Never knew such a watch existed... so, did a little research.
Watch Of The Week: Omega Reference 2777-1 For The RAF
by
Louis Westphalen, August 3, 2016
In the days before electronic timekeeping, watches were essential instruments for the military, and they needed to be extremely reliable and legible. Omega pocket and wristwatches seemed to excel at both, demonstrating precision and resilience in operations during both World Wars. It is estimated that no fewer than 110,000 of the manufacture’s watches were delivered to the British Armed Forces during WWII, or, as Omega stated in 1945, “of all the Navigational watches used by the Royal Air Force during the war, approximately half of these were Omega watches.”
The close relationship between Omega and the RAF survived the end of the war too. In 1953, RAF pilots began receiving the reference 2777-1. Design-wise the watch was close to models previously provided to the British army, notably the references CK2299 and CK2444. The black dial featured the same type of hour track with the characteristic “Broad Arrow” symbol marking the watch as government property. It also featured a movement derived from the chronometer caliber 30, offering crucial accuracy.
The 2777-1 brought something infinitely precious to the pilots of the RAF: improved anti-magnetic properties. The new resistance to 900 Oersted might sound trivial, but in a cockpit full of instruments, there could be dramatic side-effects for the entire crew if the watch were to be magnetized. The extra protection came from a double case back and a thicker dial. All of this eventually led to the Railmaster, released in 1957.
According to literature, only 5,900 pieces were ever supplied to the RAF, most later fitted with tritium dial and hands by the Ministry of Defense. This is where the circled T found below the Omega logo comes from. A pure military watch, the 2777-1 features soldered lugs to avoid the fatal consequence of a faulty spring bar during combat.
It also comes with a case back with multiple engravings, documenting every single detail. From top to bottom, the broad arrow indicates an order from the British Army, the number “6645 101000” indicates the NATO Stock number for that type of watch, 6B/542 marks the service number within the RAF Service Management, and 2829/53 documents the service number and the year of the order.
This detailed decoding fails to capture how cool this watch actually looks on the wrist. The black military dial is killer with the “Broad Arrow” on the lower part of the dial balancing the Omega logo. And the thick 37 mm case wears superbly, especially with the same grey NATO strap that the British army used.
Source:
https://shop.hodinkee.com/blogs/journal/omega-reference-2777-1-for-the-raf
