Grail Acquired: Omega Admiralty 166.038, Full Set

Dr.Sascha · Jun 23, 2021

After much searching and agonizing, here it is, the SM 300 companion in the rare, black military dial, 17mm "longhorn" configuration. Complete with the big crown and the lovely orange sweep-second. Came with the original purchase papers and box.

1971-2 Omega Admiralty
Cal. 565
166.038

An apt demonstration of the beauty to be found in asymmetry.

More on these fine pieces and their various iterations here: https://omegaforums.net/threads/comprehensive-omega-admiralty-thread.69037/page-15#post-1775783 (and thanks to the OF community for the wise advice, as always!)

JwRosenthal · Jun 23, 2021

That’s a neat watch! Looks like a W10- love it.

Dr.Sascha · Jun 23, 2021

JwRosenthal
That’s a neat watch! Looks like a W10- love it.

It really does. I wonder if that was the inspiration, or if they were both drawing models from the same source (i.e. WW2 military-dialed pieces).

JwRosenthal · Jun 23, 2021

Dr.Sascha
It really does. I wonder if that was the inspiration, or if they were both drawing models from the same source (i.e. WW2 military-dialed pieces).

Well, Hamilton and CWC had taken over the contracts by this time when Smiths was out- perhaps Omega had designs on competing for the contract and didn’t get it, then pumped out their sample run as a civilian model to dump the inventory ….perhaps?

We saw this with Zenith and the Rainbow, they lost the contract and were sitting on a few thousand watches. Put it in a pretty box and send it to the dealers!

jaguar11 · Jun 23, 2021

Very cool!!!! Wear in the best of health.

RCpeedy · Jun 23, 2021

"Dr.Sascha, post: 1808790, member: 8678"]After much searching and agonizing, here it is, the SM 300 companion in the rare, black military dial, 17mm "longhorn" configuration. Complete with the big crown and the lovely orange sweep-second. Came with the original purchase papers and box."

Super cool, I love a good grail story, thanks for sharing.

hronists · Jun 23, 2021

Amazing watch! What’s the diameter?

Dr.Sascha · Jun 23, 2021

hronists
Amazing watch! What’s the diameter?

Bezel is 35mm, but it has a disproportionate wrist-presence b/c of the crown guards and the elegantly elongated lugs.

timoss · Jun 23, 2021

Nice. Is that typical look for the lume on these?

Jones in LA · Jun 23, 2021

Wow, it's a beaut. Congratulations!

skooternb · Jun 23, 2021

Great full set, congrats!

Dr.Sascha · Jun 24, 2021

timoss
Nice. Is that typical look for the lume on these?

Yes. In my experience, shaped lumes that are not constrained by something (e.g. a metal perimeter) tend to age, color and pillow this way. It makes each piece unique, and is also a good indicator that the dial has not been retouched. I see the same thing on my Le Jour Triton, which also has round lumes w/o constraint. A lot depends on the chemistry of the dial paint, whether the lume is in contact with metal, how much they have been exposed to sunlight (and therefore how much energy they've absorbed)--the ones on my Nivada CASD have "scattered" in a very cool way.

Revo · Jun 24, 2021

That is gorgeous. And pretty much a birth year model for me (1971).

DIBS.

Edit: this is what the Dynamic should have looked like, instead of that stupid comic sans font for the numbers.

wilderbeast · Jun 24, 2021

Really cool watch! Wear in good health. Is it 17mm lug width? If so, that’s the same as the Smiths W10.

Revo · Jun 24, 2021

wilderbeast
Really cool watch! Wear in good health. Is it 17mm lug width? If so, that’s the same as the Smiths W10.

My theory is that the MoD specified 17mm to make the watches less likely to slide off 18mm NATOs and/or to make them harder to use with civilian straps.

Dr.Sascha · Jun 24, 2021

Revo
My theory is that the MoD specified 17mm to make the watches less likely to slide off 18mm NATOs and/or to make them harder to use with civilian straps.

Interesting hypothesis. Can the OF community find any evidence to support this, I wonder [gauntlet = thrown].

JwRosenthal · Jun 24, 2021

Well, US military watches had 18mm lugs, but standard issue straps were 16mm as had been worn since post WWII.

17mm was the generic size for 11/16th which was pretty standard for most pre-metric watches. England went metric in 1965, is it possible the 17mm was a hold over of the English measurement?

Revo · Jun 25, 2021

JwRosenthal
17mm was the generic size for 11/16th which was pretty standard for most pre-metric watches. England went metric in 1965, is it possible the 17mm was a hold over of the English measurement?

That would make sense except all of Smiths wristwatch production from WW2 onwards used metric lugs widths and were either 16 or 18 mm (I mean the 12''' men's watches). The Smiths W10 case was made in-house and according to a spec sheet drawn up by the MoD, so we know that contractors (in this case Smiths) were working to def stan criteria.

I can't think of another reason for having 17mm lugs; especially as the strap was 18mm. The lugs therefore bite into the strap slightly, making a tighter fit and so less likely to slide around. Just my theory.

Dr.Sascha · Jun 25, 2021

We should keep in mind that in the Admiralty's case, at least, it came in two varieties: the 17mm "longhorn" and the 18mm "shorthorn." The former took a metal bracelet, and the elongated lugs were necessary to accommodate the endpieces.

vlaspri · Jun 25, 2021

Congrats on this nice full set!

Grail Acquired: Omega Admiralty 166.038, Full Set

Dr.Sascha

JwRosenthal

Dr.Sascha

JwRosenthal

jaguar11

RCpeedy

hronists

Dr.Sascha

timoss

Jones in LA

skooternb

Dr.Sascha

Revo

wilderbeast

Revo

Dr.Sascha

JwRosenthal

Revo

Dr.Sascha

vlaspri

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