Sometimes trench watch values are more significant because of the engraving, not the watchmaker. But being an Omega is always a bonus.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
From the import hallmark on the inside of the case back is for 1915, and the movement was made circa 1914/15. But it is the inscription on the case back that shows that this watch was given to a Mr T. Pitcairn Esq., Town Clerk of Falkirk in December 1916 when he joined the army to fight in WW1. The people of Falkirk clearly had some admiration for the brave man, and gave him this watch. We have searched the memorial for Falkirk’s war dead, and were pleased to find that Mr E. Pitcairn is not among the 1,193 men from that town to fall during the conflict. There is a Captain E. Pitcairn from Falkirk mentioned as killed in action – did the death of one man lead to the other joining up?
CONDITION
A trench watch is a generic term for a watch of this period, and this is a typical example. Well, that’s what we thought until we did more research! On page 104 of the Omega ‘bible’ A Journey through Time, they show the first Omega wristwatch from 1900. They also claim this was one of the first serially produced wristwatch’s in the World. The watch pictured in the book has the same dial with skeleton Arabic numerals, the same poire blued hands, the same brass or plated crown, and a double hinged silver case similar to this watch (their watch has a lower 0.900 silver content and different lugs, and doesn’t have any seconds hand). But this watch is clearly related to the first Omega wrist watch made. Wrist watches were still a new thing and most people had a pocket watch. However it is hard to read your pocket watch while holding a weapon, so wrist watches (or Wristlets) became more popular and that gave the soldier an advantage. A lot of these watches had a red 12, and this was to help people transition from a pocket watch where they knew where twelve was.
The watch keeps time to within a minute or two, and runs for about 20 hours. Given the age and service this has been through this is acceptable to most people, and this is unlikely to be a daily wearer anyway. The movement fitted is Omega’s 13″‘ Hunter, first used in pocket watches. It is highly tempting to clean the case with silver polish, but that would lose the patina and it is better to keep the patina and the new owner can polish the case if someone wants it shiny. We didn’t even polish the acrylic crystal, leaving the light scars of battle visible. The dial does have a noticeable chip to 12, which is far from ideal, but it is part of the watch’s story. This Omega never had a luminous dial, which means there is no radium on the watch dial. The strap is a soft used Hirsch leather item, which perfectly suits the patina of the case and dial.
This watch will be supplied with our branded presentation box and our Certificate of Authenticity.
Please see the HD video for more detail. All photos and videos are part of the description and are of the actual watch unless mentioned. We do not photoshop any pictures, and the images are copyright of birthyearwatches.com and should not be used without permission.
SIZE
Width with crown 37.5 mm
Width without crown 35.5 mm
Between lugs 12 mm
Lug to lug length 44.0 mm
Case Thickness 11.2 mm
All sizes are approximate.
Included with this watch is a 3 month guarantee and free delivery to UK addresses. If you live outside the UK we can still deliver to most countries. Please see our Worldwide Shipping information, or Contact Us. Payment can be made by most credit or debit cards, bank transfer or PayPal.
From 1st September 2021 we will be planting a tree for every watch we sell, working with the International Tree Foundation (Est 1922) to make this business positive on carbon. By buying anything pre owned you are effectively reusing what already exists, but this takes it further and makes us feel good.
