Is this as rare as I think it is? 1944 Omega 2300/7 Copper and Black tuxedo dial

Hello all,

I pulled this out of my storage recently, and to be honest I cannot remember when or where I got it.

Is this watch as rare and collectable as I think it is? It seems to be all original i.e. movement, case, crown, dial etc. and is in amazing, seemingly unpolished condition. I have been told a reference with the combination of movement and physical features, in its current condition, is a true "rarest of the rare" and a collector's grail watch for WW2 era military watches? I have also been advised it is a museum grade rarity and condition? Surely I didn't have something this rare sitting in a box forgotten.... There seems to be no existing versions of this watch in any open, public digital archives but is a legitimate Omega configuration with less than 200 models ever produced but not confirmed and no publicly confirmed surviving versions and may possibly now be a 1 of 1 left surviving?

I have done some research and found the following:

Year: 1944
Reference: 2300/7
Movement: 23.4SC
Serial: 10495973
Case: 32mm stainless steel with rose gold bezel
Dial: Gold/copper alloy plated brass with black bullseye / sector two-tone dial
Buckle: 1950's / 1960's replacement Omega buckle?

Due to the features, the central seconds movement, two tone dial and year of manafacture it seems to be a high end version of the "Medicus" family from Omega produced mostly for military medical personal and officially Omega's very first center seconds movement ever produced. This was allegedly also one of the last models to use the 23.4SC calibre before changing to the calibre 310 in the mid-late 1940's.

What the hell do I do with this this thing 🤣🤣

Hi and welcome,

this is not a cal 23.4 SC but it is the later cal 310 (R 17.8 SC) and it is not as rare as you assume.

Wasn't the cal 310 not produced until 1949?
Its the dial / case / reference that was the rare combination.

Bugger

I originally thought it must have been a repainted dial but I had it inspected and the below is what the response was:

Based on a magnified visual assessment, this dial appears to be an original, un-restored factory dial.
When analyzing 1940s Omega timepieces for signs of a redial or repaint, we specifically look for several specific visual cues that are present or absent here:

1. Font and Printing Quality
The Omega Text & Logo: The "Ω OMEGA" printing displays the correct period-accurate font, proportions, and weight. Crucially, the accent mark over the "A" in "OMEGÁ" is sharply defined. On repainted dials, this accent is frequently forgotten, generic, or poorly spaced.
Track Crispness: The minute indices and crosshairs are exceptionally fine and crisp. A repaint typically leaves behind slightly thicker, "bleeding," or fuzzy paint lines due to modern pad-printing limitations on old surfaces.

2. Condition of the "SWISS MADE" Signature
At the very bottom edge of the dial, the "SWISS MADE" text is partially tucked under the bezel ring. This is a very common layout for original mid-century Omega cases. Redialers often miscalculate the spacing and print the text too high, making it fully visible or centered incorrectly.

3. Natural Aging and Surface Texture
Copper Plating: The outer sector track shows authentic signs of age, including subtle, non-uniform tarnishing and faint spotting where the underlying alloy coating has oxidized naturally over 80 years. A repainted or refinished sector track usually looks flat, perfectly uniform, or lacks that metallic depth.

Gilt Elements: The golden-toned hour markers and tracks are crisp and sit flat against the surface, rather than looking floating or artificially thick.

The crispness of the graphics coupled with the natural, honest aging on the metal sector ring strongly points toward a genuine, factory-original dial.
If you plan to have the watch serviced, we highly recommend to explicitly instruct the watchmaker not to clean, polish, or touch the dial or hands, as its untouched state is where the majority of its collector value lies.

I can’t tell if that is actually on the dial.

My guess is original, but would need to see in person.
gatorcpa

It does have the accent over the "A" on the dial. Chat GPT said this but I don't know 🤣

EDIT: Chat GPT is full of shit 🤣

Maybe the fucker used AI to confirm, I don't know how these people work 🤣
I'm just a collector of what I love, not a specialist.

Now this is interesting. If true. Can you show us more examples of the accented A?

Not sure, he's a vintage watchmaker, but it sounds like he uses it.

Just had a scoot through AJTT and (bearing in mind the thousands upon thousands of images of watches in there) as far as I can see, there isn't a single example of 'OMEGA'' with an accent over the A - but then again why would there be? I'm pretty sure that the French occasionally use a grave accent on 'À' but don't use an acute accent on 'A'.

Looks like there is a mark on the dial and someone fed a picture of the dial into AI - and got a load of bollocks in return - which is pár for the course.

I think chat GPT is full of shit 🤣 I pulled out my new magnifier that arrived today and its a small piece of something or another on the inside of the crystal 🤣🥰🤣

Sucks being old and blind

Please refrain from posting any AI slop...

Fair enough, it was pretty damn wrong 🤣

I suspected as much I am afraid. I noted that the ‘accent’ was white yet the text was gilt. Fair play to you for acknowledging this. It’s a nice original thing you have there just maybe not quite the unicorn you thought