GENEVA-Watch auctioneer Antiquorum will host a thematic auction featuring Omega watches, dubbed "OmegaMania," during the Swiss watch shows this spring, in tribute to the brand's wide range of models that are representative of 20th century watchmaking. The event will be held April 14 and 15 at the Mandarin Oriental hotel du Rhône in Geneva.
Two private Omega collections are featured in the 300-lot auction catalog, which boasts everything from prize-winning chronometers and military watches from both world wars to the earliest diving watches and the more recent Co-Axial escapement, housed in a limited edition split-seconds chronograph.
The watches are valued at a range of prices. Omega's Seamaster 300, a 1957 diving watch is estimated at $1,200 to $2,500, while the Observatory Tourbillon, a rare silver wristwatch with a 7min30 tourbillon regulator, is estimated at $80,000 to $122,000.
The watches will be part of a pre-auction tour, with stops in New York Feb. 12 to 13 and in Los Angeles Feb. 16 to 17. For details, www.omegamania.com
The Omega Speedmaster of Matting, 1972, no estimate, top, was a copy of the watch astronaut Thomas Mattingly wore on the moon. Above: 1938 Omega Aviator, valued at $5,000 to $6,500.