My journey from Sekonda to Omega and Beyond

As a kid I remember that my first watch, in 1976/77 was a Sekonda bought for me by my Dad at Woolworths in Warrington, Cheshire... dont remember what it looked like, I only remember wearing it on the first day I got it, eleven years old and pleased as punch.

Roll forward a few years around1983 My Dad was a big Seiko fan, but one day he was talking about when we lived in Singapore (over 57 years ago when I was a toddler and he was a Sergeant in the British Army). He mentioned that he had met Aussie Pilots in Singapore, whom were engaged in operations during the Vietnam war... and they had Omega watches. The first time I ever heard of Omega, and he talked as though they were the Holy Grail, which on his Salary I guess they were

Roll forward to 1994, I was an Army Instructor at the Military School of Engineering, and a colleague had found an Omega DeVille whilst out walking his dog. soon to become mine for £100! A nice little dress watch, and boy was I happy my first Omega! Unfortunately I myself lost that watch too...Muppet!...but roll on further to 2005 I was out of the Army and fell into a well paying job in construction... and I started collecting watches...many watches! Unfortunately my Dad passed away in 1999. Had he lived I would have bought him whichever Omega he wanted.

I must admit I dont remember what my First Omega was, I think it was a 2225.80 Seamster 300 Pro Chronograph. Big and Busy! I was collecting Space watches, and MIlitary watches so my eyes were on the speedmaster and Military Omegas (amongst others). Somewhere along the way I learned that one troop of the Royal Marines Special Boat Squadron had been issued with Quartz Seamster 300's probably the 2561.80.00. So I flipped the BIg Chronograph for the smaller Quartz from 1993.

Of all the Omegas I have now, and those that I have owned and sold on, this is my 'go to' watch. I work in Construction,,, its on my wrist, I go on Holiday, its on my wrist, In the Mediterranean, the Baltic, the North Sea, The Gulf of Mexico, The Atlantic, the Andaman..The Carribean..its been in there. The only Watch I take in the water despite having other dive watches. Of the 180 or so watches that I currently own, its the one most used...love it! Below are the two watches in question. Although I own and like Chronographs, the quartz is a nice little clean watch which presses the right buttons for me!

Being a collector of Space watches, I found my old CWC watch which I wore in my last few years of Army service. I wasnt really interested in keeping it so I sold it off to a fellow Sapper on Facebook, funnily enough I kept the issued G10 strap. Hoiwever After it had gone I started to think more about military watches

So roll on a few years and I had actually started to collect Military watches, and having joined the MIlitary Watch Resource forum I found that the RAF, and the RAAF had been issued with an Omega watch, called the Omega '53 as it was only procured in 1953 (actually the Rhodesians and others had them issued in 1956 too!) This surely MUST be the Omega my dad was talking about when I was a teenager? The first ones I saw for sale on eBay were around £800, back in 2010 maybe. But I could buy more 'lesser' military watches for £800 so I went for them instead. When I next checked they were around £1200.... nah I can still buy more watches for £1200.

Eventually at £1500 I bit the bullet and bought an Omega '53 the CK 2777 with the 283 calibre motor

I was working in Poland at the time, when it was delivered to me, and I showed it to one of my Romanian colleagues who also had an interest in watches. I was so chuffed, this was the watch that my dad talked about, the first time I heard of Omaga watches, ever.

Two days later he showed me a computer print-out with a photo of a very rough Omega 53'... crystal missing, hands missing crown missing but still very much a viable watch, given the abundance of Spares out there. He asked me if it was real, and I said 'Yes, why?'

He said he searched on Romanian websites after he saw mine and this was for sale. On like a Romanian version of eBay but with more fake watches than Professor Fakey McFake and the University of Fakery and Forgeries. I told him that it was real, in crap state but totally salvageable. He toild me it had sold two days previously for .......€15 he beleived that due to the low it must be fake. Romania.. who collects British Mil watches in Romania (back in 2013)? Who in Romania is interested in an old watch from the 50's with strange markings and loads of bits missing?

Some lucky Barsteward thats who!

Anyhow heres mine, still have it, still one of my favourites.

Thank you!

Of course being a 'space watch' collector, the speedmaster was an absolute must! I knew the 145.022 had been in space, but I wanted something with the 321 enigine inside. I couldn't afford the CK 2998 or even an 'Ed White' so I waited until a 145.012 came along.

I bought one from an online shop in Italy. The seller told me that the original owner had the watch (a 1968 model) from new and had had the watch serviced by Omega in the late 70's where they changed everything, the dial, the hands, the bezel. At that time not being a collectors watch the chronological originality of parts wasnt important, so all the parts that went on were the 1970's service parts.

The seller sourced a NOS dial and hands, but left the bezel. So it's basically a Frankentwatch, All original Omega but the components didnt leave Bienne at the same time! I can live with that, in fact to view that gorgeous 321 movement I fitted an aftermarket crystal case back.

I subsequently bought a FOIS 'Wally Schirra' watch, but I changed the sub-register hands for basic straight baton hands. I didnt like the look that the one different hand gave it. Of all the watches that I had....lots, my uninterested girfriend at the time liiked the FOIS the most.


Here are both watches, which I still own.... and I think I agree, the FOIS is nicer!

The Space watch that was never in space...but was!

When i had the chance to snap up an Alaska Project watch.. I did, and boy did I wear that frosty little bad boy! The problem was as it became more and more valuable, dinging it off scaffold tubes and metal door frames in factories under construction became a bit of a worry. If I dont want to ding it, then I cant wear it, and if I cant wear it.... whats the point of having it?..So I sold it.

Big mistake! I didnt think it through. I have had my watches serviced by a non-Omega chappy in Prague for years. In reality getting a new crystal, bezel or new pushers for the Alaska project would cost me no more than getting them for a 321 or an 863. Sure massive gouges out of the case may be a problem, but I wasnt putting massive gouges into the case, I was putting scratches which showed MY history of that watch, and he could have polished the bigger ones out anyway.

The worse case scenario would have been to drop the watch under the crawler tracks of an excavator, which would require the full (expensive) Bienne rebuild....but that was a very very remote possibility. I got slightly over double what I paid for it... not even a quarter of what they are apparently worth now, but what an hierloom to have left to my kids!

I have seen over the years a few prototypes of the Alaska project, but NOT one with the exact same dial as mine. I didnt like the bare lume marker batons on the modern reissue. I prefered the black edged markers. So when I found a NOS Italian market cream dial from the early 70's I snapped it up. I was looking for one of the Mercury spacecraft shaped sub register markers to 'complete' the three (as on the original) but by this time Omega had ceased selling spares to, or endorsing, Omega trained non-omega watchmakers. A very cynical move if you ask me... (thanks WatchCo!!!) So I was quite surprised when I saw in 2016 an almost identical prototype for sale by Christies... so my dial WAS pukka!

I also knew that NASA didnt buy the watch from Omega so it didnt go into space right? it wasnt until THIS decade (after I stopped collecting space watches) that the Alaska project flew in space in 1977 on Soyuz 25, and then the Souz 26/Salyut 6 mission in 77/78. I still have some of my Space watches... I should have kept that one 😢

Various photos of the Alaska Project protopypes ending with the 2016 Phillips sale.

Cosmonauts Vladimir Kovalyonok and Valery Ryumin with their Alaska Project watches on their wrist.

My watch before I abandoned her to her fate with a stranger on the other side of the world !



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mmmm it seems some of the photos didnt upload.

Alaska Project sold at Auction in 2016
Russian Cosmonauts Vladimir Kovalyonok and Valery Ryumin Soyuz 25 1977

Italian Market white dial!

After I sold my Alaska Project what was I going to do with my white dial (actually cream or off-white)

I saw a photo of a Frankentwatch conversions... and I thought....'me likey!'.. and then a set of Alaska Project main hands came up for sale on eBay...so!

1x 1969 863 Movement purchased
1 x 1970'ish case purchased
1 x NOS Puslations bezel purchased

et Voila!

The first photo is not mine, I have no idea whose it is, its the watch that inspired mine but its Identical to my watch, except for the strap! (the Brady Sai lcloth strap is too stiff for comfort)

I have included this photo as it is a far far far more superior photo than I could ever take!

The 2nd photo is mine,

Ooops I of course mean the Omega 861 movement!

Doh!🙄

When I started to collect Space watches I came across a photo of the First man to ever do an EVA in space, Alexei Leonov, wearing an Omega Flightmaster

Now there was no data to say he wore it on an actual space mission, just in training, but when a cheap one in need of a service popped up for sale .... well 'why not' thinks I

Now I am not a fan of big ' busy' watches, I flipped my Breitling Cosmonaut because it was a bit much!.... but you must agree this is just GORGEOUS!

Funnily enough in my last Posting with the British Army one of my mates was flogging his Dad's Flightmaster. I was an Omega fan at the time but lknew nothing of the different models, so had never seen one before, and his was a wee bit expensive on a Corporal's pay!..

,......as Cher sang 'if I could go back in Time!'

My Flightmaster
Alexei Leonov, the photo that piqued my interest in the flightmaster
NASA Souvenir card signed by the crew of the Apollo-Soyuz test mission with my Flightmaster and Speedmaster (on a Replica NASA strap)

Ooops not a biug Fan of Cher... but now singing it in my head, i beleive it's ..🎵"If I could turn back time!"🎶