Omega Bumper

[78SA]

What does anyone here know about this? :waiting:

Vintage Omega Bumper watch (http://louisville.craigslist.org/jwl/2738264862.html)

[DJ_Critterus]

faggotry ??????????

[Burro (He/Haw)]

Omega makes a nice watch. I want a Speedy. Never heard of this Bumper. Nox?

[Rapid Roger]

"Bumper Wristwatches"
Self winding mechanisms were more successful in wristwatches because a person's arm moves much more during daily activities than his torso, where a pocketwatch is kept; the rotor could operate every time the owner moved his or her arm. The first self-winding wristwatch did not appear until after World War I, when wristwatches became popular. It was invented by a watch repairer from Bolton [10] named John Harwood in 1923,[11] who took out a UK patent with his financial backer, Harry Cutts, on 7 July 1923, and a corresponding Swiss patent on 16 October 1923.[12] The Harwood system used a pivoting weight which swung as the wearer moved, and which in turn wound the mainspring. The ratchet mechanism only wound the mainspring when moving in one direction. The weight didn't rotate a full 360°; spring bumpers limited its swing to about 180°, to encourage a back and forth motion.[13] This early type of self-winding mechanism is now referred to as a 'hammer' or 'bumper'.

When fully wound, Harwood's watch would run for 12 hours autonomously. It did not have a conventional stem winder, so the hands were moved manually by rotating a bezel around the face of the watch. The watches were first produced with the help of Swiss watch manufacturer Fortis and went on sale in 1928. 30,000 were made before the Harwood Self-Winding Watch Company collapsed in 1931 as a result of the Great Depression. 'Bumper' watches were the first commercially successful automatic watches; they were made by several high grade watch manufacturers during the 1930s and 1940s.