120-polaris.28863/ however, that was a black dialled version.

 

Yes that's the 3 hand auto in a 39mm case, reference 366.0885 if memory serves but I had never seen that dial colour either. The usual 32mm quartz Polaris is seen with that dial colour more often, the SS version at least, actually I own one with the rare 1441 TC movement, tuned to 4 spy ;-)

 

Actually, the ad is still up on Chrono24 and shows a card with 58415000 as the reference . The other reference of 55042227 might confirm if someone could have a peek at the Omega net.....

 

The 58415000 is a black dialed watch with the 1665 movement, and squarish shaped case. The 55042227 is the serial number of the watch, and does confirm it's a ref. 58415000...so if that is the card they are showing with the watch pictured in your first post, it's the wrong card.

 

There's always a possibility it's a redial. Might not be, but it could be.

 

Once again kudos to @Archer for taking the time to find this out. Below is the picture of the box/cards from Chrono24. It shows the ref and the serial number. If I read your post correctly, as it's white dialled, they match, yes?

 

What's confusing is that sometime in the 90s (1996?) Omega added that extra model number on top of the case number, what they call the PIC number I think and it only appears in the papers.

In this case :
Case : 366.0885
PIC : 5841.50.00

 

Sorry I made a typo in my post that might be confusing you, so I just edited the post. 58415000 looks nothing like the watch pictured. As I noted it's a black dial, squarish case, so not the watch shown.

 

58415000 is case 055TB3860822.

 

Just gets more confusing. I fear my brain may implode

 

Thanks and looking at my notes that is the standard (32mm) Seamaster Polaris Multifunction.

On the PIC/Case discussion I suppose that the the PIC is more precise, giving the exact configuration of the watch?

 

The whole PIC and case thing can be a bit confusing if you are not familiar with how the system works. So going down the rabbit hole for a minute...

The case number is just that - for the case, and as discussed in the other Polaris thread it only gives very limited information, and doesn't even specify the material with just the standard set of 7 numbers. The PIC is for the entire watch, so generally speaking if anything on the watch changes like dial colour, hand shape, case material, or even strap v bracelet, it gets a new PIC. So a specific case can be used across different PIC's, but a specific PIC's will always** use the same case.

** As with any rule there are exceptions. So to add one other level of confusion, the same PIC can use more than one case reference, or dial reference, or hand reference. However this only happens when the parts in question are upgraded in some way, and otherwise visually stay the same. So for example if the dial had tritium originally when the reference was first sold, but now uses Luminova, the dial part number changes, but the PIC does not. Same for the hands, and same for the case, since some watches would have had a tritium lume pip in the bezel originally. I have also seen other changes made to cases that result in a different case number, but the same PIC, for example changing the case tube from a pressed in version to a threaded in version, with a change in crown also. But the key is that they all look the same, so it's not like they change the bezel from blue to black and use the same case number or PIC - that sort of appearance change would change both numbers.

So if we look at a watch everyone is familiar with as an example, the 2531800 Bond SMP, that same PIC used 3 different case references over it's lifecycle. It started with case 055SU1681503, then case 055SU1681603, and finally case 055SU1681623. Since it started with tritium dial and hands, those part numbers have also changed because of the lume change, but the PIC again stays the same.

Clear as mud?

Cheers, Al

 

Not at all that was very clear, thanks ! It seems that with both these numbers Omega have been able to cover all possible scenarios. Problem is if the papers get lost and therefore the PIC...

 

I suppose therefore that the serial number of each individual watch, leading to a PIC number is the only real way of determining which spares (whether to original spec or as revised/upgraded) Omega supplies currently. When it comes to what parts were in the watch as it originally left the Omega factory, it's less clear, unless the Omega parts database lists the history for that particular part. Does that sound like it makes sense?

 

When you pull up a specific PIC, either by searching for the PIC number, or a specific watch serial number, it gives you the same information. It will list all the information for that PIC. So if I use the serial number on a 25318000, it gives me the information about all the different cases, hands, and dials that were used for that PIC, and doesn't tell me what parts came on a specific serial numbered watch originally. If I need to know what type of case tube and crown to order, I would have the watch in front of me and can tell by the case number in the back which case it is.

The exception is that if the watch came with various movement types, so if a specific PIC came with different versions of a movement, searching by the serial number can tell me what specific movement variation is used in that specific watch (2500 C or D in a PO for example).

The serial number search for older vintage watches doesn't really work. They didn't go back and add all the information for every serial number they ever made, so it's only more modern watches that the serial number search works for. So when I searched on the 55042227 serial number above, I wasn't actually sure I'd get a result, because even that is going back to a point where it's very hit and miss if the information is there. Certainly any number that starts with a 4 I would not expect a result to come back.

As I've mentioned before, the Extranet isn't really designed to be a research tool for collectors, but a tool for watchmakers to ensure they order the correct current replacement parts. You can do some sleuthing to understand the history of a particular model, but it takes some deducing and cross checking, searching on different items, to come to any conclusions. The further back you go, the less solid the information is, and the more likely all you will see is what the current replacement parts is, rather than what was on the watch originally.

Cheers, Al