Evening all Well, it’s not everyday that you see a boxed chrono-quartz which has just come back from the spa for sale on the SC but here is one that is a little bit more special, it’s first and really last owner was a famous road cyclist from the 1970’s called Bert Oosterbosch Here are a couple of really useful links for more information about these extremely special watches and this examples famous owner http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_Chrono-Quartz http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Oosterbosch Bert himself won 3 stages of the Tour de France as well as extensive road competitions during which he won 14 races. Bert was plagued by ill health and died extremely young at the age of 32 in 1989. This watch was purchased from the family a few years ago and I picked it up from the last owner. When I bought it wasn’t in fully functioning order, as such I have had it fully serviced and cleaned including pushers and crowns but kept it very much in ‘as is’ condition to preserve the heritage of the piece. The watch has had the interlinks of the bracelet replaced (the originals will be supplied with the watch) at a cost of over £200 for this job alone, the case and bracelet have been properly cleaned but the crystal, displays, movement etc are all original and the watch is in very good condition. The Omegas Albatros as it is known is one of the truly ground breaking watches of the 1970’s, the 1976 released Chrono-Quartz or ‘Albatros’. It was initially released for the 1976 Montreal Winter Olympic games but the production run ran on and because of the popularity of the watch it was available for a couple of years afterwards. The watch was also the worlds first analogue and digital watch, having both a standard analogue display and a digital chronograph function. The Chrono-Quartz is also one of very few Omegas ever made which didn’t share its movement with other Omegas, the Cal 1611 was developed for and only used in this watch. With a production run of around 13000 they are becoming increasingly rare and will get rarer and rarer as time goes on. The watch is working perfectly, it even has the original heavy Mineral Crystal with separate foil! These watches are a special part of Omegas history and truly are one of those Omegas that IMHO are going to continue to climb in value over the course of the next few years and this one especially. The Bracelet is excellent and tight, size for up to an 8 ½ inch wrist or can be taken down to below a 7 inch wrist. The bracelet is engraved with Berts name and I assume the date gifted/ purchased in 1979. The watch is presented in it’s original Omega red presentation box Condition: Case: Mint with correct Omega factory finish, there is the odd mark but no major dinks or gouges Case back: Mint and showing no signs of wear Bracelet: Mint and tight to fit up to an 8 ½ inch wrist with engraving on the claps Dial: Excellent with a beautiful even patina. Hands: Mint (original) LCD: Working perfectly Crystal: The crystal (unlike so many) is the original Mineral one with separate foil. There are no chips or scratches. New replacement crystals are available still and can be sourced directly from Omega (STS in the UK) Box : all original I am happy to offer a 12 month warranty with the watch I am asking £1350 for it including RMSD in the UK and International signed for (insured for £500) abroad. Payment via BT, Cheque or Paypal (as a gift or +4%) please feel free to ask any questions Cheers Tom
Thanks to the wonders of the watch forum network I have also been informed that Bert was a World Champion individual pursuit in the year 1979. The engraving WK stands for Wereld Kampioenschap or in English World Championship Also remiss of me but I am also happy to consider vintage trades
Chaps, something has come up I cannot miss so with this in mind I am dropping this beauty to £1050 Average chronoquartz's sell for £1000, this is a fully overhauled one which benefits from a £200 bracelet rebuild on top and has a famous owner, surely someone want to snag her