This is one of the second series and the dial does appear to be correct from what I've seen.

Desmond would likely know for sure.

 

What do you think market value is for a 2499 in that condition?

 

I'm going to get a screen grab of that to use against you when you put it up for sale.

 

Curious why as to why, when the 2499 28.10 JUB is considered the rarest of all the Centenary, with only 2000 pieces.

Is it the fascination with the RG regulator?

To quote Desmond:

"Any Omega Centenary is collectible; however it appears that the most sough-after Centenary models are the calibre 331 and calibre 341, most particularly the 28.10 RA PC JUB AM (calibre 341) because of the limited numbers produced. These are the scarcest of all of the Centenary models."

 

Well if you need to sell anything to fund this... I'll be waiting
Also, this looks like a really nice one!

 

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one Mike

My understanding was the opposite and that was most of the 343s were earmarked for the second iteration of the Centenary, a few generic chronometres and the rest for the Seamaster, because of the immense popularity of the original subscription of the Jub 28.10s Centenary watch. I think a 343 in case 2518 is a much rarer proposition that a 343 in a 2499 as prices sometimes reflect. Of course, certainty is an option here and it's all about perceptions.

While 'Officially Certified' did and did not appear on the 2518 and the generic 2514, it is most unusual to see it appear on a 2499. When the controversy over Officially Certified erupted over the second gen. 2499s a number of years back there was a flurry of searches for an ad that showed Officially Certified and no-one, including myself, could find one. I recall John Diethelm saying that Centenary models pre-dated Officially Certified, but he may well have been referring to the 'real' Centenary models that were produced specifically to mark Omega's 100th birthday - the 28.10 JUB and the 30.10 JUB. It is documented that Omega decided to re-issue another batch of Centenary models in 1949 because of over-subscription by agencies and dealerships for the JUBs.

In a side conversation I was having with Kyle prior to the post I suggested that perhaps the Officially Certified dials could have been end of run and maybe marketed as Chronometers and not Centenarys.. In terms of collectibility, I would say that the 28.10 JUB is a must for any serious Centenary collector as it is one of the two 'original' centenary watches produced from late 1947 to mark Omega's centenary, and in my trawling around over the years I have found genuine examples very hard to find and quite expensive. A Centenary collector would want to have all iterations in his grasp including both the 30.10 original and 333 second gen. as well as the 343, but the two originals, arguably, would form the core of a collection. The 343 has its own cache because of the RG regulator and luxury cosmetic finish and its Seamaster association.

While I have a weakness for the 343 and have both 343 Centenarys and Seamasters, I've always thought it was over-rated horologically because of the potential of the RG to cause accuracy issues because of end shake turning the screw. Omega's great Teddington and Geneva competition winners had stick hands and in my opinion the Swan Neck offers a better regulation system.

Cheers

Desmond

 

It adds to the knowledge base Gator - thanks!

Kyle also posted on Purist (smart guy Kyle is in seeking to broaden his search for diverse input - I think he is getting a very good education ) and your ad ties in with the point at which Omega decided to send its watches to the BOs to be officially certified, said to be around 1951. A change in regulations meant that companies could not do in-house testing and call the watch a chronometer but had to send the movements to a third party. So, arguably, any watch movement produced prior to 1951 would not have the Officially Certified appellation but just chronometer and any movement produced after 1951 would have Officially Certified.

So Kyle's example may have come after the transition to BOs and may fit the speculation I made in my previous post. Omega appeared to have kept the 2500 and 2499 going in some form until the first release of the 2648 Constellation with cal 352 in early 1952. Sounds plausible to me. It may or may not have been called a Centenary but it's looking very much like a pre-Constellation. Case is even pretty muh the same as a 2648.

This also raises the issue of Omega dropping officially certified on the first cal 551 and 561 movements in 1959-61. I wonder if there was some relaxation of the rules in the late fifties only to be tightened up again. ULF, we need a Swiss German on this forum to do some research on industry regulation in the late fifties. Can you conjure up said person?

Regards

Desmond

 

Wish I could help Desmond. Research is the InvestiGator's department so maybe he can scare up something.

Oh, and the Zenith guys have some European connections so maybe they've heard of somebody who can assist.