Dancematt wrote:Also found this excellent write up on the history of Dynamics:
Beginnings
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In 1967, the Omega Genève Dynamic was heralded as one of the world’s first ‘concept’ watch collections. It was a child of Omega’s glory days and exemplified the progressive design culture at Omega in the 1960s, a culture that had gained a strong foothold after the success of Gerald Genta’s 1964 Constellation C-Shape.
In the 1960s, Omega Sales Director, Robert Forster, Pierre Moinat, Head of the Creations Department, along with designers such as Gilbert Albert and Raymond Thevanaz, were remarkable in their anticipation and leadership of consumer trends and preferences in watch design. During this period, a number of design firsts were registered by Omega. From the patented integrated bracelet models to the fashion-oriented collections under the Genève banner and then beyond to a fabulous array of jewellery watches, Omega was in the front line of the design revolution of the 1960s.
Conceived by Robert Forster and designed by Raymond Thevanaz in 1967, the Omega Dynamic was one of the early explorations of the wristwatch as an ‘emotional’ and ‘image-enhancing’ entity, a piece of male jewellery that went beyond simple time-telling to make various statements about its owner. This notion of objects having a significant role in the projection of human identity had been around since the days of Carl Gustav Jung, but the Swiss watch industry was slow on appreciating the marketing opportunities offered by product-identity association.
Whether aware of Jungian theory or not, Forster’s and Thevenez’s conceptual thinking behind the Dynamic was of the watch as an adjunct to, and statement about, the personality and modernity of the wearer. Later, Nicholas Hayek took this idea to extraordinary lengths with the Swatch phenomenon. It’s worth noting that changes in the design culture at Omega became more entrenched as the tenure of Creations Chief, Pierre Moinat, progressed. There was a real “buzz” in the Creations Department - an energy and excitement brought about by what was happening in the world and the boundless opportunities offered in the field of watch design.
The old hypotheses around design playing second fiddle to precision and quality were overturned by a new rationale that elevated sculpture and appearance as equal partners to quality and horological excellence. While advertising was slightly more subtle in the 1960s, The Genève Dynamic was positioned as the perfect to those young moderns with
disposable income who were desirous of a quality alternative to the junk fashion watches of the time.
The fashion models used to promote the line were on the more upmarket and stylish side: the men had deep tans and lots of bone structure while the women were so layered with cosmetics and eye liners they probably had to sit down frequently to take the weight off their make-up! But, they epitomised the product positioning of the watch, and in the early 1970s the Dynamic became Omega’s number one selling watch.
Dynamic Design
While steeped in the design narratives of the time, the Dynamic does not look out of place today as a fashion watch. It has enduring lines and textures that possess a timeless appeal. As alluded to earlier, the design culture at Omega was the perfect medium for innovation in watch design, and the Dynamic represents a significant and indeed successful attempt to advance both the design and functionality of the wristwatch.
The elliptical shape of the case emerged from a serious exploration of the anatomy of the wrist and how the styloideus ulnae causes a wristwatch to not sit firmly into the wrist. Computers were used to create an ‘ergonomic’ dial with concentric time zones for easy reading of the hour, minutes and seconds, made even more effortless by the use of colour contrasted hands. The case was ‘monocoque’, or one-piece, eliminating a major cause of moisture incursion - that of faulty caseback seals. The crown and crystal were hermetically sealed allowing water resistance to 30 metres. The crown was chased into the body so as to not break the aero-“dynamic” lines of the case, which, incidentally, was the inspiration for the name of the collection.
To produce the original cases, Omega worked with Fernando Fontana at the Lascor Case Factory in Sesto Calende, a town located in the province of Varese in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Omega often turned to Fontana for quality case work and later commissioned Gerald Genta to work with Fontana on the case design and production for the first Louis Brand series in 1984.
The movement was accessed by applying force to and separating the crown end of a two-piece crown stem, as shown opposite. A special tool (107) removed the crystal. The dial and movement were rotated 30 degrees anti-clockwise, and by up-ending the case, the movement would fall out. The case design also incorporated an innovative approach to securing the watch band by the fashioning of a circular groove in which to sit the strap or bracelet and securing
the band with a steel screw-in ring. This allowed a quick change between the strap and stainless steel bracelet. A plastic key came with the Dynamic kit to screw or unscrew the ring.
Further evidence of the imagination invested in the design of this watch was the corfam strap. Made of a porous synthetic material, it was punched with 30 aerating holes to allow the wrist to breathe, and was widened near the watch head to facilitate a very snug attachment to the wrist. When first released, the Genève Dynamic was available in twenty-four colour combinations on the dial, supported by twelve different straps, including black, deep royal blue, rich red, camel, beige and powder blue. Brushed stainless steel and gold plate bracelet ensembles were available at point of sale as optional extras.
In 1969, the Omega Dynamic was awarded a prize by the jury of the first biannual Swiss industrial design competition against 250 competitors.
Case Styles
There are two distinct case styles for the Omega Dynamic 1 collection. The first and most collectible style encased movements 552, 565, 601, 613 and 752. The upper case finish in these models is that of a “radial adoucissage”, a quite deeply grained sunburst finish that radiates from an imaginary centre point. The case edges are very sharply defined with the case sides having a vertically applied deep grained, or adoucissage, finish. From an Omega brochure demonstrating the procedure for changing the watch strap.
In collecting first generation Dynamics, it is important to source examples with cases that retain their original finish, because a large part of both the charm and collectibility of these watches is connected to original finish and sharpness of line. Examples where the case finish has been obliterated and the edges rounded through wear or polishing must be heavily discounted, or perhaps avoided, by the astute collector.The case back was of a linear adoucissage
(graining or softening) finish, and the ring was a radial grained finish. Always stamped at 6 o’clock were the words “Tool 107” and “Waterproof” as shown opposite. Notice also where the gold plating ends The second generation of Dynamic 1 cases were powered by calibres 1481, 1012 and 1022. As shown below right, the case was still of the elliptical shape, but highly polished. The chasing for the crown was not as severe and the case lacked the sharp demarcation lines of the original series. They have their own charm and quite a following.
In 1971, Omega began slowly to integrate the Dynamic range into the De Ville collection and this, in hindsight, has created a problem for collectors of these later models because of the interchangeability of theelliptical case. Supplies of replacement cases, dials and hands for both the De Ville and Geneve versions are still available, and unscrupulous
watchmakers (particularly in Asia and the U.S.) are sourcing used 10xx series movements from worn out old bangers,
coupling them with new case/dial/hands ensembles and selling them as ‘New Old Stock’
Many of the so-called NOS second generation dynamic models on eBay are of this ilk, and so it behoves buyers to insist on detailed pictures of the inner case and movement to ensure that the movement is as pristine as the case. Wear marks on the rotor, burred screws, discolouring of the copper/beryllium plating on the movement and signs of rust on the steel parts of the movements are reliable indicators of the work of a Frankenmeister.
As a rule of thumb, if these so-called New Old Stock models do not have box, strap key and papers, it best to avoid purchasing them. Arguably, if there were a genuine cache of NOS models, the likelihood of guarantee certificates, handbooks, strap keys and tags would be high, because they were part of the inventory of each single delivery of the watch.
One of the more uncommon Dynamic 1 second generation models was case 166.0187. Powered by a calibre 1012, it had a rounded square case with a key-bolt compressor case back. Available in both stainless steel and gold plated versions, fewer of these models were produced. While a bona-fide member of the collection, they do not have the sculptural allure of the elliptical models and pay only lip service to Dynamic concept. As mentioned earlier, the De Ville name came to beassociated with the Dynamic in some of the later iterations of the collection, before the name Dynamic was dropped altogether and further models introduced wore the De Ville livery. Bearing the case numbers 166.0144 (elliptical), 166.0145 (cambered square) and 166.1046 (circular), these models, are also often paraded as NOS on eBay and, again, extreme caution is recommended because of their frankenwatch potential. The De Ville models were a study in minimalism, a worldwide reaction against some of the more excessively kitsch design fads seen in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The cases were highly polished and the dials lacked the character and novelty of the early Dynamic range. Often, the de Ville models are touted quite erroneously as ‘rare’, when, in truth, they do not conform to any reasonable definition of rarity, set apart as they are from the original design concept Dials.
During the life of the Dynamic 1, many different colours and types of dials were available, too many to feature in this essay. The collection began with the signature computer-generated ‘ergonomic’ dials and expanded to include deluxe dials with applied Omega symbol and faceted markers, adding a premium to the retail price.The most admired and sought-after dials are those featured in the earliest of the Dynamic collections. They represent the ‘purity’ of the
Dynamic concept, very much like the first model of a motor car series that goes on to become a classic. “The bulls-eye” dials appear to have a special place in the heart of collectors, the royal blue version with brush silvered inner ring starring in many advertisements of the time.
As the earliest Dynamics are more than forty years old, refinished dials are now a matter of course. As with other vintage watches, refinished dials may discount the value of the watch by up to thirty percent. The easiest way in which to determine dial originality is through the examination of the Omega script and a close examination of the Geneve Dynamic lettering. The uppercase script on the dial is the standard for the period. The fully rounded O, the double chevron M, a ‘G’ that appears almost circular in shape and the pointed ‘A’ in Omega are good indications of authenticity. Flat top ‘A’ letters in the automatic script, along with the fully circular ‘O’ and a ‘C’ that looks like a broken ‘O” are the means in which to confirm script originality. In examining the Geneve and Dynamic lettering, the G is identical to the Omega script, the e letters could be joined to form a circle and the accent above the ‘e’ is equidistantly placed. The Dynamic lettering has serif font, particularly on the ‘Y’, ‘N’, ‘A’., ‘M’ and ‘I’. The script is also finely printed and is not thick as is seen in many refinished dials.
There are some rules of thumb that may be applied to hands, although there are exceptions to the rule. (1) Blue sweeps will always appear on dark and light blue with contrasting silver dials and also dark blue metallic dials. (2) Red sweeps will appear on charcoal coloured dials and often on white and Grand Prix dials. (3) White sweeps will appear with darker two tone dials such as grey and gold and grey and white, maroon and white, etc. Generally, hour and minute hands will be white, however on some metallic dials the hands will be the same metal as the case, e.g. gold plate cases with metallic gold and grey dials. Black skeletonised hands are often combined with white and lighter dials.
One of the rarest Dynamics is the 6165B/6196, a date only model powered by the 17 jewel calibre 560, of which it is believed less than 300 pieces were made
