OMEGA Seamaster Champagne Crossline Dial 1950s

Timegrapher -5s/d 153°

An automatic Seamaster from Omega, made in the 1950s. Omega introduced the Seamaster in 1948 as a sturdy watch for everyday wear, and this one keeps to that idea in a plain 34mm steel case. Its champagne dial is quartered by a fine crosshair and has gathered a dense scattering of small spots over the decades, so it reads warm and textured rather than flat. Inside is the Cal.500, from the 500-series automatics Omega built from the mid-1950s, which winds itself from the motion of the wrist. It is fitted with a black alligator leather strap that is not original to the watch, and it sits as easily with a knit or an open collar as it does with a suit.

The case is stainless steel, with long, gently curved lugs and a crown signed with the Omega symbol. The caseback carries the Seamaster medallion. Scratches and marks from use show across the case. It measures 34mm across without the crown and 41mm lug to lug, with a 19mm lug width. At that size it wears like a small modern dress watch, and the plain steel leaves the dial to do the talking.

The dial is champagne, divided by a crosshair, with OMEGA AUTOMATIC under the Omega symbol and Seamaster in script below the centre. Applied steel batons mark the hours, joined by Arabic numerals at 12 and 6 and square markers at 3 and 9, and dark dauphine hands point to them. The spotting covers the whole surface and is easy to see in the close-up photos. In low light it settles into a soft cream, and up close it gives the dial a grain that only seventy years can produce.