It’s commonly known that most modern stainless steel watches (Omega included) are commonly using 316L steel which is harder, but less corrosion-resistant that Rolex’s 904L steel.
I’m curious if anyone knows what type of steel was used on the vintage Omega models such as the original 1957 Trilogy models.
Anyone?

 

Hope it wasn't the steel Ford Motor Company used in the early seventies...

 

David Boettcher 's site provides a brief history of watch case steel here:
https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/stainlesssteel.php

 

They are pretty much the same real benefit of 904L is it polishes a touch better.

Its as cheap as chips really like 316L it’s no super steel as the below is 904L
( commonly used in wine and chemical vats )




316L was probably used from the early 50s

Also plenty of history of Stainless Steel in the Swiss watchmaking and knife making

 

For anyone into watches- you should read the entirety of David’s site- he has shared a life’s research online and it’s a fascinating tome on the history of watches. He’s also an incredibly nice man and makes great straps.

 

The 904L hype you see on watch forums is hilarious. I went to see a former work colleague this year at the new business he works at - they do plasma spray coatings and make dynamic seals...and use a lot of different steels including 904L. As much as Rolex wants you to believe it is some kind of precious metal, there are huge bars of it laying out in the open in the yard at my friend's workplace.

 

Omega doesn't really publish the exact specification for their stainless steel.

 

Ah, but I think I can safely assume that the vintage Omega steel (like my 1960 Seamaster) isn’t nearly as hard as my modern Railmaster which seems extremely scratch-resistant...

 

Being a knife guy (where the steel junkies are crazy knowledgeable) steels have changed remarkably in the last 40 years. Just the last 10 would blow you away.
The two steels used by Rolex and Omega and most watch companies are nothing special.

The drain in your kitchen sink is probably the same steel your Rolex is made from

 

The patina on my kitchen sink has hopefully increased its value proportionately over the past few years.

 

Being a bit tired of the hype surrounding Rolex’s magic metal, the comments being made here are quite refreshing.

Thanks @Archer

 

But just think, because 904L is more corrosion resistant to acids, etc., if you are wearing your submariner you can soak your arm in sulfuric acid without worrying about corroding the watch. No guarantees on your arm however.

 

We had custom made laboratory grade stainless sinks made for our photo lab at work years ago- they weren’t cheap, but less than a Rolex. The only thing the company that made them missed was that they used off the shelf drains- so after 5 years the sinks were still immaculate, but the drains were pitted and corroded....the steel does matter- but it’s not a secret special formula used by watch companies- industries that worked with chemicals buy it by the metric ton.

 

It's not really because of this. The metal itself is not more expensive by a large margin, but needs different equipment to work with.

 

Not really - different feeds and speeds maybe, different cutting tool edge geometry possibly, but not different equipment.

316L or 904L are not exactly "free machining" alloys, but neither are all that difficult either...