Vintage Omega "Banana Tank" Curved Russian Case

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Spoonta66

·May 31, 2026

Just thought I would post this here as it is one of the coolest vintage Omega watches I have found.
Its a Russian hallmarked 500 for 12k gold (or 48 Zolotniks 🤣) and is a huge 27mm x 47mm curved case, excluding the crown, with 18mm fixed lugs and an incredibly thick Lucite crystal
I think I'm in love, does anyone have more info on the possible history? I will post caseback and movement pictures when it arrives in a week or so. It is fully functional and keeping time within 1 minute a day so will maybe need servicing, and the seller said the hour hand may need to be reset as it is a bit loose.
It cost me a bit but I still think it was a bargain.
Any thoughts or info would be greatly appreciated.

 

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Spoonta66

·May 31, 2026

I have just read that during the 50's the Russian state Assay offices would verify and restamp any imported gold items with Russian hallmarks to prove thier purity. Not sure if this is correct but it seems to line up with the much later hallmarks on the case? I cannot read what the original hallmarks are above the newer Russian mark.

 

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JimInOz

·May 31, 2026·Melbourne Australia

Nice catch 👍.

The "Baton" minute hand doesn't match the "Poire" hour hand but that'll give you another issue to chase down.

Here's a Banana entry in AJTT.

 

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Spoonta66

·May 31, 2026

JimInOz

Nice catch 👍.

The "Baton" minute hand doesn't match the "Poire" hour hand but that'll give you another issue to chase down.

Here's a Banana entry in AJTT.

Yeah, I noticed that. I have a set of the correct hands somewhere 🤣

 

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mac_omega

·Jun 1, 2026

JimInOz

Nice catch 👍.

The "Baton" minute hand doesn't match the "Poire" hour hand but that'll give you another issue to chase down.

Here's a Banana entry in AJTT.

Jim,

the only similarity with the Banana is the dial with exploding numbers.
But the case construction is very different. The real Banana is a weird beast. The case of the real Banana is constructed like a box. the "lid" of the box is held by 4 screws (2 on each side) and the strap is not held by a fixed barr but slips into the case through slots and is held by 2 pins inside on which the strap is "speared".

 

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JimInOz

·Jun 1, 2026·Melbourne Australia

mac_omega

the only similarity with the Banana is the dial with exploding numbers.

Thanks Erich. I guess the term "Banana" for this style of Omega has been used as casually as the term "Calatrava" has for other brands.

Maybe the OPs is a Plantain?
(not quite a banana)

 

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Spoonta66

·Jun 1, 2026

I have no idea but it looks more like a banana than the real banana, mine doesn't have the screws.

 

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Spoonta66

·Jun 3, 2026

Can any of the guru's here tell me if it looks like a repainted dial?

 

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Spoonta66

·Jun 19, 2026

Got some movement photos today, its a completely Russian made case, the stamps seem to show late 40's but the dial and movement are Omega branded. I think it's in the 23.7 family but I'm not sure?

 

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mac_omega

·Jun 19, 2026

It looks more like a cal 26.5

 

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myouss

·Jun 26, 2026

Dial is very clearly not original. The minute markers are all over the place. Thickness is inconsistent. Poor redial.