THE ESSENTIALS

MAKE: OMEGA
MODEL: 176.004
YEAR: 1972
BOX/PAPERS: NO/NO
CASE DIAMETER: 43mm
CASE MATERIAL: STAINLESS STEEL
BRACELET MATERIAL: STAINLESS STEEL
MOVEMENT: MANUAL WIND

In the 70s, Omega was in full experimental flow—constantly innovating and imagining crazy but sensational watches, most of which have since fallen into a horological black hole. This piece is a prime example. Known as the Big Blue for obvious reasons, it was the world’s first watch water-resistant beyond 100m that also allowed you to use the chronograph function underwater.

Initially released in 1972, the Big Blue was in production for a slender four years and came in the form you see here, aside from a few different bracelet options and a prototype Speedmaster-marked dial that has been seen fewer than five times.

As you can see from the dial, this watch doesn’t just offer a chronograph function—it also has a quick-set date and a 24-hour day/night sub-dial. The left sub-dial is your sweeping seconds, and the black disc with the tritium triangle is the 24-hour display. The large orange hand is the minute counter for the chronograph, and the 6 o’clock sub-dial records the chronograph hours. A real command centre on your wrist. The one aspect of the watch you notice more than anything, however, is how thick the case is. At 16.5mm, it’s a chunky piece.

This example remains original. The dial has started going tropical—hopefully the pictures capture how cool it looks. The tritium markers and hands have turned a wonderful cream colour. The acrylic bezel has surface scratches but no cracks. The 1162 bullet bracelet is full length and can accommodate a 19.5cm wrist.

The calibre 1040 movement has just been serviced and is running at +4 seconds, 280 amps, with a beat error of 0.3 ms.