While participating to the development of the first Swiss quartz wrist watch movement, Beta 21, Omega was also secretly working on their own developments such as the 2.4MHz high frequency movement and the possibility to use the quartz system for a table clock featuring their first completely in house quartz movement. As other manufacturers as well, Omega had already much experience in offering table clocks since the early 1960s and issued an electro – mechanical table clock starting from 1963.
The project for the first quartz table clock was supervised by an engineer who by 1969 had already accumulated a lot of experience in big sized precision timekeepers. Jean – Pierre Bovay was one of the forerunners of precision timekeeping for sports events and co-invented the fotofinish system. Not much is known about the development of the ‘Electroquartz f8192 Table Clock’, but it is speculated, that not many where finally made.
Omega Electroquartz f8192Hz, Table Clock Prototype, 1969 – 1971
Prototype category: experimental proof of concept
Description: Two part cased table clock. The case elements being made of cast aluminium, outside coated in metallic green, inside left raw and showing oxidation. The front and the back part of the case held together by two steel pegs. The rims of both case parts stamped with ‘3’ and showing partially covered hand written notes. The dial and hands protected by a thin sheet of plexi glass. The deeper part of the case featuring several stickers with hand written notes about the testing of the movement. Aluminium base plate to which the delrin battery holder is fixed. This aluminium base plate id fixed to the anterior part of the case by means of three layers of brass sheets. Next to the battery holder there is an additional aluminum frame holding the wheel work and the electronic circuitry, mostly consisting of discreet elements. On the opposite side the aluminum cage holding the encapsulated quartz is fixed to the aluminium main plate. The primitive circuit board shows the inscription ‘Omega 97’. White ovoid dial with raised silver coloured indexes and black printed minute marks. ‘Quartz Omega’ printed in black, red Omega symbol. Black plastic hour and minute hands, red plastic second had. Small date window at ‘2’.
Dimensions: Weight (without batteries): 1.119kg; Overall size: 14.6 x 11 x 9cm
Movement: Calibre 1390 prototype, marked ‘Omega 97’, un-numbered, plates marked ‘Portescap Swiss Made 118 162’
Additional Info: The construction of this electronic table clock is remarkable. The movement which will be designated as cal.: 1390 for production, looks much different as the definitive version. While the movement plates were also provided by Portescap, the electronic parts and the battery housing differ enormously from the production model. The shape of the case is identical to the definitive version, but the material differs, as it is made of cast aluminium and not of cycolac resin as the ‘production’ version. The surface is smooth unlike the ‘production’ version which has a textured surface.
There has always been an insecurity concerning the year the Electroquartz table clock was issued. Fortunately the inside of the case of this prototype bears hand written notes about several steps this clock has been put through. The family confirmed, that the notes were written by Jean – Pierre Bovay himself. The first entry sets the date for the development: ‘Projektiert 29.9.69’ ; later measurements are also noted ‘Gemessen: 16.3.71, +0,3″, 0,004s, 22°C’, the following regulation the same day as the measurement has been written down as well: ‘Regliert 16.3.71 -0.01’; New batteries have been inserted, but is is not mentioned when: ‘Neue Batterien’; the last entry mentions a new measurement: ‘24.4.72 + 0.08’.
These hand written notes exclude a commercialisation of the clock prior to 1970, as the development started in September 1969, just in parallel of the industrial production of Beta 21! I would not think it necessary to have precision measurements made after the clock was issued, hence I would assume the clock was ‘produced’ and distributed after April 1972. If the clock was indeed publicly available or just offered to specific people is not known. One of the features of this clock is, that the system is thermo-compensated, a feature which has not been integrated into the development of the 2.4MHz high frequency system, because it was not necessary, according to an engineer who worked on the prototypes.
The delrin battery holder is quite extraordinary, as it does not permit to mount AA batteries as for the definitive version. It would have held two large, circular batteries.
Together with the clock, Jean – Pierre Bovay’s family also provided the hand written draft for internal patent application at Omega concerning the thermo-compensated movement used in this clock. Copies of other documents, a blueprint of the circuitry and other hand written notes by Bovay show important developmental steps considering the physical aspects and precision measurements. At Omega in the early 1960s, Jean-Pierre Bovay was one of the pioneers who integrated real time into television images. His work gave birth to modern sports timekeeping.
Bovay thus developed Omega’s first in house commercial quartz product (Electroquartz table clock) and then set about creating a new silver-based photofinish camera that was used for the following 20 years. He consolidated the concept theoretically and practically through numerous publications, making it a universally recognised principle (1).
The prototype shown here is the only one known, and according to Bovay’s family the only one made on which the ‘production’ version is based, although the rims of the case are marked with ‘3’, so it can be assumed, that two other attempts for making the case had been done. In addition there is a small note with ‘P4’ attached to the interior, indicating that several elements have been exchanged.
Jean – Pierre Bovay was also a co-founder of ‘Swisstiming’, which now under the lead of the Swatch-group, houses the sports timing facilities and research for Omega, Longines and Tissot (2).
Provenance: Family of Jean – Pierre Bovay
Ref.:
Omega Prototypes 