Omega Railmaster 1957 Trilogy 220.10.38.20.01.002 60th Anniversary Review

Omega Railmaster 1957 Trilogy 220.10.38.20.01.002 60th Anniversary Review

The Omega Railmaster is a very special and historical watch in Omega’s lineup. But at the same time, the Railmaster model tends to sometimes be forgotten, in favor of other models, with the main ones being Seamaster and Speedmaster.Unfortunately, not all watches get the attention they deserve, and the Omega Railmaster model is definitely such a piece. Tool watches are particularly popular on the market, and back in the day, you could see why – they were used as crucial tools for professionals within different fields. Divers used dive watches, race drivers used chronographs, and so on.

Today, there are far more accurate tools and instruments for keeping track of the time for the people who previously used watches as their tools, yet still, the appeal of tool watches on the market remains. Maybe it is because of their interesting and appealing history, or maybe it is because they look good.

The Omega Railmaster is a tool watch as well, but a different type of tool watch.

The Railmaster wasn’t made for divers or race drivers, but instead, it was made for scientists and other people who are in places where there are magnetic fields – of course in particular in the laboratory.  It’s no secret that magnetism negatively affects a mechanical watch’s movement and how it operates – distorting the balance spring and impacting its ability to maintain a stable frequency and thus keep accurate time. 

In this article, we’re looking closer at the Omega Seamaster Railmaster the 1957 Trilogy 60th anniversary reference 220.10.38.20.01.002. But for consistency, and because people call it different names, from now on, we will refer to it as the Omega Railmaster 1957 trilogy.

History of the Omega Railmaster

The first Omega Railmaster watch was released in 1957 with the reference CK2914. The innovation of this watch was that it was developed to be able to withstand outside magnetic fields and still keep good time. The innovative feature was that the CK2914 used a soft iron inner case as a Faraday Cage as well as a thicker dial to protect the movement from outside magnetic fields. The movement was copper finished and protected by a special double case and iron dust cover. As a result, the first Railmaster can withstand magnetic fields of up to 1,000 gauss.

The movement used for the first Omega Railmaster was a 30T2 base movement, which would come to be renamed the calibres 284, 285, and 286 over the years of its production.

But the Railmaster CK2914 actually had a relatively short production period. Released in 1957, but ended in 1963. Something that ties together with modern time is the fact that Omega did not only release the Railmaster in 1957.

In fact, 1957 is the year that Omega released three watches that would come to become classics and a trio of highly regarded watches.

This trio consisted of the Seamaster 300, Railmaster, and Speedmaster. And if you are aware of the modern 1957 trilogy, you know where I am going with this.

All these three watches that Omega released in 1957 represented 3 various fields for use. The Seamaster was, as the name suggests, dedicated to divers of the like, the Railmaster was made for scientists who worked in environments of high magnetism in mind, and the Speedmaster, which was originally made for racing drivers… but eventually became something else in 1969.

In 2017, Omega noted that it was 60 years ago since they released the trio of watches in 1957, and therefore, wanted to pay tribute to the tree watches that had now become extremely popular, iconic, and sought-after by collectors.

And what did they do? At Basel, they launched a trio of re-edition watches of the trio launched in 1957. 

The result was three vintage-inspired watches, developed for three respective fields.

Omega made it possible to buy a whole set of all three watches, limited to 557 pieces. This set comes with a specially-engraved Swiss oak box, and all three watches are engraved with identical Limited Edition numbers.

This re-edition was well-received, of course, because the Seamaster and the Speedmaster are popular pieces right from the bat, the Railmaster, on the other hand, is almost like the underdog, which has not gotten as much exposure as the other two pieces. As such, the Omega Railmaster is normally the least-known watch among the three.

On the flip side, the Omega Railmaster had the shortest production period in 1957, and this makes it one of the rarest and thus one of the most collectible. And so this is why the new Railmaster Trilogy can be a great choice for people who love the look of the vintage Railmaster from 1957 but don’t want to spend the large sums that they sell for, or for people who simply prefer to buy new watches. The Railmaster combines the best of both worlds.

Each of the Omega trilogies is limited to 3,557 pieces and is delivered inside a presentation box inspired by the original 1957 packaging. Apart from having distinct vintage-inspired design features, the watch also has a number of other design elements that are vintage-inspired. The Omega Railmaster 1957 trilogy features a Seahorse on the lid, a retro logo, and beige corduroy lining. The vintage-inspired box also contains two spare straps; leather and NATO, as well as a tool to change them, making it a really nice complete set.

With the introduction of a trio of watches, it’s easy that some watches fall in the shade and become a bit forgotten. The Railmaster is one such watch as it tends to fall in the shade of the highly popular Seamaster, and the even more popular Speedmaster. Of the trio, the Speedmaster and the Seamaster tend to be the watches that get the most love, however, with all of the things discussed in this article in mind, it certainly doesn’t mean that the watch doesn’t deserve attention.

Omega Railmaster 1957 trilogy

The Omega Railmaster 1957 trilogy is designed so that it would look exactly like the original reference CK2914 did 60 years ago, but become an improved version that would be higher quality, more robust, and more durable. 

The case

The Omega Railmaster 1957 trilogy has the same case design as the original Railmaster CK2914.  All angles and facets have been polished to a mirror shine and the case sides have been satin-brushed.

The case for the watch has been reproduced using a digital scanning technique for the first time, giving Omega accurate representations of all three original watches. Original drawings of the models were also used.

The steel bracelet has undergone major improvements. Bracelets back in the day were not as sturdy, high-quality, and durable as they are today, and therefore, Omega has taken the look of the old Railmaster but made it in the quality of today. The result is a bracelet with brushed center links and polished outer links that is very comfortable to wear.

Furthermore, the old-style Ω logo has been used on the clasp and slightly overlaps the bracelet.

On the crown of the watch, you’ll find the old-style Ω symbol, but if you look closely, you’ll also find what is known as a Naïad. The original Railmaster used a Naïad crown, which Omega also used on the Seamaster and Speedmaster. It is a symbol that it improves the water resistance of the watch, because as the pressure increases the crown further seals. This is a tiny detail yet one that has historical importance.

On the case back, you’ll find a solid screw-down case back featuring the hippocampus emblem and the arched Railmaster inscription. 

Now, let’s touch upon the magnet resistance of this watch since, after all, it is the defining feature of the watch. The original. The CK2914 was impervious to >1000 gauss and featured a manual wound caliber 284, 285, and 286. 

However, in 2013, Omega released its Seamaster Aqua Terra that could withstand >15,000 gauss. This is, of course, technology and innovations that the 60th Anniversary Railmaster takes advantage of. 

The watch is powered by the automatic Omega Master Chronometer calibre 8806. This is a movement that can resist magnetic fields of up to >15,000 gauss and has a power reserve of up to 55 hours. ”Self-winding movement with a Co-Axial escapement. Certified Master Chronometer, approved by METAS, resistant to magnetic fields reaching 15,000 gauss. Free sprung balance with silicon balance spring, automatic winding in both directions. Special luxury finish with rhodium-plated rotor and bridges with Geneva waves in arabesque.”

However, unlike the old Railmaster, this movement is actually automatic (self-winding) as opposed to manual. There are of course speculations as to why Omega didn’t use a manual movement for the timepiece, especially considering that they have manual co-axial movements in their lineup, but the simple answer is probably because the main competitor is Rolex and their Milgauss, and in competing with it, an automatic watch is necessary. Plus, an automatic movement is much more convenient for everyday wear.

The case is 38mm in diameter, exactly the same as the reference CK2914. This is an interesting move from Omega since generally, they tend to upsize their watches, but keeping them in their original size makes them stay true to their roots. Plus, it’s a very size that makes it sit very comfortably on the wrist.

Dial

The indices of the watch have been filled with faux vintage Super-LumiNova, which is something that tends to spark a lot of debate and sometimes controversy, however, in this case, it would maybe make more sense to use ”faux vintage-colorer indices” as having them in white would have made it look super modern.

The Railmaster is equipped with the iconic ”Broad arrow” hour hand. On the dial, you’ll find 3, 6, 9, and 12 Arabic numerals, with triangles marking each of these hours and elongated arrows marking the rest of the hour marks.  On the dial, you’ll also find Omega’s old-style logo Ω and text. To a large extent, Omega has just copied and pasted the dial of the CK2914 pasted it to the 60th Anniversary Railmaster, and then refined it, of course.

The dial is a ”matte black ‘tropical’ dial” with vintage recessed indexes filled with Super-LumiNova.

The markers on the dial are bright SuperLuminova.

Conclusion

It’s safe to say that the Omega Railmaster 1957 trilogy, particularly the Seamaster Railmaster that we have focused on in this article, was a big success for Omega. The Seamaster Railmaster 60th anniversary builds on the success of Omega’s vintage timepieces and their huge popularity but uses modern tech and innovations to make them even more reliable and high-quality.