Hi all ....In my post in the Introduction Thread today I made reference to a Seamaster that I own and was asked to expand a bit more on it a bit more so here goes, my first post ....
The watch in question is this one shown below, my Omega Seamaster Olympia (quartz) which dates from 1994. There is some information on the Internet about it, some of which is incorrect but I'll try to give the facts I know.
As we know, Omega has often been associated with the timing for the Olympics but in the Winter Olympics of 1994 in Lillehammer, Omega was not given this contract but it was given to Seiko.
Not to be outdone, Omega became an official equipment provider for the Swiss Olympic Team and provided watches specifically designed for the games. In fact to showcase the brand, different versions were produced, one an Automatic Chronometer version in both mid size and full size in stainless steel ( Caliber number: 1109) and my one, the Quartz version in both sizes and stainless steel too ( Calibre number 1438), mine being the full size. ...There was also a solid gold version of the automatic chronometer caliber.
Production numbers for the solid gold version was a total of 49 whilst the Chronometer versions were limited to 194 each. I have seen something on the Internet to the effect that the Quartz version wasn't a Limited Edition but as you'll clearly see from the photo of the caseback of mine it states it is and no-one in the collector's world that I know of has seen one higher than 188, so I'm assuming there's 194 of these around too. .... Now when we consider the normal sort of production runs of Limited Editions by Omega, we can see at only 194 of each standard version, this Olympia is truly really “Rare”. Though why they chose a 300meter diver for a skiing watch, only the gnomes of Bienne know !
As to this quartz version itself, those who know their calibers will realise that this is the same six jewelled 1438 version that is seen in the pre-'Bond' Seamasters but placed in the full sized case of the 'Bond' automatic Seamaster, there's photos below of the movement and case comparison.
I bought my watch without the bits and pieces they were issued with but in almost 100% condition. When initially sold they came in a case with five nice leather straps, each one a colour of one of the Olympic Rings, blue, yellow, black, green and red.
By the way, the watches are described in “Omega a Journey Through Time “ on page 345 entitled “The 'Olympia' Seamasters 1994" .. ... so that's about it, the photos below should show you what one looks like and as you can see the dial has both the Swiss Flag and Olympic rings subtly shown under the 'Seamaster' logo... also I've shown an Omega advert from the time that shows the watch. Any questions, just shout !
Click to expand...