Dr No[Moderator Omega - Wristscan]
34913
Ah, you've arrived at the station . . .
Dec 03, 2018,16:46 PM
. . . just in time, Nicolas!
Both versions, 910 and 911, had GMT hands; the essential difference between the two boiled down to the 24 hour day/night subdial of the 910 which was replaced by the constantly running sub-seconds hand of the 911.
Omega made the switch during the third year of production purportedly from professional feedback. Pilots weren't able to tell their Flightmasters were actually running unless the chrono was engaged, so a constantly running seconds hand was substituted to confirm that a reading was made from a running watch.
;-)
Interestingly, you've posted images of two first generation dial 910s, which are less common than second generation dials. The Jacek and Jeroenvink examples lack the 'nostrils' of the others, which places them at the beginning of 910 production. They should have chrono pushers with a round single 'dot' painted in the same color scheme as the hands. The default color was reddish-orange; cadmium yellow was a no-cost(!) option for pilots flying at night in a green light environment. More reddish-orange examples were produced than cadmium yellow.
Second generation dials were, in turn, separated by two production groups: those with 'split' pushers painted with only the color of the hands the watch came with, and those with pushers painted in both colors. Mine is a second generation example with cadmium yellow hands and only yellow paint on the pushers. A minor, but not trifling, distinction.
The Jacek example should have radial brushing, as should all 145.013 and 145.026 examples. 145.036 models (the last produced) had mostly circular brushing, although there have been instances of radially brushed cases.
Roughly ten years ago, Omega reproduced dials, crowns, pushers, hands, and crystals due to demand. Crowns and pushers often lost their paint, and hands faded. Most examples today with intact pushers and crowns and immaculate hands have had them replaced. Replacement crystals for 145.013 Flightmasters don't follow the contours of the case as smoothly as original crystals.
If you see a crystal that stands obviously out from the case, it's likely a replacement. They were mineral crystal, and chipped easily.
Best of luck in your hunt, Nicolas. My search took over ten years; either the funds were there and the watch wasn't, or the other way around.
;-)
Finally found one in Arizona almost exactly three years ago . . . drove there and back to seal the deal in person!
Cordialmente,
Don Turo