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JasonF
·A friend of mine wrote this on his substack and I thought this might be a good read for my fellow forum members! Cheers.
Today, watches are worn as more of a personal statement, rather than a tool or a necessity. We have our phones on us 24/7, digital and analog clocks can be found in businesses, on drive by billboards and in our cars. Smart watches can send text messages, browse the internet, monitor heart rate and of course, the least of these, tell the time. But watches were, and still are, a tool of war; they are considered a precision instrument used when the seconds matter. If you think of this in the context of World War Two and navigation, they could be the difference between a successful bombing mission, rendezvous or confirmation of remaining fuel/distance with some quick, in cockpit, calculations (As seen in the film “Dunkirk”). Time matters, and when the world was at war, watches were a vital part of the war effort.
Documents from the Air Ministry pertaining to watches of war.
Many Swiss brands were involved in supplying watches, both to the allies and to the axis. My interests have been on the allies side, specifically pilot watches and to get even more specific, the brand Omega. My grandfather, David Gough served in the Canadian Navy and my great grandfather, Harry Gough, fought in the Royal Air Force during World War 2, in Africa. Learning more about my families history and my own British lineage, plus having devoured many WW2 pilot biographies, I decided to hunt down an RAF pilots watch.
An ad referencing Omega’s history providing watches to the war effort featuring a CK2292.
There are two specific models that intrigued me the most, the Omega CK2129 with rotating weems designed bezel and the Omega CK2292. Both watches are closely associated with Spitfire pilots and bombers, having been issued to pilots and navigators in the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and Fleet Air Arm. Both models share the same white creme dial, the blue metallic hands with a pear shaped hour hand, rail track markers on the outer edge and Arabic numerals. The Weems bezel was only found on the earlier CK2129 model and not the CK2292. The CK2129 was ordered from Omega in Switzerland, on January 5th, 1940 by the Air Ministry, 2000 watches were requested, and delivery was made on the 10th of March of the same year. For some context of the importance of this watch, the “Battle of Britain” was fought over the skies of the UK and the channel between France and Great Britain between July 10th and Oct 31st of 1940, which means the CK2129 adorned the wrists of many of these heroes, the men, British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill called “The Few”.
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”.
- Sir Winston Churchill.
A still shot from the movie “Dunkirk” by Christopher Nolan, showing Tom Hardy’s character using his Omega CK2129. How’s that for historical accuracy!
Due to the small amount made, the order timing and the war casualties sustained during the subsequent time, the CK2129 is extremely rare and very expensive to acquire. This watch has become a “Grail” watch for many collectors and is by and large unattainable. Moving onto the CK2292, I could not find any definitive information on total production numbers, but I did find confirmation that 2,004 watches were shipped in July of 1942, and according to the book, “Omega: A Journey through time” another 3000 were shipped from March to June of 1943. Production numbers were overall, significantly greater than it’s sister watch, making it a much more plausible tool to find. Sharing much of the same charm and still a bona fide piece of RAF history, the CK2292, is still relatively affordable and though it is still very rare, I decided that this model made the most sense. With that decision made, the hunt began!
For those of you who are also watch lovers, you’ll be familiar with the deep dives down the rabbit hole forums, trying your best to avoid the pooling of ignorance that invariably happens, and to also, find leads and information that lead to the right piece. For those of you who aren’t, this is often the most fun part! I dove in head first, spending time on various watch forums, some military specific and others, like the Omega Forums, Watchuseek and of course general articles from google. I learned about the specifics and the importance of originality. When a watch is viewed as a tool of war, originality is not something valued within the period so when watches were serviced, it was not uncommon for the case backs to be swapped or parts that were worn, changed out without concern. Unfortunately, because of that sensible mindset, the limited market of these watches are filled with sub-par, put together pieces, often fitted with the wrong hands, incorrect crown and completely redone painted over dials. Some have been re-cased, often with a non original, British made case by Dennison (Not a negative to many) and many case backs that originally wore the military issue numbers were swapped or polished away. Interestingly, many due to de-commissioning for the civilian market. Lastly, the originally issued models had fixed lugs (Not spring bars due to the risk of breaking) and many had been broken or removed and replaced with standard spring bars sacrificing originality for more strap options. My personal preferences put weight on originality, so with that in mind, I quickly pushed numerous models out of contention and after many hours spent searching, and speaking on forums, another user pointed me in the direction of a military watch specialist who had JUST listed a CK2292 in very original condition!
Original hands, dial, crown and case…. But would I be lucky enough to have issue numbers remaining on the rear case back?
I was extremely excited when I made my way over to the specialist and found his simple, if not dated, website. The watch was there in fantastic shape (I’m a sucker for nice patina) with an honest worn dial, blue original hands, original crown and correct, original case. I could tell with the visible wear, that the watch had seen many things, and I was crossing my fingers hoping the next photo would have those ever elusive case back markings!
Thankfully, the markings were much more visible in person.
Jackpot!!!! The markings were there. The rear of the case back read H.S. ^ 8 followed below by 3072. This stands for Hydrostatic Survey, meaning this was an issued watch in the Royal Navy and Fleet Air Arm. The military arrow symbol was present and the issue number was below. I knew that this was the piece of wearable history that I was searching for. I hastily made the order and received a personal confirmation email shortly after, from the owner. The watch was now mine and all I had to do was wait for its arrival!
Clear markings and amazing legibility. Especially for night missions in a Spitfire or Hurricane
When the watch arrived, I was blown away by it’s legibility and even though it was quite small, by today’s standards, I was happy with how it wore on my 7” wrist. The markings in person, were much clearer than I had thought from the original photos, and even at over 80 years old, after a few winds of the crown, it started right up and after some tracking I was very pleased to see that it was still keeping great time!
The last thing I wanted to do, was request an “Extract from the Archives” of Omega, essentially a paid for manufacturer record. This means that using the serial number of the movement, an anonymous Omega museum worker (In Biel, Switzerland) would hunt through the shelves filled with old ledger style books and hand written notes, until they found my specifically annotated movement/watch. I was nervous as I would find out the exact date of shipping and the location. I had many questions that would soon be answered. Would the records still be intact? Was is sent to London originally during war time? Was it sent later and a civilian watch that had been viciously converted? There was only one way to be sure! It was a long few months, anxiously waiting for the information to come but it finally did. It was exactly what I had been hoping for. This exact watch was produced on August 10th, 1942, delivered to the United Kingdom with special dial and hands for the British Government. It is noted as a Military, Water-proof, wristwatch and is a British Military model. With this confirmation in hand, I was ecstatic. This truly was a tool of war used to fight the Nazi war machine, worn by a hero who had the courage to fight against injustice and who, we all, owe a debt of gratitude. We shall not forget.
A scan of my extract from the archives.
I believe you should use the things you have and enjoy them for what they are. I’m not someone who keeps things tucked away because they are valuable, fragile or require a little more know how or elbow grease. Whether it’s a motorcycle from the 40’s, an old non-synchro mesh car or a vintage manual wind watch, it’s worth experiencing. Be careful but not afraid; so in the spirit of using your tools and experiencing things for the purpose they were made, I’m proud to say, this 1942 Omega pilots watch gets its regular cycle of wrist time and I plan to take it back to the skies on my next flight! Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!
Today, watches are worn as more of a personal statement, rather than a tool or a necessity. We have our phones on us 24/7, digital and analog clocks can be found in businesses, on drive by billboards and in our cars. Smart watches can send text messages, browse the internet, monitor heart rate and of course, the least of these, tell the time. But watches were, and still are, a tool of war; they are considered a precision instrument used when the seconds matter. If you think of this in the context of World War Two and navigation, they could be the difference between a successful bombing mission, rendezvous or confirmation of remaining fuel/distance with some quick, in cockpit, calculations (As seen in the film “Dunkirk”). Time matters, and when the world was at war, watches were a vital part of the war effort.
Documents from the Air Ministry pertaining to watches of war.
Many Swiss brands were involved in supplying watches, both to the allies and to the axis. My interests have been on the allies side, specifically pilot watches and to get even more specific, the brand Omega. My grandfather, David Gough served in the Canadian Navy and my great grandfather, Harry Gough, fought in the Royal Air Force during World War 2, in Africa. Learning more about my families history and my own British lineage, plus having devoured many WW2 pilot biographies, I decided to hunt down an RAF pilots watch.
An ad referencing Omega’s history providing watches to the war effort featuring a CK2292.
There are two specific models that intrigued me the most, the Omega CK2129 with rotating weems designed bezel and the Omega CK2292. Both watches are closely associated with Spitfire pilots and bombers, having been issued to pilots and navigators in the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and Fleet Air Arm. Both models share the same white creme dial, the blue metallic hands with a pear shaped hour hand, rail track markers on the outer edge and Arabic numerals. The Weems bezel was only found on the earlier CK2129 model and not the CK2292. The CK2129 was ordered from Omega in Switzerland, on January 5th, 1940 by the Air Ministry, 2000 watches were requested, and delivery was made on the 10th of March of the same year. For some context of the importance of this watch, the “Battle of Britain” was fought over the skies of the UK and the channel between France and Great Britain between July 10th and Oct 31st of 1940, which means the CK2129 adorned the wrists of many of these heroes, the men, British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill called “The Few”.
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”.
- Sir Winston Churchill.
A still shot from the movie “Dunkirk” by Christopher Nolan, showing Tom Hardy’s character using his Omega CK2129. How’s that for historical accuracy!
Due to the small amount made, the order timing and the war casualties sustained during the subsequent time, the CK2129 is extremely rare and very expensive to acquire. This watch has become a “Grail” watch for many collectors and is by and large unattainable. Moving onto the CK2292, I could not find any definitive information on total production numbers, but I did find confirmation that 2,004 watches were shipped in July of 1942, and according to the book, “Omega: A Journey through time” another 3000 were shipped from March to June of 1943. Production numbers were overall, significantly greater than it’s sister watch, making it a much more plausible tool to find. Sharing much of the same charm and still a bona fide piece of RAF history, the CK2292, is still relatively affordable and though it is still very rare, I decided that this model made the most sense. With that decision made, the hunt began!
For those of you who are also watch lovers, you’ll be familiar with the deep dives down the rabbit hole forums, trying your best to avoid the pooling of ignorance that invariably happens, and to also, find leads and information that lead to the right piece. For those of you who aren’t, this is often the most fun part! I dove in head first, spending time on various watch forums, some military specific and others, like the Omega Forums, Watchuseek and of course general articles from google. I learned about the specifics and the importance of originality. When a watch is viewed as a tool of war, originality is not something valued within the period so when watches were serviced, it was not uncommon for the case backs to be swapped or parts that were worn, changed out without concern. Unfortunately, because of that sensible mindset, the limited market of these watches are filled with sub-par, put together pieces, often fitted with the wrong hands, incorrect crown and completely redone painted over dials. Some have been re-cased, often with a non original, British made case by Dennison (Not a negative to many) and many case backs that originally wore the military issue numbers were swapped or polished away. Interestingly, many due to de-commissioning for the civilian market. Lastly, the originally issued models had fixed lugs (Not spring bars due to the risk of breaking) and many had been broken or removed and replaced with standard spring bars sacrificing originality for more strap options. My personal preferences put weight on originality, so with that in mind, I quickly pushed numerous models out of contention and after many hours spent searching, and speaking on forums, another user pointed me in the direction of a military watch specialist who had JUST listed a CK2292 in very original condition!
Original hands, dial, crown and case…. But would I be lucky enough to have issue numbers remaining on the rear case back?
I was extremely excited when I made my way over to the specialist and found his simple, if not dated, website. The watch was there in fantastic shape (I’m a sucker for nice patina) with an honest worn dial, blue original hands, original crown and correct, original case. I could tell with the visible wear, that the watch had seen many things, and I was crossing my fingers hoping the next photo would have those ever elusive case back markings!
Thankfully, the markings were much more visible in person.
Jackpot!!!! The markings were there. The rear of the case back read H.S. ^ 8 followed below by 3072. This stands for Hydrostatic Survey, meaning this was an issued watch in the Royal Navy and Fleet Air Arm. The military arrow symbol was present and the issue number was below. I knew that this was the piece of wearable history that I was searching for. I hastily made the order and received a personal confirmation email shortly after, from the owner. The watch was now mine and all I had to do was wait for its arrival!
Clear markings and amazing legibility. Especially for night missions in a Spitfire or Hurricane
When the watch arrived, I was blown away by it’s legibility and even though it was quite small, by today’s standards, I was happy with how it wore on my 7” wrist. The markings in person, were much clearer than I had thought from the original photos, and even at over 80 years old, after a few winds of the crown, it started right up and after some tracking I was very pleased to see that it was still keeping great time!
The last thing I wanted to do, was request an “Extract from the Archives” of Omega, essentially a paid for manufacturer record. This means that using the serial number of the movement, an anonymous Omega museum worker (In Biel, Switzerland) would hunt through the shelves filled with old ledger style books and hand written notes, until they found my specifically annotated movement/watch. I was nervous as I would find out the exact date of shipping and the location. I had many questions that would soon be answered. Would the records still be intact? Was is sent to London originally during war time? Was it sent later and a civilian watch that had been viciously converted? There was only one way to be sure! It was a long few months, anxiously waiting for the information to come but it finally did. It was exactly what I had been hoping for. This exact watch was produced on August 10th, 1942, delivered to the United Kingdom with special dial and hands for the British Government. It is noted as a Military, Water-proof, wristwatch and is a British Military model. With this confirmation in hand, I was ecstatic. This truly was a tool of war used to fight the Nazi war machine, worn by a hero who had the courage to fight against injustice and who, we all, owe a debt of gratitude. We shall not forget.
A scan of my extract from the archives.
I believe you should use the things you have and enjoy them for what they are. I’m not someone who keeps things tucked away because they are valuable, fragile or require a little more know how or elbow grease. Whether it’s a motorcycle from the 40’s, an old non-synchro mesh car or a vintage manual wind watch, it’s worth experiencing. Be careful but not afraid; so in the spirit of using your tools and experiencing things for the purpose they were made, I’m proud to say, this 1942 Omega pilots watch gets its regular cycle of wrist time and I plan to take it back to the skies on my next flight! Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!
Edited:
