Lot 270

Omega

Olympic Games Melbourne

A very rare vintage wristwatch - manufactured for the XVI Olympic Games of Melbourne in 1956. Only about 100 copies of this model were produced

The Seamaster XVI from 1956 is a special model launched for the XVI Olympic Games in Melbourne to commemorate 25 years of timekeeping at Olympic Games since the Los Angeles Games in 1932. The Olympic Cross of Merit awarded during the Helsinki Games in 1952 for "exceptional services to the world of sport" is embossed in the backplate; the plate is also engraved with "Seamaster XVI-Automatic-Waterproof". The lower part of the "Chinese lacquer" dial is also decorated with the Olympic Cross of Merit and the Olympic rings in red colour. This variant is very rare and was used for approximately 100 timepieces only. The dial was created by Jean-Pierre Matthey-Claudet, who used to produce prototypes of the famous Omega 30 mm.
Source: "Omega" by Marco Richon, Bienne 2007, p. 283.