Forums Latest Members
  1. MikeMan2727 Dec 16, 2020

    Posts
    1,653
    Likes
    8,682
    Hi all,

    I know some of you were likely bidding on this watch a few months back but I wanted to wait until I had more information to do a full write-up.

    The watch is an Omega Railmaster 2914-4 with full Arabic numeral luminous dial and syringe luminous hands. It cases a cal. 285 movement with 17,330,101 serial. The crown is Naiad.

    Before this watch came up for auction, there wasn't much information online about the Arabic dial variant. There is a small section on The Spring Bar about it, which helped me see a few other examples. One of those examples was sold by the Davidoff Brothers - also a 2914-4 with cal 285 and 17,330,105. Both watches have an OXG movement code, signifying delivery to the USA.

    With these few examples, I contacted Omega for more information. I just recently heard back and wanted to share what they found.

    My watch was delivered to the USA in July 1960 and produced in a 10 watch run which also included the Davidoff watch. There were no Railmasters produced directly before or directly after this batch. There were four additional batches of 10 created after the gap, all of which were Railmaster 2914 delivered to the USA. This would suggest that there were potentially up to 50 made.

    Unfortunately, the archives do not contain any information about the special dial or why it was made. It is reasonable to conclude this was some sort of special order / limited run, but beyond that would be speculative.

    If someone has another example, please let me know!
    20200923_174711.jpg
    [​IMG]
     
    Retsamaes, kaplan, Aweis305 and 77 others like this.
  2. jB1128 Dec 16, 2020

    Posts
    719
    Likes
    9,582
    Unreal. Spectacular. Congratulations. Superlative.

    Wow.

    Edit: I forgot to mention simply stunning ::love::
     
    Edited Dec 16, 2020
  3. apsm100 applysome! Dec 16, 2020

    Posts
    838
    Likes
    2,907
    Man that is pretty. ::love::
     
    MikeMan2727 likes this.
  4. watchyouwant ΩF Clairvoyant Dec 17, 2020

    Posts
    5,120
    Likes
    8,623
    I sold one many years ago to a member here. Maybe he will share his example .... Kind regards. Achim
     
    Mark020, Dr No, Shabbaz and 1 other person like this.
  5. Seaborg Dec 17, 2020

    Posts
    1,532
    Likes
    3,580
    Incredible :eek:::love::
     
    MikeMan2727 likes this.
  6. Cuttysark Dec 17, 2020

    Posts
    923
    Likes
    3,694
    WOW this is really really cool!!::love::
     
    MikeMan2727 likes this.
  7. Engee Dec 17, 2020

    Posts
    1,537
    Likes
    3,209
    What an absolutely beautiful example of a beautiful watch. I know most people prefer showy watches but the Railmaster oozes quality and understated self-assurance. It’s a watch for the wearer to know what’s on their wrist, whereas a Rolex is a watch for everyone else to know what’s on the wearers wrist. I much prefer to be the first type.

    I hope it gives you many years of pleasure.
     
    Retsamaes, HH37, MikeMan2727 and 3 others like this.
  8. bigsom Dec 17, 2020

    Posts
    1,312
    Likes
    10,509
    What a special watch, and the Arabic dial seems so appropriate for a watch named Railmaster.
     
  9. MikeMan2727 Dec 17, 2020

    Posts
    1,653
    Likes
    8,682
    That would be nice. I hope he sees this thread.

    It's a shame you don't remember more details about the watch.
     
  10. td69 Dec 17, 2020

    Posts
    440
    Likes
    433
    Congratulations! Glad it went to a good hand and fellow OF.

    I was one of the bidders on this watch, but I was put off by a quick note from seller stating that there was a small "T" at the bottom to the right of "SWISS MADE" that was not visible in those listing photos, when asking whether the lumes were radium.

    Does OP check it with Geiger?
     
    watchyouwant and gemini4 like this.
  11. MikeMan2727 Dec 17, 2020

    Posts
    1,653
    Likes
    8,682
    Thank you! I actually checked it with a medical grade Geiger the day after I got it - very high counts as expected for radium.
     
    noelekal, Seaborg and td69 like this.
  12. watchyouwant ΩF Clairvoyant Dec 17, 2020

    Posts
    5,120
    Likes
    8,623
    This is the only picture left ..... all others were stored at Photobucket and they were lost when the company wanted to charge for storage.... this is the one, we researched with Mr. J. Diethelm from the Factory in the mid 90`s. not much was known then about these dial variants..... and the second one is the one i kept and is one of the Canadian Prototypes with Swan Neck regulator from 1956. white and black dials tried with the prototypes..... kind regards. Achim omegarailrestored.jpg SAM_6662.JPG
     
    PerJ, Davidt, OneTwo and 24 others like this.
  13. Seaborg Dec 18, 2020

    Posts
    1,532
    Likes
    3,580
    Be careful with Radium :thumbsup:
     
  14. gemini4 Hoarder Of Speed et alia Dec 18, 2020

    Posts
    5,855
    Likes
    16,579
    Did you check the hands separately from the dial?
     
    Dr No likes this.
  15. Franco Dec 18, 2020

    Posts
    559
    Likes
    731
    Hi, do you have an image of the crown- side? With or without the Mercedes sign?
     
  16. MikeMan2727 Dec 18, 2020

    Posts
    1,653
    Likes
    8,682
    Thanks for sharing. I have always enjoyed seeing your 2777.

    I think your 2914 is the same watch as the Davidoff watch. Did you buy it from / sell it to them? The crown is identical and so are the drag marks on the dial.

    20201218_001926.jpg
     
    hansaboy, cristos71 and bigsom like this.
  17. MikeMan2727 Dec 18, 2020

    Posts
    1,653
    Likes
    8,682
    There was no point to check them separately. They have clearly been redone and do not glow. Is it a dealbreaker for you?

    Indeed!

    20201218_174054.jpg
     
    Dr No, watchyouwant, Flip and 2 others like this.
  18. watchyouwant ΩF Clairvoyant Dec 18, 2020

    Posts
    5,120
    Likes
    8,623
    No, i sold it to a member here. but that was many years ago ......... kind regards. achim
     
  19. gemini4 Hoarder Of Speed et alia Dec 18, 2020

    Posts
    5,855
    Likes
    16,579
    Dealbreaker? Not at all. Very rare dial indeed.
    My question relates to the dial lume vs the hand lume. I’ve seen a few RM dials with TT and single T’s and all were indeed, Tritium lumed. If you obtained a sizable GC reading, and the dial has an engraved T, I though perhaps the hands alone were radium lumed. Do you believe the tritium dial was relumed with radium?
     
    watchyouwant and Seaborg like this.
  20. MikeMan2727 Dec 18, 2020

    Posts
    1,653
    Likes
    8,682
    The dial does not have a T:

    20201218_190413.jpg

    The Davidoff watch above also had radium lume, as would be expected for an early 17 mil serial.