First day with Japanese Omega Pilot’s Watch Ref. 516.13.41.10.02.001

I know that Omega Pilot’s watches has been covered with very enjoyable and comprehensive article by Ashley Budgen, but since there are quite few articles, information or reviews about this rather interesting and rare Omega, I hope that it can inspire someone else to give these beauties a closer look. But before I start, many thanks to Ashley, as Ashley’s article was decisive in my decision to buy this beauty. I noticed Omega’s Museum Collection few years ago and this one model, which is a rather significant departure from historical Pilot and limited edition Pilot, really caught my eyes. I especially liked this simple, and elegant dial with roman numbers, which, in comparison with limited edition Pilot, substantially re-defines this watch. Recently I noticed that, due to currency exchange rate, prices in Japan have became really sweet, and for this one the asking price of one reputable Japanese dealer was, frankly, a steal, so I decided to pull the trigger and finally it is here. From my experience with all my beloved Omegas, no matter how nice it looks in pictures, it still looks better in real life, and the same is true with this one - it looks neat and refined, substantially more gorgeous, than pictures may suggest. Despite the fact that it is a modification of a pilot watch, to me it definitely feels like a dress watch, just like I expected. What was a little bit suprising - with case diameter of 40.2 mm, I expected it to feel and look bigger on my wrist, but in fact it feels almost like 38 mm Omega Constellation Ref. 166.0228, and noticeably smaller and lighter than my daily most usual companion Omega SMP 300 41 mm (see picture with all three of them together). However, I am happy with the size, and also feel that with this massive case and saphire crystal it is chunky enough to become a great daily watch, sufficiently versatile and resistant for daily wear and tear, while on the same time it still remains subtle. All in all it feels quite modern, and exactly what it is, vintage inspired but modern watch, with the only expection of crown, which is obviously inspired by the original Pilot watch, and is quite thin, but is comfortable to operate and looks very appropriate for this specific design. Another little bit unusual feature are very long lugs, clearly asking for classic leather strap or NATO strap rather than with some steel bracelet, and press-in case. Not important detail for me, but rather "nice to have" - the calibre 2200 is chronometer rated. Anyway, to sum up my first impression, I can only quote Ashley: "These watches are far cheaper than they have any business being, and its almost confusing as to why they go so low. (...) The size, style, lugs and dial are not repeated in modern product lines and the pricing makes them an absolute steal for the quality of watch they represent." It is a superb choice for someone who fancies something absolutely different to most popular and thought-after Omegas, original looking but not too eccentric.

Totally agree with all this. I just scored this in the states, luckily. But I have a question - I had understood it was a bidirectional bezel, but this one does not rotate. It appears pretty dang fixed! All my AI searches all confirm that it rotates, so either mine is broken, or it doesn't rotate. All three variations of this from Japan all show strictly the 12 o'clock position. I think AI is wrong and Google searches are not very enlightening. Does yours rotate? Did I get a dud?

It's an amazing watch.

That was new to me, thanks for posting.

Omega certainly does things differently, not like the flieger and not so busy as the modern pilots watches. As pilots have instruments in the cocpit, I guess you dont need all this on the Breitling then.