Hi, I have come across a vintage Omega Bumper Automatic. I would like to seek your opinion if the dial has been redone, or if it is original.

 

Most likely a redial due to crooked L in 'Officially' and crosshairs don't line up with markers at 12 and 6.

 

Hi there! I’m not the most expert on here, so I may be off base, but I’ve never heard of a bumper movement being chronometer certified. Maybe there is an error in the description?

 

I am aware that there are some tritium dials / hands that do not have the T's next to the Swiss made, but I thought they are generally later. So I was going to vote redial.
It now occurs to me that it may be radium, so that blows my first theory.
And there are chronometer grade bumpers, but I don't have the memory for the calibres, 354 possibly?

 

Should be radium as tritium wasn't introduced until around 1960 and the bumpers are late1940s-mid 1950s. If that has a 352 movement (which was the certified centre second bumper) inside then the dial makes sense, if not then it doesn't. For the reasons given above, I would guess at redial here, most other early 50s bumpers are showing their age and this one mysteriously isn't...

 

Thank you Padders and I agree it does look remarkably bright white.

 

Seamaster 354 chronometres exist and those white dials can age remarkably well - I have an original 266 in similar condition, see below. My only slight reservation is the line running through m in Seamaster a little further to the right than you'd expect, but on balance I think it looks right, it matches the condition of the case and FWIW my opinion is original.

 

Here is mine:

 

I would simply point out that the wording “Automatic Chronometre Officially Certified” seems to come from a later era. I’m today wearing a 1961 Connie whose dial reads the same as yours: Automatic Chronometer. A peek at the inside should reveal what the OP is looking at.

 

I would say redial. Look at how the cross hairs intersect with the minute markers at 12,3,6 and 9. They don't go through the middle but off to the sides. Also the cross hairs flip the chevron of the Y in offically.

 

Hi, thank you all for your contribution. I am gonna head over to the Omega service center next week to see if they can shed any light on this.

 

And then there's Chronometre and Chronometer....

 

I stand corrected. It just seems unusual which suggests that this is a special watch, indeed.

 

the slightly elevated second L in officially makes me think this is original. That is excactly like in one of mine. Seamaster seems good too , although the crosshairs lack precision.

 

Don't get your hopes up as a lot of service centres neither know nor care about vintage. In my opinion this is a very nice watch indeed, one I would be happy to own. If you get it, have it serviced by an independent watchmaker and NOT by Omega, for reasons that have been pointed out countless times on this forum.

 

wise words

 

As Edward53 has rightly stated, unfortunately my trip to Omega has not shed any new light on this matter. The service center here in Singapore could not comment on the matter, and suggested that I send it to Switzerland for verification. For a small fortune, no less.

 

There were at least 500 000 chronometer graded 354 movements.