Omega

Omega pocket chronograph/tachymeter; 18 ligne, 17 jewel cal. 39 CHRO (a collaboration with LeCoultre, first produced in 1929). This example, cased in sterling silver, is 50mm in diameter, features a near-flawless ceramic dial, purple-hued steel hands, and dates to around 1931. The lower sub-dial is a second counter for the basic time function, while the upper one ifs a 30 minute counter connected to the stop-watch and tachymeter functions.

These watches were developed primarily as sports timers, as suggested by the ad shown below from the 1936 Olympics. Also of interest is the following from the Omega Museum (emphasis mine):

Few people in the history of aviation have captured the public's interest and imagination to the extent that Amelia Earhart did. Although she and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared in 1937 on an attempted round-the-world flight, there has been decades-long speculation about the shy pilot's fate. Even now, three quarters of a century later, potential crash sites in the Pacific are being investigated in the hopes of solving an enduring mystery.  Earhart's Lockheed Electra 10E NR was equipped with a dashboard an Omega 39 CHRO chronograph. On her wrist, the most famous aviatrix of all time wore an Omega 28.9 chronograph and Fred Noonan sported and Omega Marine.

The acronym S.G.D.G. seen on the dial stands for "Sans Garantie du Gouvernement". Under French law, it granted the patent holder temporary exclusive rights, but did so without any explicit guarantee of the French state.

Cheers,

Tony C.

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