It sounds so much nicer in French, doesn't it? Still lacking a real OT 2500 of my own, I'm making do with the next best thing which is this period advert for the Centenary, which was just delivered today from Paris (France). I've made a scan of the original, which is a page from a magazine dated March 1948 -



There are a few interesting things to be inferred from the text of this delightful period piece. This is March 1948, remember, so quite early in the production run of the Centenary. It was delivered with, specifically, a crocodile bracelet, and a special Omega gold buckle (bouclette speciale). It was presented in a leather covered case (bel ecrin en cuir as illustrated in Desmond's article) - which Omega intended could then be used as a cigarette box! So at this date we have confirmation that the silver box was not yet part of the Centenary package.

But now we know the correct strap for an early OT 2500, anyhow

 

Interesting. However, the question of the correct strap is still not resolved. Was the bracelet from a Nile, American, Australian, Philippine or Siamese Crocodile? Surely this is critical if you want to have an all original and correct example

 

Any idea exactly which buckle?

Let me declare the Kelaran small grain alligator matte black strap the modern replacement of choice.

 

Just for fun, here is the English language version of the Centenary advert in Desmond's .pdf. You can purchase it here Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network- I was tempted, but it was a bit too pricey for me. However, you do get not one but four nice adverts



It's interesting to note, that in none of these adverts so far do Omega mention the exact figure for the production run - just "it is made only in limited quantity".