1915 rare vintage Omega ‘WW1 Trench’ watch, with ’24hr dial’
Date: 1915
Case: Nickel, 33mm
Movement: Calibre 12 SB
Dial: White enamel with black Arabic numerals
Lugs: 14mm
An early WW1 ‘Officers or Trench’ Omega wristwatch with rare red 24 hour dial!
A 1915, nickel vintage Omega ‘WW1 Trench’ watch. The case measures 33mm in diameter with 14mm lug size. The case is signed Omega and numbered. The manual wind,calibre 12 SB, movement is signed Omega, numbered, with 15 jewels. The white enamel dial has open black Arabic numerals, with subsidiary seconds, red twenty four hour inner track and fine blued steel ‘squelettes’ hands. The dial is signed Omega above the centre.
Early Officers or Trench wrist watches
Although wristwatches had been worn by civilian men before the Great War for special purposes, e.g. when bicycling or ballooning, at other times prior to the war a gentleman was expected to carry a pocket watch. During World War 1 the army expanded dramatically and large numbers of new recruits were exposed to the sight of officers routinely wearing wristwatches. A book published in 1916 ‘Knowledge for War: Every officer’s handbook for the front’ by Captain Lake of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers included an Officer’s Kit list. The first item mentioned is a wrist watch. A wristwatch was deemed far more practicable than a pocket watch, which was difficult to read without loosen clothing or freeing one’s hand.
The importance of watches during the Great War is emphasised by the extract reproduced here from the 1916 British War Office document:
“Instructions for the Training of Divisions for Offensive Action.” A delay of even 30 seconds in starting must be avoided, therefore watches must be synchronised. A later section of the same document gives instructions for this; “All officers must acquire the habit of checking their watches daily with the official time, which can be obtained from the Signal Service. Commanders must pay special attention to this point during training.”
Officers were emboldened by their service at the front to continue wearing their wristwatches when they were home ‘on leave’, whereas before the war they might have hidden them away. The regular sight of officers ‘on leave’ from the fighting and wearing wristwatches soon created a fashion that spread through wider society in Britain.
