Omega 6b/159 (1956)

£ 1,125
This is a Royal Air Force pilot’s watch which dates from the second world war. The watch was ordered by the RAF for pilots and navigators. In 1956 the RAF underwent a program of rationalising their stores - they produced a new, stainless steel case for all their remaining stock of second world war watches. This new case replaced the low-cost alloy cases which the watches were ordered with and allowed the RAF to keep using the high quality movements.

The 6B/159 designation was for a navigator’s watch - in this period before radar or GPS location an accurate timepiece was essential to calculate the position of the aircraft. The navigator’s watches from this period were supplied by a number of top quality manufacturers including Omega, Jaeger Le-Coultre and Longines, the watches followed a standard specification which included either a white or black dial with arabic numerals, centre seconds.

The dial of this watch was replaced by the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) when the watch was fitted into it’s new case in 1956. The dial is in excellent condition, indeed the whole watch is showing very little sign that it’s 60 years old. The watch hands have been painted with a luminous compound, which is cracking and discolouring in a few places. I decided to leave this as it is - it seems stable and doesn’t appear to be deteriorating and I always prefer to retain as much as possible of the original appearance of a watch.

The Omega 30T2 movement is in similarly clean condition as the outside of the case. The movement has been fully serviced and the timekeeping is excellent. The case has been cleaned, but as with all out vintage watches we have left it unpolished, the case has the usual marks of wear, at 36mm it’s an excellent size for contemporary tastes. The original crystal has been polished and the watch has been fitted with a two piece black leather strap. The watch comes with our standard 12 month guarantee.


Specifications:
Case diameter: 38mm
Case material: stainless steel
Strap width: 17mm
Time keeping: grade A

We aim to dispatch all watch orders within 2-3 working days, where this isn't possible, we will try to inform you via email.

When your order is dispatched your tracking details will be updated.

Please allow extra processing time for watches with a customised engraving or strap, during busy sales periods this can sometimes take an extra 5-10 working days.

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Shipping guide for watches:

UK: FREE DPD shipping, 1-2 working days
United States & Canada: FREE Fedex shipping, 1-3 working days
The EU: FREE DHL Express shipping, 1-3 working days

Click here to see the full shipping guide for watches

Shipping guide for straps (unless purchased with a watch): 

Free Royal Mail 1st Class / International tracked shipping, 2-14 working days depending on location. You can see a more accurate timescale when you input your address at the checkout.

Shipping guide for t-shirts

All t-shirts on our website are now printed and shipped by an external supplier inside the UK. This means that if you place an order for both a watch and a t-shirt, they will be shipped separately.

Our supplier uses a Royal Mail tracked service for all shipments and this usually takes a little longer than our watches. You can see an estimated timescale when you input your address at the checkout.

 

Please note, during busy sale periods dispatch may take a little longer (this is quite rare). These delivery times are a guide based on the carriers terms of service, products may, in some unusual cases take longer to arrive. If this happens, please get in touch. 

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