Sure, Analog:Shift is a business built around the love of watches — mostly mechanical watches.
But, in essence, it’s our love for timepieces and timekeeping in general that are the common themes throughout the items we procure. And that includes the love of clocks in general: pocket watches, travel clocks, and more.
After all, in the couple hundred years before the First World War, personal timekeeping was all about the pocket watch, and before that, it was larger clocks that were front and center, horologically. We still believe a good clock — such as a classic travel model from the 1920s or 1930s — has a place in the watch lover’s collection.
The particular timepiece we have here is an Omega dealer clock from the 1930s. These ultra-precise, oversized mechanical marvels were meant as master clocks for passersby, designed to provide pedestrians an accurate reading of the time and to advertise the brand sold within the shop.
Housed in a wildly cool, 5.9” x 5.9” x 4.1” gunmetal and glass case with a glass crystal, it features a brushed, stainless steel dial in the Art Deco style with a white chapter ring, an outer ‘railroad’ minute track, painted black ‘Roman’ indices, a matching, skeletonized ‘syringe’ handset, a sub-seconds dial with a blued steel seconds hand, and an engraved, stylized Omega logo with ‘Heure Exacte’ below 6 o’clock. Powering it is a hand-wound, 8-day movement from Omega, the Calibre 59-8, complete with a stainless steel winding crown.
At nearly 100 years old, this exquisite clock deserves pride of place in a proud owner’s home — after all, there’s no reason it shouldn’t continue to keep excellent time for another century!