Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Omega · Railmaster
Omega Railmaster 38 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k
Reference 20724OR.50
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Omega
- Collection
- Railmaster
- Model
- Omega Railmaster 38 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k
- Reference number
- 20724OR.50
- Year / era
- 1954 · 1950s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Chronograph
- Movement
- In-house automatic chronograph
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Dial type
- Mother-of-pearl
- Strap / bracelet
- Jubilee bracelet
- Water resistance
- 150 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 88 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 38 mm
- Case thickness
- 10.2 mm
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Bezel
- Bidirectional 24-hour Cerachrom
- Crystal
- Box sapphire with AR coating
- Dial
- Mother-of-pearl
- Hands
- Skeletonised sword hands, white luminescent
- Indexes
- Diamond-set hour markers
- Bracelet / strap
- Jubilee bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Folding clasp in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 150 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 26A — In-house automatic chronograph
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 45 hours
- Number of jewels
- 21 jewels
- Complications
- Chronograph
- Functions
- Dive time, running seconds
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1954 – 1961
- Limited-edition quantity
- 88 pieces
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Omega Railmaster 38 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k sits within Omega's Railmaster line, introduced in 1954. It carries the house codes established since 1848 — 18k rose gold case, mother-of-pearl dial and in-house automatic chronograph — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
The House
Omega
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1848
- Founder
- Louis Brandt
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Luxury
- Major collections
- Speedmaster, Seamaster, Constellation, De Ville, Aqua Terra, Planet Ocean, Railmaster
- Signature technologies
- Hand-applied guilloché dials · Composite and ceramic case materials · Certified chronometer regulation
- Famous movements
- In-house manual-winding · In-house automatic chronograph · In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer · In-house automatic, chronometer certified
- Notable watches
- Omega Speedmaster 38 mm Slate Sapphire (1961) · Omega Speedmaster 39 mm Blue Quartz (1952) · Omega Speedmaster 44 mm Meteorite 18k (2001) · Omega Speedmaster 36 mm Slate 18k (1981)
Brand history
Omega has spent more than 178 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Speedmaster, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Louis Brandt established Omega in 1848, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Omega calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1848
Louis Brandt founds Omega in Switzerland.
1888
Omega earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Omega to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Omega enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Omega continues to produce Speedmaster, Seamaster, Constellation and other icons in limited numbers.