With all the talk of world record prices for Rolex, Patek Philippe, F.P. Journe and Philippe Dufour watches at auction, Omega has less frequently enjoyed the boost that headline-grabbing auction results can bring.
That could change after a 1957 Speedmaster CK2915-1 sold for CHF 3,115,500, embarrassing the valuers at Phillips who gave it a pre-auction estimate of CHF 80,000 to 120,000.
The condition of the watch — its dial sumptuously aged to a milk chocolate “tropical” color — had collectors in a frenzy.
As well as being rich and vivid, the brown tone is incredibly even throughout.
Plus, the luminous material on both the dial and hands have aged at the same pace, giving the display an attractive golden tone.
This uniformity of color also suggests the watch has not been overly worked on during services and maintenance.
It is described as being among the first batch of Omega Speedmaster watches released in 1957 as part of the brand’s Trilogy of professional watches, which also included the Seamaster 300 and Railmaster.
Omega watches with the reference CK2915, were only made between 1957 and 1959 and produced in just three different iterations, making the CK2915-1 one of the very first and most collectible Speedmaster models.
The first generation model, reference CK2915, is considered by collectors as “the grail”. It was the first chronograph to feature a tachymeter scale on the bezel, rather than the dial — and the first Speedmaster to use the Caliber 321.
