Omega Seamaster 315.164

Omega Seamaster 315.164 in gold, a beige pie pan dial and fitted with a tan leather strap. This has an automatic-winding Calibre 501, approximate year of production is 1958-1964.

Classic vintage Omega Seamaster automatic ref 315.164, featuring a 33mm diameter gold case with wide bezel, beefy lugs and heavy compression snap back case. 

Powered by calibre 501 self winding movement with sweep seconds, and signed Omega crown. Fully serviced, timed and adjusted, new OEM parts where required, otherwise parts were re-conditioned and re-used, and offered with our 2 year warranty of accurate time keeping and operation. 

Jumping back a little bit: in 1932, Omega debuted its Marine watch which was worn by the “father of modern diving” Yves Le Prieur, a French navy officer and inventor of the modern scuba mask and tank. Later, in 1936, explorer Charles William Beebe wore the Omega Marine watch while riding in a bathysphere (which was an unpowered sea submersible that was lowered into the ocean via a cable) to a depth of 14 meters off the coast of Bermuda. So by 1948, Omega was a brand well-respected for its robust divers’ watches, and it further bolstered that reputation with the introduction of the Omega Seamaster.

The first Omega Seamaster was modeled after the waterproof wristwatches made for and worn by the British military during World War II. What distinguished the Seamaster from its diving watch predecessors was its O-ring gasket which improved its water-resistance. Previously water-resistant watches relied on lead or shellac gaskets which were easily affected by temperature changes like those a diver would experience at various depths. Omega turned to the submarines used during WWII for inspiration and included a resilient rubber gasket in the Seamaster’s final design. This new case remained intact at depths up to 60 meters and temperature ranges between -40 degrees and 50 degrees Celsius.

Omega engineers was so confident of the Seamaster’s durability, they attached one to the outside of an aircraft and flew it over the North Pole in 1956.

Credit to truefacet for some of the write-up.