Chronopedia - User contributions [en]

Omega RAF 53 Thin Arrow

2020-04-15T23:02:03Z

Laukwantaieric:

[[File:RAF 53 TA Radium 2.png|thumb]]
==Omega RAF 53 Thin Arrow==

Ref: 2777-1. 6B/542

Cal: 283 manual wind

The broad arrow, or pheon, has its roots in heraldry, when it adorned the shields of knights as they charged into battle. During the reign of Henry VIII, it was used by the Board of Ordnance to denote that whatever it adorned—be it a cannon, a nail, or a tree destined to be a ship’s mast—was paid for out of the royal coffers. To today's watch collectors, an arrow on the dial of a vintage watch signifies that the timepiece was once the property of Her Majesty’s Government.

While many pieces bear the mark, and while collectors comb through countless listings in pursuit of this little symbol, the watches produced by Omega under military contract in the 1950s command a cult following.

In 1953, Omega built timepieces under guidelines issued by British Ministry of Defense. These guidelines were strenuous, and covered every component of the watch from the movement to the dial and hands. For example, the case could not have any highly polished parts, and the movement had to be protected from magnetic fields by an inner dust cover.

As far as the dial was concerned, the standard required that they be black with white numerals, and have skeletonized hour and minute hands filled with luminescent material, and a white seconds hand.

Over the years, several different manufacturers supplied these watches according to MOD standards, from well-known brands like Jaeger-LeCoultre and IWC, to lesser-known companies like Smiths.

But the variants produced by Omega in that single year of 1953—bearing an Omega reference number of 2777-1 and a NATO number of 6B/542—have an interesting bit of history that set them apart from the others.

When these watches left the factory, the luminescent material that adorned the indices and hands was Radium. However, sometime in the 1960s, the watches were returned to the manufacturer and the Radium dials were exchanged for tritium. When the dial was changed, the pheon was repainted, this time thicker, and an encircled T was painted on to show that the luminescent material was tritium.

These thicker arrows have led to the nickname “Fat Arrow” among watch collectors.

However, whether out of negligence, disobedience, or as the result of a routine service before the MOD issued this decree, some examples exist with—not a fat arrow—but the thin arrow that was on the watches when they left the Omega factory.

This particular Omega 6B/542 is one of those.

We can’t say how or why this particular watch escaped what was supposed to be an order obeyed by all, but we are certainly glad it did. Perhaps it was in fact an early service replacement, put on before the strictures against Radium dials were put in place—without a crystal ball, we can’t be entirely sure. But the fact remains that here it has sat, unchanged and blessedly untouched, for the better part of five decades.

[https://shop.analogshift.com/products/omega-raf-53-thin-arrow?_pos=1&_sid=ed8f8b2cc&_ss=r Source: Analog Shift]

[[File:RAF 53 TA.png|thumb]]
[[File:RAF 53 TA back.png|thumb]]
[[
[[File:RAF 53 TA crown.png|thumb]]
]]

==History==

==Links==

*[[Omega]]

*[[Omega RAF 1953 Fat Arrow]]

*[[Pilot Watches]]

*[[Civilian Pilot Watches]]

*[[Military Watches]]

*[[Military Pilot Watches]]

Omega RAF 1953 Fat Arrow

2020-04-15T23:01:15Z

Laukwantaieric: /* Omega RAF 1953 Fat Arrow */

==Omega RAF 1953 Fat Arrow==

Ref: 2777-1. 6B/542

Cal: 283 manual wind

[[File:RAF 53 FA dial.png|thumb]]

The post-WWII “6B” watches are some of the finest three-hand military pieces ever made. The Omega 6B/542 is the perfect model for the collector looking for one of the more desirable 6Bs. Mid-century Omega movements were made to a very high standard, and the Ministry of Defense requirements ensured that Omega built a tough, durable watch capable of performing in adverse conditions.

Omega built these watches for only about a year according the guidelines issued by British Ministry of Defense, which covered everything from the movement to the dial and hands. The case could not have any highly polished parts, and the movement had to be protected from magnetic fields. The dial had to be black with white numerals, the hour and minute hands had to be skeletonized and filled with lume, and the seconds hand has to be white.

With such a detailed recipe, it’s easy to see why all of the 6Bs, whether made by JLC, IWC, Omega, Smiths, or Hamilton, looked so similar.

But the Omega “Fat Arrow” has an interesting bit of history regarding the dial that sets it apart from the other 6Bs: these watches were originally lumed with radium, but it proved to be so radioactive that in the 1960s the Ministry of Defense insisted that Omega recall the watches (similar to what the MOD decreed from Lemania). Omega swapped the radium dials for tritium replacements, and printed a thicker white arrow to indicate the safer luminescent material--the source of the "Fat Arrow" nickname.

[https://shop.analogshift.com/products/omega-fat-arrow-54?_pos=4&_sid=6df9a2c5f&_ss=r Source: Analog Shift]

[[File:RAF 53 FA dial 2.png|thumb]]
[[File:RAF 53 FA dial 2 side.png|thumb]]
[[File:RAF 53 FA lug.png|thumb]]
[[File:RAF 53 FA back.png|thumb]]

==History==

==Links==

*[[Omega]]

*[[Omega RAF 53 Thin Arrow]]

*[[Pilot Watches]]

*[[Civilian Pilot Watches]]

*[[Military Watches]]

*[[Military Pilot Watches]]

File:RAF 53 FA back.png

2020-04-15T23:00:32Z

Laukwantaieric:

RAF 53 FA back

File:RAF 53 FA lug.png

2020-04-15T23:00:11Z

Laukwantaieric:

RAF 53 FA lug

File:RAF 53 FA dial 2 side.png

2020-04-15T22:59:39Z

Laukwantaieric:

RAF 53 FA dial 2 side

File:RAF 53 FA dial 2 crown.png

2020-04-15T22:59:18Z

Laukwantaieric:

RAF 53 FA dial 2 crown

File:RAF 53 FA dial 2.png

2020-04-15T22:58:56Z

Laukwantaieric:

RAF 53 FA dial 2

File:RAF 53 FA dial.png

2020-04-15T22:58:28Z

Laukwantaieric:

RAF 53 FA dial

Omega RAF 53 Thin Arrow

2020-04-15T22:55:27Z

Laukwantaieric: /* Omega RAF 53 Thin Arrow */

[[File:RAF 53 TA Radium 2.png|thumb]]
==Omega RAF 53 Thin Arrow==

Ref: 2777-1. 6B/542

Cal: 283 manual wind

The broad arrow, or pheon, has its roots in heraldry, when it adorned the shields of knights as they charged into battle. During the reign of Henry VIII, it was used by the Board of Ordnance to denote that whatever it adorned—be it a cannon, a nail, or a tree destined to be a ship’s mast—was paid for out of the royal coffers. To today's watch collectors, an arrow on the dial of a vintage watch signifies that the timepiece was once the property of Her Majesty’s Government.

While many pieces bear the mark, and while collectors comb through countless listings in pursuit of this little symbol, the watches produced by Omega under military contract in the 1950s command a cult following.

In 1953, Omega built timepieces under guidelines issued by British Ministry of Defense. These guidelines were strenuous, and covered every component of the watch from the movement to the dial and hands. For example, the case could not have any highly polished parts, and the movement had to be protected from magnetic fields by an inner dust cover.

As far as the dial was concerned, the standard required that they be black with white numerals, and have skeletonized hour and minute hands filled with luminescent material, and a white seconds hand.

Over the years, several different manufacturers supplied these watches according to MOD standards, from well-known brands like Jaeger-LeCoultre and IWC, to lesser-known companies like Smiths.

But the variants produced by Omega in that single year of 1953—bearing an Omega reference number of 2777-1 and a NATO number of 6B/542—have an interesting bit of history that set them apart from the others.

When these watches left the factory, the luminescent material that adorned the indices and hands was Radium. However, sometime in the 1960s, the watches were returned to the manufacturer and the Radium dials were exchanged for tritium. When the dial was changed, the pheon was repainted, this time thicker, and an encircled T was painted on to show that the luminescent material was tritium.

These thicker arrows have led to the nickname “Fat Arrow” among watch collectors.

However, whether out of negligence, disobedience, or as the result of a routine service before the MOD issued this decree, some examples exist with—not a fat arrow—but the thin arrow that was on the watches when they left the Omega factory.

This particular Omega 6B/542 is one of those.

We can’t say how or why this particular watch escaped what was supposed to be an order obeyed by all, but we are certainly glad it did. Perhaps it was in fact an early service replacement, put on before the strictures against Radium dials were put in place—without a crystal ball, we can’t be entirely sure. But the fact remains that here it has sat, unchanged and blessedly untouched, for the better part of five decades.
[[File:RAF 53 TA.png|thumb]]
[[File:RAF 53 TA back.png|thumb]]
[[
[[File:RAF 53 TA crown.png|thumb]]
]]

==History==

==Links==

*[[Omega]]

*[[Omega RAF 1953 Fat Arrow]]

*[[Pilot Watches]]

*[[Civilian Pilot Watches]]

*[[Military Watches]]

*[[Military Pilot Watches]]

File:RAF 53 TA Radium 2.png

2020-04-15T22:55:18Z

Laukwantaieric:

RAF 53 TA Radium 2

Omega RAF 53 Thin Arrow

2020-04-15T22:53:27Z

Laukwantaieric: /* Omega RAF 53 Thin Arrow */

==Omega RAF 53 Thin Arrow==

Ref: 2777-1. 6B/542

Cal: 283 manual wind

The broad arrow, or pheon, has its roots in heraldry, when it adorned the shields of knights as they charged into battle. During the reign of Henry VIII, it was used by the Board of Ordnance to denote that whatever it adorned—be it a cannon, a nail, or a tree destined to be a ship’s mast—was paid for out of the royal coffers. To today's watch collectors, an arrow on the dial of a vintage watch signifies that the timepiece was once the property of Her Majesty’s Government.

While many pieces bear the mark, and while collectors comb through countless listings in pursuit of this little symbol, the watches produced by Omega under military contract in the 1950s command a cult following.

In 1953, Omega built timepieces under guidelines issued by British Ministry of Defense. These guidelines were strenuous, and covered every component of the watch from the movement to the dial and hands. For example, the case could not have any highly polished parts, and the movement had to be protected from magnetic fields by an inner dust cover.

As far as the dial was concerned, the standard required that they be black with white numerals, and have skeletonized hour and minute hands filled with luminescent material, and a white seconds hand.

Over the years, several different manufacturers supplied these watches according to MOD standards, from well-known brands like Jaeger-LeCoultre and IWC, to lesser-known companies like Smiths.

But the variants produced by Omega in that single year of 1953—bearing an Omega reference number of 2777-1 and a NATO number of 6B/542—have an interesting bit of history that set them apart from the others.

When these watches left the factory, the luminescent material that adorned the indices and hands was Radium. However, sometime in the 1960s, the watches were returned to the manufacturer and the Radium dials were exchanged for tritium. When the dial was changed, the pheon was repainted, this time thicker, and an encircled T was painted on to show that the luminescent material was tritium.

These thicker arrows have led to the nickname “Fat Arrow” among watch collectors.

However, whether out of negligence, disobedience, or as the result of a routine service before the MOD issued this decree, some examples exist with—not a fat arrow—but the thin arrow that was on the watches when they left the Omega factory.

This particular Omega 6B/542 is one of those.

We can’t say how or why this particular watch escaped what was supposed to be an order obeyed by all, but we are certainly glad it did. Perhaps it was in fact an early service replacement, put on before the strictures against Radium dials were put in place—without a crystal ball, we can’t be entirely sure. But the fact remains that here it has sat, unchanged and blessedly untouched, for the better part of five decades.
[[File:RAF 53 TA.png|thumb]]
[[File:RAF 53 TA back.png|thumb]]
[[
[[File:RAF 53 TA crown.png|thumb]]
]]

==History==

==Links==

*[[Omega]]

*[[Omega RAF 1953 Fat Arrow]]

*[[Pilot Watches]]

*[[Civilian Pilot Watches]]

*[[Military Watches]]

*[[Military Pilot Watches]]

File:RAF 53 TA crown.png

2020-04-15T22:53:18Z

Laukwantaieric:

RAF 53 TA crown

File:RAF 53 TA dial.png

2020-04-15T22:52:41Z

Laukwantaieric:

RAF 53 TA dial

File:RAF 53 TA back.png

2020-04-15T22:51:53Z

Laukwantaieric:

RAF 53 TA back

File:RAF 53 TA.png

2020-04-15T22:50:57Z

Laukwantaieric:

RAF 53 TA