516.13.41.10.02.001, MUSEUM COLLECTION PILOT'S WATCH, WHITE ROMAN DIAL

An Omega Museum Collection Pilot's Watch, ref. 516.13.41.10.02.001, in steel. The white dial carries large Roman numerals and a red outer track, a combination that makes this watch instantly distinct from every other Omega pilot reissue. The polished rotating bezel has a luminous pointer, once used by aviators to time flight segments, and the hands are long and elegant. Inside is the automatic calibre 2200, a chronometer rated movement. The caseback carries an engraved inscription, The Pilot's Watch. It came on a brown leather strap, and we photographed it with its Omega papers.

The watch revives one of Omega's great pre-war designs: the 1938 pilot's watch, a large steel watch with a rotating bezel built for aviators, known to collectors through references like the CK 2044. Originals are now rare and highly sought after. Omega brought the design back through its Museum Collection, a series of faithful reissues drawn from the archive of the Omega Museum in Biel. The first version appeared in 2000 with a black dial. Later, Omega produced versions with Roman numeral dials made exclusively for the Japanese market, and this reference is one of them. That makes it one of the less common Museum pieces to surface anywhere else.

We sourced this watch because it is the version most collectors outside Japan never see. The Roman numeral dial was made for the Japanese market only, and on white with that red outer track it looks completely different from the black dial reissues most people know. The design underneath is one of Omega's best: a 1930s aviator's watch with a big rotating bezel, built when pilots really did time their journeys from the wrist. The calibre 2200 makes it a modern, dependable daily wear. On brown leather it looks exactly like the period it comes from. It is a deep cut from Omega's archive, and we love it for that. Curated with intent.