Omega

The other day I ran into an Omega I never heard or seen before!

I didn’t get it, but it made me very curious…

 

I happily admit that I far from know a lot about Omega but from the look of this model I think I should at least have heard about it or seen it before…

 

Vintage, black, diver(?) is just my cup of tea!

 

Omega Ranchero?! Approx 1960, Ref 2990, that’s all I got.

 

Looks very much like a Railmaster…

 

I made a search both here and the net and didn’t find much info.

 

Are there any of the Omega experts here that can help a JLC brother out?

 

Any info highly appreciated!

 

 

 

Thank you in advance!

 

 

Best

 

Blomman

This message has been edited by blomman on 2010-08-06 13:00:53

This is a small Railmaster with a small second instead of the central second of the Railmaster.

I don't think it is amagnetic, too.

Nice watch, but the Railmaster is the real mac coy, IMO.

Best,

Nicolas.

This message has been edited by amanico on 2010-08-06 13:03:06

It seams like you are the first to answer my every post!

 

 

So, what you are saying is that the Ranchero is a smaller version of the Railmaster.

Sub-seconds and no anti-magnetic?

 

Do you know approx diameter?

 

When you say small, ladies size small?

 

Thank you!

 

 

Best

 

Blomman

When the Railmaster is 38 mm.

Me following you?

Tsss, not really, my friend.

Just typing my last answers before some short holidays...



Best,

Nicolas

PS: I love these CK 2913 and 2914... I just have to get a Vintage Railmaster, which explains why I know the answer.

Have a great vacation and a safe trip home, my friend!

 

Best

 

Blomman

the Ranchero is quite an uncommon piece. made for the US market only. it has a case and caseback that are specific only to the ranchero. it is essentially one of the last of the 30mm movement variants, with military styling and although not perhaps as desirable as a Railmaster it is still a very nice vintage piece. this particular one has the wrong hands i think. i had one that had dagger hands, but the pic makes these hands look too new. if the hands dont matter and the price is good then go for it and enjoy it.

hope that confuses you even more

Graham

... were avaliable in some markets outside the US.  At least that is what is implied by this German/Swiss catalog:

Different model references then we are used to seeing here though.

Enjoy,

gatorcpa

No message body

Because there are so many misrepresented frankens available online. I own a modern Railmaster, but getting a correct older vintage of it, or a Ranchero is like walking a minefield these days. No good solution except to do the homework and BUY THE SELLER and ask all the questions you can. This message has been edited by mrsnak on 2010-08-06 17:03:06

Minefield, yes that’s the problem with vintage watches…

But when you find a good one, then it’s really great!

 

 

 

Best

 

Blomman

Happy hunting!

I am been a little to agressive lately, have to slow down a bit...

Funds are running out... But I always keep an eye open for new additions...

 

Here are my two latest catch;

A little something I have been sliding under my sleeve for some time now…  

Where do you draw the line?!

 

Best

Blomman

Lately I have been looking into vintage Omega divers, when I saw this one I got really confused…

 

That’s why I asked. I think if/when I start my Omega journey it will probably be with something more in the line of SM 120/200 or a Speedy…

 

I don’t really feel I am ready to go outside JLC yet, but it’s pretty damn hard not to look at other brands with guys like you around!

 

 

Best, and hope you had a blast yesterday!

 

Blomman

Blomman, there is a very nice chapter (VII) about this line (Ranchero) in the "Omegamania" which was the auction book published by Antiquorum. Please note it is a very good reference for vintage Omage collection, but i found some of the watches's dial were refinished!

in that chapter, they displayed 5 Ranchero for that auction. all case reference is 2990 with 36mm of the size in diameter. the movements are either Cal.267 or Cal.268 which both are famous 30mm calibre.

apart from these, the book also mentioned that the Ranchero can be available with sub seconds and centre seconds. and rarely with both sub second and centre seconds. the cases were in SS, steel and gilt, or sold gold. the dails were most commonly black or white with large luminous markers and luminous "Dauphine", "Alpha" or "Broad Arrow" hands; the gold-cased watches were more of a dress than sports watch, so they had a dial with applied gold markers and gold hands.

like other vintages, must do homework before committing to buy a watch, especially this model. as fas as i know, there are lot of redone or repainted dial with wrong hands as well available out there as the one you posted here.

hope it helps.

stefan

I will not jump on this one, and as you guys mentioned here, wrong hands.

Just wanted to know more about this model that I never had seen before.

 

So, Stefan you are into Omega as well?

I know you are very much into JLC.

Any other brands that you collect?

 

I am a poor soul that doesn’t have the opportunity to go for more that one brand at the time…

 

Thank you for the info, my friend

 

Best

 

Blomman

... yes, Blomman, although i have recently focused on collecting JLC Memovox, however in fact i started collecting vintage Omega much before that. in my vintage Omege collection, it includes Constellation, Seamaster, Geneve and Speedmaster etc. before moving to Memovox, i was trying to complete a theme of Seamaster 600 and/or Cal.601 related models.

attached pics is part of Omage Seamaster 600 collection. hope you enjoy it.

stefan

Didn’t know that, I really have to start spending more time over at this place!

 

 

Best

 

Blomman

. . . attaboy!

mrsnak's Speedy Mk 4.5 on my wrist . . . rugged, with great wrist "presence", if you know what I mean. Cordially, Art

In that case, all I can say is – it’s working!

 

 

Great looking piece, looks solid!

 

Best

 

Blomman

. . . this one was in great shape externally, and even though it required a lot of attention from a watchmaker, it's running beautifully now. One of the benefits of collecting Omega is that spares are readily available, so practically any vintage example can be restored relatively easily.

You should do it with a Seamaster 120/200/300 or a Connie…

Chronographs tend to be too busy for my taste.

 

 

I guess now that Nicolas is on vacation you guys try to lure a JLC-fan over to this side..? Eh?

 

 

Best

 

Blomman

Graham, Art Bill, Erich and lot of Omega fans would welcome you here any time... LOL

stefan

Yes, you are a great gang over here!

A lot of knowledge and friendly faces!

 

One day I will start my Omega quest…

 

I will have to start read more what you guys are talking about – I will try to learn.

So when the time comes I am ready for the quest!

 

I only have Omega one so far…

An old Seamaster hammer auto from the 50ies. Picked it up many years ago.

 

Still have many vintage JLC’s to hunt.

   

 

Best

 

Blomman

Is that it was keeping perfect time when I bought it, but had an older improperly installed crystal (tach ring is on the crystal and it was not centered).
Only after taking it to Dr. No's favorite repair guy for a cleaning and crystal replacement did we discover that the movement had some corrosion on it.
Better finding this now than later, but since these watches (Mark III, mark 4, 4.5) were, as I understand it, sold primarily to Latin American countries, it's easy to understand how moisture got in.

... most spare parts are still available... that is beauty and attraction why vintage Omega collection are still so hot out there.

another brand would be Seiko.

stefan

. . . mrsnak had my watchmaker replace the crystal, and I retrieved it for him Saturday. I'll bet that's the watch he wears for this Friday's Wrist Scan thread . . . cordially, rt

hi

i wrote a quick article on them back in 2001, I lost the photos... but here is the text...

 

The Omega Ranchero, a watch that has the looks and lineage of the Speedmaster, Railmaster and the Seamaster 3oo. Unlike its big brothers the Ranchero was a simple manual wind time only waterproof snapback case.

 

 

The Ranchero was offered in both a sub seconds ( See photos ) and sweep seconds. Black dial or silvered I am currently looking for photo of a sweep second example if you have one please let me know. The movement that was used in the Ranchero was Omega's famous "30 mm " hence the dial is also signed 30 mm. The Sub-seconds versions I have examined had either a 267 or 268 caliber movement with case reference CK 2990 (see photos). The Sweep second version would have a caliber 284 and a case reference of CK 2996. The Caseback is stamped "WATERPROOF" .

 

 

 

 

What caught my eye on the Ranchero is the case construction. Most of the snap back cases being made actually snapped over the center section of the case. But the Ranhero's Caseback is different, it is totally flat to the edge where a tall lip snaps into the case center and it even has a gasket in the inside wall of the case to insure it is waterproof. I have not seen this snap back design before.

 

Just about anyone who sees a Ranchero likes it. Omega hit a home run with a simple 36 mm waterproof snapback case. An easy to read Explorer style dial , the caliber 30 mm Omega movement and the Arrow head hour hand ( like one used on the Speedmaster, Railmaster and Seamaster 3oo) is a combo that's hard to beat.

 

Good Hunting

 

Bill Sohne

The 2990 was also sold with  Seamaster dial and i even have an example with a black dial AND gold hands and markers!!

Good Hunting

Bill sohne