This quest began because I became enamoured of Breguet numerals, which have a style all of their own. Lots of pre-war (WW II) Omegas had these beautiful figures on their dials, but after 1945 it seems that, in general, only watches destined for the USA had the Breguet style, and we in Europe had to be content with a more severe, if functional, non-serif face. There were exceptions, of course, the most notable perhaps being the second series Centenary, reference 2499. For whatever reason, Breguet numerals on post-war Omegas are distinctly scarce in the UK. So the hunt began, for a 1940s or 1950s USA Omega with this rather special dial.

There are many experts here who will know far more about all this than I do, so I will sketch out my findings and hope that others will fill in the gaps, or indeed point out my errors. But it seems that (just as in the UK) there were trade restrictions in the USA which made the import of gold-cased Omegas from Switzerland difficult after WW II. Many Omegas were therefore imported without the case – as movements with dials – and they were then fitted with American made gold cases by several firms, the principal of which was Wadsworth. Now, I have not been able to find out very much about Wadsworth, other than the fact that they were based in Dayton, Kentucky, and were absorbed by Elgin in 1953. But they seem to have been very similar to the English firm of Dennison, and like them produced high quality gold cases for a variety of Omega movements.

Some intensive eBay research for an American Breguet dial narrowed the search down to one particular model, the Omega G6518. The G6xxx Omegas are all from the American Collections of the late 1940s and early 1950s, and the 6518 was introduced in 1950 and lasted until ’55, according to the OVD (I am not sure that this is entirely correct, as I have seen at least two examples for sale which are from the 1940s with a 28.10 calibre). The 6518 had a cal 351 ‘bumper’ automatic, was fitted with a solid 14k gold case by Wadsworth, and (most important) very often had a dial graced by the Breguet numerals. Not all of them, mind – there were several dial variations, as you might expect. All of these come up for sale most regularly in the US naturally enough, and when they do they are almost always described as RARE.

Well, rare they are certainly not, as you will usually find at least half-a-dozen of them for sale on the ‘Bay at any given time. In fact they seem to have been pretty much the standard American Omega gold dress watch of the period. What is unusual, though, if not rare, is to find a 6518 in anything like good original condition. Most of them have been heavily polished, or have lost their distinctive original crowns, and sadly those 1950s dials have not worn well. Just about every example I could find had been re-dialled, usually with very little respect for accuracy or good taste. Undeterred, I kept looking, and one day I stumbled across this neglected looking example –



It looked pretty rough (and dirty) and that bracelet certainly was not helping matters, but here at last was an original dial, and an original crown. The back looked rather worse for wear, though, and even worse it was engraved –



(Both of these are the seller’s photos)

But it was the most complete and original G6518 that I had seen, and it did have the beautiful Breguet numerals. I took a risky chance on this one, paid the BIN price and waited for it to make its way across the storm-tossed Atlantic. Two weeks later it turned up at my local Royal Mail depot, I paid the outrageous import dues and got it home. The packaging was very good, and the old girl was ticking happily away when I took it out of the box, so we were off to a reasonable start. At first sight the watch did indeed look like a rough old nail, but on removing the back the 351 movement actually seemed pretty decent, with no water damage, clean copper plating and crisp screw slots –



The serial number dates it to 1951. The inside of the case back has the usual Wadsworth ID and serial number (plain finish, no perlage) and a couple of watchmaker’s marks –



Earlier examples have the Wadsworth name in full. Strange to European eyes is the complete absence of any hallmark. Apparently we just have to take Mr Wadsworth’s word for it that this is indeed gold, and 14k at that. Taking a deep breath, I got to work (many hours of work, I may say, but enjoyable nonetheless). The end result was certainly a great improvement –



Getting rid of the bracelet and putting the watch on a nice leather strap really helps, I feel. Generally I prefer a brown leather to black with these 1950s Omegas, it just seems softer and more ‘vintage’ somehow. One thing that caught me out was the distance between the lugs, not 18mm as are all my other Omegas but 5/8 inch! The nearest metric strap is 16mm, which of course I had to order specially and it is a tight fit. The crystal was horribly scratched up and it took hours of hand buffing to restore its clarity –



The dial is ‘spotty’ and somewhat degraded around the edge, of course. I can’t fix that, but I would far rather have this one than even the best re-dial. This is the real thing, the one that left the Omega factory, and it is not so far gone that it spoils the watch for me. I just love the applied gold numerals, and those gorgeous little pyramid hour markers. The case has not been heavily polished, and the lugs always were very rounded like this –



I get the feeling that this watch was well loved and cared for over many years before it fell on hard times. Here you can see that the original crown is in excellent condition. Very often they have been replaced, or are very worn if they do survive. It’s an incredibly delicate, tiny little crown, which almost makes you scared to use it in case you break it off. Rugged and masculine this watch is not. I spent a long time cleaning years of filth off the case, and the gold came up really well –



This American gold is a very pale yellow, but will probably warm up once it gets a bit of tarnish back on it. The case seems to be very well made, the fit and finish is excellent, and I don’t see a good reason to rate these Wadsworth cases as any less worthy than the Swiss ones. Or inferior to the English Dennison cases, come to that. I nearly forgot to mention the back of the watch, which had me worried to begin with –



It cleaned up really well, as you can see – and no, I do not possess or have access to a buffing wheel. This was just a gentle polish with care and cotton buds. As for the engraving, I have come to quite like it as it is very expertly done, has a nice period flavour – and I can speculate over who WJM might have been. This little project was fun to research and carry out, and the next step will be to send the watch off for a movement service. Like most of these rugged old bumpers it runs just fine, but I am sure it could benefit from cleaning and lubrication. I must say that I am very pleased with the end result, and I can see this one becoming one of my favourite pieces, despite the fact that the G6518 does not seem to be highly regarded or particularly sought-after.

As always, your comments are valued and invited.

 

Nice find and a lovely article. Thanks for starting the New Year off on such a positive note.

 

Very good article. I understand your fondness to Breguet style numerals. They are beautiful.
I am surprised that you could take out almost all the small scratch, a very nice work indeed. What do you use for polishing? (If you don't mind to share the secret) Do you use polishing cloth (like Cape cod)? or just regular cloth with some polishing agent?
Anyway congrats to your new acquisition....

 

Now I know the crown I need to look for, John. I saw a crown available from Ofrei but it looks nothing like yours, and I happen to have a watch with that very same case (but a gold-filled one rather than solid gold); the 16mm strap also caught me off guard and I had to order a special one.

Great watch, great article!

 

Polishing cloths like Cape Cod are fine for removing tarnish, but that's about all. And any sort of cloth is just too big and blunt an instrument for working on a tiny object like a wristwatch. The trick is to use the finest effective abrasive on the smallest possible applicator, and apply it in a way which does not round any edges. So I have a range of (mildly abrasive) polishes from the automotive body shop world, a lacquer restorer from the guitar world (which does a fine job on crystals), and apply them with cotton buds, pipe cleaners and even cocktail sticks where necessary. Sometimes I cut down a cotton bud to make it smaller, and the cocktail sticks will remove grime from gaps and seams without causing damage. Pipe cleaners are great for working in between the lugs!

 

Thanks, Evan, I'm glad you like the watch. As for Customs and Excise, I ended up paying 20% VAT on the purchase cost plus the Royal Mail handling fee of £8 GBP. That's why I try to keep my purchasing within the EU, if I can. But very often, only the good old USA has the things which I desire!