Known mostly for their Speedmaster, Seamaster, Railmaster, and Constellation collections, Omega is a brand that seems to base most of their offerings within this small selection of collections. While these collections are certainly all iconic in their own right, they fail to depict the legendary watchmaker's history completely. To understand Omega's impact on the world of horology, we will need to examine their other collections, such as the Omega Suveran.
Manufactured during the 1940s, the Omega Suveran, "Sovereign" in English, had one purpose to serve, to make money. While this might seem glaringly obvious given that is the objective for every watch, the Omega Suveran's purpose was to make money for the Swedish Government. With money tight during WWII, the Swedish government sought a way to break free from their dependency on Nazi Germany. While issuing government bonds was one way to raise money, the Swedes decided to sell watches to the public to achieve this too.
After approaching Omega to sell them watches, the Swedish government would retail these watches to their citizens and thus secure a rather unorthodox source of income. This income, just like that produced from the bonds they issued, aided in bridging the gap in Sweden's WWII budget deficit, an action the government officials called a "defense loan”.
Thanks to its exclusive sale through the Swedish government in the '40s, and their rather limited sales channels, the Omega Suveran is a collectible piece of both, horological history, and WWII history. Powered by the 30T2 movement, a legendary manual-wind military movement, and featuring a grey dial with a gorgeous patina, the example I have on offer is truly a spectacular piece of history that would fit well in any collection.
