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December
25 2005 at 1:33 PM
(Login
BillSohne)
Omega
Chronometre DeBords .... Responses
Omega
Chronometre DeBord an On going
research project....
An on going research
project...
Hello everyone,
Happy holidays. This has to be
the first time in about a month
that I was able to sit down and
write an update on my research on
boxed chronometres from Omega. I
was keen on getting a Omega
DeBord boxed chronometre about 6
years ago. One was on ebay but
the ending time was during my
sister inlaws wedding in Toronto
! My wife did not know it but I
brought a laptop and a phone wire
with me. I ducked out of the
party when to the mtg office and
set up and in turn lost it in the
last seconds. I was bummed , but
kept an eye out for another and
about a year later another one
poped up and to cut a long story
short I got it.
Once I got it home and after
close examination the movement
was ìslightlyî
different from the two other
Omega Debords that I have seen
in, one in person and the other
via an Omega publication.
The Debord I bought.
The basic plate shapes are the
same but that is where it ends. I
contacted Omega in 2000 with the
movement serial number and Omega
confirmed that its a Debord. I
then asked about the slight
differences in my example of the
movement (( slightly different
position of the escapement, the
click was in a different
position, The balance wheel is
larger, the spring barrel is like
40% larger then the std. The
spring barrel is so large that it
extends past the plate of the
movement. I sent Omega a scan of
the movement here is a excerpt of
the reply
ì about the "
ChronomËtre de bord "... we
cannot identify exactly the
movement which should be a 21''',
but has some strange and
different partsî
John then said he would have a
technical watchmaker look into
this. I never followed up but it
was always in the back of my
mind.
Two months ago, I was in
communication with Marco Richon
Omega Museum curator. I asked him
about it, he said look at pg 170
in the Omega SAGA ( He wrote it
and it was all in French). I
translated via altavista and Eric
Knyt took a shot at it as well.
Not too much info other then it
had a larger main spring for
better regulation capability.
Well I ask Marco a few more
questions like how many of this
ìmodifiedî version
did Omega actually make. Well two
months later I got a reply from
Daniel Anselmi detailing the
production run...
The proper name of my example is
caliber
21/24ííí
ChronomËtre de Bord
ìObservatoire !! It was a
experiment at Bienne to make a
better Debord for chronometer
competitions. The version of
movement built with an oversized
barrel device which permits to
increase the power reserve from
around 45 to 70 hours improving
the rate stability during the
first 24 hours of the running
autonomy. They made 66 examples
of this caliber
So after years of asking
questions and searching the net
for additional info and photos, I
have now archived multiple photos
of what I have found and wanted
to share with this with
others.
The Omega Chronometre DeBords
were made with multiple DIFFERENT
calibers from Omega over the
years...
They used the 1905 DDR
19îí pocket watch
movement. It was the highest
quality produced at the turn of
the last century. Accuracy of one
min per month.
Omega produced about 600 DDR
movements and they were not all
used in Debords, they were also
sold in pocketwatch cases as
Railroad watches.
Here is an DDR example in an
Omega Debord gimbled box. The
button you see on the case side
is for hacking the movement.
Close up of the snail cam
regualtor of a the DDR :
Then Omega started using the
Standard version of caliber
ì21ííí1/2
NN L bullî becoming
ì47.7 NN L bullî
with the newest caliberís
designation in mm. (started in
1918).
1911 - 12 movements caliber
21ííí
ChronomËtre de Bord
1912 - 360 movements caliber
21íí
ChronomËtre de Bord
This is an example of the earlier
21îí 1/2 NN L bull (
bull standing for bulletin aka a
chronometre certificate).
I like the Roman numeral dial
1919 - 66 movements caliber
21/24ííí
version ChronomËtre de Bord
ìObservatoire
This is a photo of the one in my
collection, I have never seen
another one. ( that is what
started this research).
1919 - 300 movements caliber
21ííí1/2 (or
47.7) version ChronomËtre de
Bord
For a total of 672
ChronomËtre de Bord
movements, using the
21îí or 47.7 mm
movement
And a total of 66 movements
caliber
21/24ííí
version ChronomËtre de Bord
ìObservatoireî
Omega also used the 59-8D
movement. Which is a double
spring barrel 8 day movement. I
when to the Omega museum back in
1999, I took about 200 photos and
I think they have one in their
collection. I have not seen
another one. I do have a 59-8d
SCS, which is also rated as a
chronometre. Its a jump seconds
desk clock. I am including
photos. What I have noticed is
the movement plate finish is very
similar to that of the
ChronomËtre de Bord
ìObservatoire.
I am seeking pictures of other
Omega Chronometre DeBords. If you
have one please let me know.
Good Hunting
Bill Sohne
bsohne@gmail.com