30T2 is the mark on Omega’s 30 mm movement of the 1940s, and it is not one movement but a family: Omega’s 30 mm hand-wound calibre, made in small-seconds and centre-seconds versions, with 15 or 17 jewels, and carried on through the numbers 260 to 286 into the 1960s. Omega’s records put 84 references on it. Here is what each mark means, from Omega’s own catalogue, and how to tell which one is in your watch.
Quick answers
- What 30T2 is: the mark on Omega’s 30 mm movement. GF 620-1 lists the old marks (30, 30 T1, 30 T2, 30 SC T1, 30 SC T2) and builds them all on the calibre 260.
- The numbers: 260 to 269 have small seconds and stand 4.00 mm tall; 280 to 286 have seconds from the centre and stand 5.10 mm.
- The T: T1 to T6 mark versions of the same 30 mm movement. Omega gives each its own calibre number.
- The last ones: Technical Guide No. 27 of 1963 replaces the 268 with the 269 and the 285 with the 286.
The old marks: 30, 30 T1, 30 T2 and 30 SC
GF 620-1, Omega’s 1954 parts catalogue, still lists the movements that carry only the 30 mark on the plate. It prints each one as built on the 260, and sends some of their parts back to an older catalogue, GF 548, which is on our wanted list.
| Calibre | Marked on the plate | Jewels | Seconds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 30 | 15 | Small seconds |
| 30 T1 | 30 T1 | 15 | Small seconds |
| 30 T2 | 30 T2 | 15 | Small seconds |
| 30 SC T1 | 30 SC T1 | 17 | Centre seconds |
| 30 SC T2 | 30 SC T2 | 17 | Centre seconds |
The numbered calibres, 260 to 286
| Calibre | Omega’s designation | Jewels | Height | Seconds | What sets it apart | Part numbers we hold | References | Years in Omega’s records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 260 | 30 T2 PC AM 15 pierres | 15 | 4.00 mm | Small seconds | The base; Incabloc | 70 | 10 | 1941 to 1954 |
| 261 | 30 T2 PC AM 17 pierres | 17 | 4.00 mm | Small seconds | The 260 with 17 jewels | 72 | — | — |
| 262 | 30 T2 RG | 17 | 4.00 mm | Small seconds | Regulator version | 43 | — | — |
| 265 | 30 T3 PC AM 15 pierres | 15 | 4.00 mm | Small seconds | T3, Incabloc | 75 | 15 | 1941 to 1951 |
| 266 | 30 T3 PC AM 17 pierres | 17 | 4.00 mm | Small seconds | The 265 with 17 jewels | 77 | 16 | 1946 to 1956 |
| 267 | 30 T4 PC AM 17 pierres | 17 | 4.00 mm | Small seconds | T4 | 30 | 11 | 1949 to 1958 |
| 268 | 30 T5 PC AM 17 pierres | 17 | 4.00 mm | Small seconds | T5; replaced by the 269 | 27 | 7 | 1956 to 1962 |
| 269 | 30 T6 PC AM 17 pierres | 17 | 4.00 mm | Small seconds | T6, Novochoc, 1963 | 33 | 10 | 1960 to 1964, and 1994 |
| 280 | 30 SC T2 PC AM 17p | 17 | 5.10 mm | Centre seconds | The sweep-second 30 | 79 | 2 | 1946 to 1954 |
| 281 | 30 SC T2 RG 17p | 17 | 5.10 mm | Centre seconds | Centre seconds with regulator | 51 | — | — |
| 283 | 30 SC T3 PC AM 17 pierres | 17 | 5.10 mm | Centre seconds | T3, Incabloc | 88 | 19 | 1943 to 1958 |
| 284 | 30 SC T4 PC AM 17 pierres | 17 | 5.10 mm | Centre seconds | T4 | 45 | 7 | 1954 to 1963 |
| 285 | 30 SC T5 PC AM 17 pierres | 17 | 5.10 mm | Centre seconds | T5; replaced by the 286 | 41 | 8 | 1957 to 1963 |
| 286 | 30 SC T6 PC AM 17 pierres | 17 | 5.10 mm | Centre seconds | T6, Novochoc, 1963 | 47 | 9 | 1957 to 1963, and 1994 |
Designations, jewels and heights: Omega GF 620-1 and GF 620-3, and Technical Guide No. 27. All are 30.00 mm across and beat 18,000 an hour. References and years: Omega’s vintage database; a reference listed with two calibres counts under both. Part counts: the Watch Breaker database today.
Reading the designation: PC is shock protection, AM antimagnetic, SC seconds from the centre, RG a regulator. The 260, 261, 265, 266 and 283 are printed with Incabloc shock protection, the 269 and 286 with Novochoc.
Where you find one
Most of the 84 references are plain Omegas, but a few names stand out in Omega’s records:
| Reference | Omega’s name | Years | Calibre |
|---|---|---|---|
| CK 2914 | Seamaster Railmaster | 1957 to 1963 | 284, 285 or 286 |
| CK 2990 | Ranchero | 1958 | 267 |
| CK 2996 · PK 2996 | Ranchero | 1958 | 284 or 285 |
| CK 2777 | Royal Air Force | 1952 | 283 |
| CK 2754 | Genève | 1954 | 266 |
| CK 14726 | Genève | 1961 | 285 |
| ST 125.0007 | Seamaster 30 | 1962 | 268 or 269 |
| ST 135.0007 · ST 135.0003 | Seamaster 30 | 1962 | 286 |
| OT 14720 · BB 131.0010 | Jubilee | 1959, 1962 | 285 or 286; 286 |
| AT 125.1894 · BG 125.1894 | 1894 | 1994 | 269 |
| BA 135.1894 | 1894 | 1994 | 286 |
Omega’s vintage database. Every other reference is in the reference lookup.
Which one is in your watch
- Read the movement. The old ones carry the 30 mark on the plate; the numbered ones carry their calibre number, on a bridge for most of them.
- Look at the seconds. Small seconds: the 260 to 269, or the plain 30, 30 T1 and 30 T2. Seconds from the centre: the 280 to 286, or the 30 SC.
- Count the jewels. 15 means the 260, 265 or one of the old 30, 30 T1 and 30 T2. Everything else in the family has 17.
- Read the reference inside the caseback and check it in the reference lookup; the serial number lookup dates the movement.
Hunting parts for a 30 mm Omega
The family shares parts widely, and the catalogue shows how. Going from 15 to 17 jewels changes just five things on the 261: the plate, the barrel bridge, a re-drilled train wheel bridge and two centre wheel jewels, 4011 and 4012. The 266 does the same to the 265 and uses the very same train wheel bridge, 261.1003. And the base 260 takes its escapement fittings and shock block from an older calibre, the 100. The parts finder shows every calibre a part number fits.
Omega 30 mm on eBay: 30T2 watches for sale What they sold for Movements and parts (affiliate links: we may earn a commission)
Take an Omega apart
The 30 mm family is not on The Bench yet. Four later Omegas are, the 565 among them: every part and screw with its Omega number on screen, taken apart and built back up, free in your browser.
Play The BenchThe Seamaster guide
Questions
What is an Omega 30T2?
It is Omega’s 30 mm hand-wound movement. GF 620-1 lists the older calibres marked 30, 30 T1, 30 T2, 30 SC T1 and 30 SC T2 on the plate, and puts them on the base calibre 260, which it prints as 30 T2 PC AM 15 pierres. The family runs from the 260 to the 286.
Is a 30T2 a good movement?
It is a long-lived one: Omega’s records put this family in 84 references from 1941 to 1964, and again in three 1994 references. Every calibre in it beats at 18,000 an hour on a 30 mm movement. Condition and service history decide how a given one runs.
What does SC mean on an Omega 30 mm movement?
Seconds from the centre. The 280 to 286 and the 30 SC calibres carry a centre seconds hand and stand 5.10 mm tall; the 260 to 269 have small seconds and stand 4.00 mm.
What replaced the 268 and the 285?
Omega’s Technical Guide No. 27 of 1963 gives the 269 as the successor of the 268 and the 286 as the successor of the 285. The 269 and 286 are the last of the family.
Which Omegas have a 30 mm movement?
Omega’s records list it in Seamasters, the Ranchero, the Railmaster CK 2914, the Trésor dress watches, a Royal Air Force reference (CK 2777, calibre 283) and the 1994 “1894” references, among 84 in all.
Sources: Omega GF 620-1 and GF 620-3 for designations, jewels, sizes and part numbers; Omega Technical Guide No. 27 (1963) for the 269 and 286; Omega’s vintage database for references, names and years. Watch Breaker is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Omega SA or the Swatch Group. Omega, Seamaster, Railmaster, Ranchero and Genève are trademarks of Omega SA.