These are nice 35mm sized watches in a pretty hefty case (ref. 2179 for this example). A few had "US Army" marked at the caseback but most did not - Gator, Rrryan and others have discussed this model a few times in other forums over the years. The vast majority have aged or redone dials and I have had 2 of these that came and went. This one though is a keeper. Why? Condition, condition, condition...

 

Nice one! I was tempted, but I must save my funds for a Centenary. I always thought they were smaller, but the one I picked up must not have been this model. It was also a redial.

 

MSN, that's one of the best conditioned examples of this reference I've even seen. I think the dial lacquer from the factory was faulty and the large amount of radium on the dial doesn't help perservation efforts, either.

Here's mine for comparison.





I'm of the belief that all the watches with this dial type have some kind of military connection. If not engraved "US Army", they could have still been issued to the Air Corps, which was in the process of becoming the US Air Force at that time. Also, these could have been sold through the miliary post exchange system or to the public as surplus after the war. I have no proof if this, just a feeling after gathering some history from a couple of owners.

Take care,
gatorcpa

 

Mike, mine (as you may recall) is one of the ones you let go. It has a dial very similar to Gator's, except that it lacks "SWISS MADE" for some reason, but that's not uncommon for the mid-40s era. I wonder if some of the dials may have been printed state-side at that time? I can understand why you wanted to keep your superb example!

I agree that this is a good, wearable size, and a great all-around watch.

 

Don't think so, Adam.

This is one of the few listings in the Omega Vintage Database that actually mentions the location of "Swiss Made" in the dial section:

"Dial:

Silvered, with luminous arabic hour markers (radium), "railway" minute track, "skeleton" hands and "Swiss-Made" between 5 and 7 o'clock."​

​

My belief is that yours is a very high quality redial, probably done many years ago when the dial started to look like mine. The Omega logo is not as sharp as Mike's and there seems to be some inconsistency to the "30" and "35" digits. Although that last one anomoly could be caused by distortion from the crystal.

Take care,
gatorcpa

 

You're probably right. The font of the "4" in "40" is slightly different too. Certainly would be a higher-quality redial, if so, and it's one that doesn't really bother me to own. Interesting that there are slight radium burns on mine (at 2:20), so it would definitely be an old redial.

 

I'm not too sure it is an old redial as I have seen a few US Army watches with this exact dial look but others have been following this model more closely than I have.

I agree with Gator - this is as nice as it gets with this watch and that's why I'm keeping it!

 

Mike's and Alex's are both to die for. This watch (ref. 2179) has a great wrist presence. I love wearing mine too.

 

Have since found a cousin to this watch since I first started this thread:



And I know about the crown - have the right one somewhere in the parts box...

 

Now where did that pesky little "SWISS MADE" get to?

Gorgeous black dial variant, Mike. Wonder for whom it was intended?

 

Has the radium on the hands left no marks on the dial at all? Remarkably clean example

 

Nope the dial is clean - the cleanest one of this model I have ever seen.