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Lot Essay
Very rarely seen on the market and one of the scarcest and most elusive references of the first Speedmaster, this CK 2915-1 retains the distinctive ‘Broad Arrow’ hands, BASE 1000 engraved bezel and original Omega crown. The condition is outstanding and this example was carefully chosen for the OAK Collection as one of the finest examples available.
The early reference CK 2915-1 is admired for its great looks, in particularly the 'Broad Arrow' hands and steel bezel, the fact that it was the first Speedmaster reference made gives the model an irresistible appeal and this coupled with the absolute rarity of original extant examples, make it the most desirable Speedmaster reference for collectors.
The celebrated Omega Speedmaster was the creation of Pierre Moinat, head of Omega's creative department, with case designed by Claude Baillod and the prototype made by George Hartmann. The watch was originally destined for "men who reckon time in seconds", i.e. automobile racers, athletes, engineers and scientists, the tachymeter scale engraved on the bezel allowing the calculation of speed at a glimpse, hence the name ‘Speedmaster’. As the thought of men on the moon was still in the realms of science fiction at the time, it was only later that it became the world-famous ‘Moon Watch’.
Even before its conquest of space, the Speedmaster was and still is one of the most iconic watches in production. Introduced into the market in 1957, it can be considered the originator of the water-resistant sports chronograph watches. The most important improvement is unquestionably the tachymeter scale on the bezel as opposed to printed on the dial, hence rendering the dial more legible while simplifying the calculation of speed. In the years to come, this revolutionary feature was incorporated by most of the other watch manufacturers, notably by Rolex when introducing the famous Daytona model in the 1960s.
The original Speedmaster ‘Broad Arrow’ ref. CK 2915-1 such as the present watch, had a 39 mm. water-resistant case with engraved steel bezel graduated to 300 km/h, its principle characteristics, the ‘Broad Arrow’ shaped hands, and the calibre 321 movement protected by an anti-magnetic soft iron cap. Its dial showed some very distinctive features such as the applied metal ‘Omega’ logo as opposed to the printed version, the ‘Omega’ signature in a different font, appearing smaller and thinner, the letters "O" and "G" almost oval in shape, and the simple ‘Swiss Made’ below 6 o'clock, omitting the "T" designation.
In 1959, the model became ref. 2998, the ‘Broad Arrow’ hands were replaced with ‘Alpha’ hands and the engraved steel bezel by the version with black insert graduated to 500 km/h.
Key Elements
Reference 2915 featured a number of special elements that later evolved within the Speedmaster line. The references 2915-1, 2915-2, and early examples of the 2915-3 included a unique hour and minute hand shared across the early examples of the Seamaster reference 2913 and Railmaster reference 2914 lines: an hour hand with a large luminous triangle at the end and long triangular minute hand, commonly referred to as 'broad arrow' hands. Later examples of reference 2915-3, feature Alpha hands or thin triangular hands, before switching to the straight baton hands introduced in the 1960s and still used in the Speedmaster Professional today.
Another key element of the references 2915-1, 2915-2, and early examples of the 2915-3 was the steel bezel with an engraved tachymeter track. There are variations of the steel bezel on surviving examples, including some with a flat “3” in 300 while others hand a rounded “3” in 300. Some also appeared to have numerals that were originally unpainted, while others had black paint in the numerals. It is possible that OMEGA may have outsourced the bezel production to different companies, or had some variation from a single company over time. The steel bezels seemed particularly prone to losing adhesion to the case and were not as legible as the painted bezel with minute demarcations on the Seamaster, so Omega developed a bezel with an aluminum insert painted black with the tachymeter numerals exposed as grey metal which was first introduced on some reference 2915-3.
Another important element of reference 2915 is the case back. On early reference 2915 examples it was simply left blank and on the bevelled edge near where a tool could be used to open the screw down case back was an engraved “SPEEDMASTER” in all capital letters. Later examples of the reference 2915 had the famous hippocampus, or mythical seahorse, logo engraved on the case back. Jean-Pierre Borle, an engraver, developed the logo after seeing an image in Venice of the Roman god of the sea Neptune driving a chariot pulled by hippocampi. Omega began using the hippocampus logo to symbolize water resistance in 1958 and the logo depicted the bridles on the seahorse as an artistic way to reflect the image of Neptune and suggest the wearer of a watch with the symbol could also be a god of the sea.
The Speedmaster ‘Broad Arrow’ is described and illustrated in: Marco Richon's Omega - A Journey Through Time, pp. 596 - 597, Omega Saga, pp. 372 - 374 and in: Omega Sportswatches by John Goldberger, pp. 95 - 107, where it is in addition prominently featured on the cover.
The early reference CK 2915-1 is admired for its great looks, in particularly the 'Broad Arrow' hands and steel bezel, the fact that it was the first Speedmaster reference made gives the model an irresistible appeal and this coupled with the absolute rarity of original extant examples, make it the most desirable Speedmaster reference for collectors.
The celebrated Omega Speedmaster was the creation of Pierre Moinat, head of Omega's creative department, with case designed by Claude Baillod and the prototype made by George Hartmann. The watch was originally destined for "men who reckon time in seconds", i.e. automobile racers, athletes, engineers and scientists, the tachymeter scale engraved on the bezel allowing the calculation of speed at a glimpse, hence the name ‘Speedmaster’. As the thought of men on the moon was still in the realms of science fiction at the time, it was only later that it became the world-famous ‘Moon Watch’.
Even before its conquest of space, the Speedmaster was and still is one of the most iconic watches in production. Introduced into the market in 1957, it can be considered the originator of the water-resistant sports chronograph watches. The most important improvement is unquestionably the tachymeter scale on the bezel as opposed to printed on the dial, hence rendering the dial more legible while simplifying the calculation of speed. In the years to come, this revolutionary feature was incorporated by most of the other watch manufacturers, notably by Rolex when introducing the famous Daytona model in the 1960s.
The original Speedmaster ‘Broad Arrow’ ref. CK 2915-1 such as the present watch, had a 39 mm. water-resistant case with engraved steel bezel graduated to 300 km/h, its principle characteristics, the ‘Broad Arrow’ shaped hands, and the calibre 321 movement protected by an anti-magnetic soft iron cap. Its dial showed some very distinctive features such as the applied metal ‘Omega’ logo as opposed to the printed version, the ‘Omega’ signature in a different font, appearing smaller and thinner, the letters "O" and "G" almost oval in shape, and the simple ‘Swiss Made’ below 6 o'clock, omitting the "T" designation.
In 1959, the model became ref. 2998, the ‘Broad Arrow’ hands were replaced with ‘Alpha’ hands and the engraved steel bezel by the version with black insert graduated to 500 km/h.
Key Elements
Reference 2915 featured a number of special elements that later evolved within the Speedmaster line. The references 2915-1, 2915-2, and early examples of the 2915-3 included a unique hour and minute hand shared across the early examples of the Seamaster reference 2913 and Railmaster reference 2914 lines: an hour hand with a large luminous triangle at the end and long triangular minute hand, commonly referred to as 'broad arrow' hands. Later examples of reference 2915-3, feature Alpha hands or thin triangular hands, before switching to the straight baton hands introduced in the 1960s and still used in the Speedmaster Professional today.
Another key element of the references 2915-1, 2915-2, and early examples of the 2915-3 was the steel bezel with an engraved tachymeter track. There are variations of the steel bezel on surviving examples, including some with a flat “3” in 300 while others hand a rounded “3” in 300. Some also appeared to have numerals that were originally unpainted, while others had black paint in the numerals. It is possible that OMEGA may have outsourced the bezel production to different companies, or had some variation from a single company over time. The steel bezels seemed particularly prone to losing adhesion to the case and were not as legible as the painted bezel with minute demarcations on the Seamaster, so Omega developed a bezel with an aluminum insert painted black with the tachymeter numerals exposed as grey metal which was first introduced on some reference 2915-3.
Another important element of reference 2915 is the case back. On early reference 2915 examples it was simply left blank and on the bevelled edge near where a tool could be used to open the screw down case back was an engraved “SPEEDMASTER” in all capital letters. Later examples of the reference 2915 had the famous hippocampus, or mythical seahorse, logo engraved on the case back. Jean-Pierre Borle, an engraver, developed the logo after seeing an image in Venice of the Roman god of the sea Neptune driving a chariot pulled by hippocampi. Omega began using the hippocampus logo to symbolize water resistance in 1958 and the logo depicted the bridles on the seahorse as an artistic way to reflect the image of Neptune and suggest the wearer of a watch with the symbol could also be a god of the sea.
The Speedmaster ‘Broad Arrow’ is described and illustrated in: Marco Richon's Omega - A Journey Through Time, pp. 596 - 597, Omega Saga, pp. 372 - 374 and in: Omega Sportswatches by John Goldberger, pp. 95 - 107, where it is in addition prominently featured on the cover.