An Omega Chronostop advertising leaflet from Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium

This is a very interesting advertising leaflet for the Omega Chronostop.

As with most of my webpages, click on any picture for a new browser window containing a larger (approx 100 KB) version.

It is likely that it was issued at motor races held at the Spa-Francorchamps race circuit in Belgium ( as of 2004, this is still a current Formula 1 track ), it doesn't make any sense to issue this at any other race track, unless it happens to be exactly the same length.
The front shows a Chronostop watch, It is actually two pieces of stiff card fastened together in the middle, so that the centre section can rotate. In the following picture I have "coloured" the rotatable centre section red. ( Note :- there are two small windows in theis centre section - one at 12:00 & one at 06:00)

Here are the front & rear of the "leaflet", without my colouring:-

To give you an idea of the size, here's the leaflet next to the real watch.

So lets start with the text. It's in French ( French is widely spoken in Belgium ).
I can't really speak French, so here's a VERY approximate translation of what it says :-

To work out the average speed per lap of a car,
1, Take the exact time it takes a car to pass you twice, at the same point on the track.
2, Turn the rotatable section of the card, until the pointer in the smaller window ( lower window), shows this time.
3, The pointer in the larger window (upper window) indiactes the speed (im KMH).

This speed calculator for the Francorchamps circuit is offered to you from Omega.

The best world-wide organization for the precise measurement of time.

Precision records at the swiss observatories.
Timing of the Olympic Games.
Present in space with the American astronauts.

These facts show that Omega offers prestige and security.

So, in the black & white scan above, the time marked is 3 Mins 30 Secs,( for 2 laps ) this gives an average speed of 243 KmH. Here's another example

This time the time shown is 4 minutes, so the average lap speed is about 213 KmH.

Using My best lap time at Spa in 1999 as a reference point , I can say that this leaflet still produces reasonably accurate speeds. ( I'm sure some bends have been reprofiled, since this card was issued, but the length of the circuit has hardly changed ).

Waddo's thanks, links & disclaimer

This page was written by Steve Waddington & last updated in 17 Febuary 2004

So now you want to find out more about Omega Chronostop watches ? try these links :-

A 1968 Chronostop Brochure. Owned by David Alstott / hosted by Chuck Maddox. This brochure clearly shows the shows the Genève driver, Genève, Seamaster & Seamaster ( Rotatable inner bezel) models - All without the date feature.
1969 - Chronostop In German. Features all Chronostop models available in 1969 including :- Drivers (under the wrist), Seamasters ( 865 Movements ) & Genèves ( 920 movements ).
A 1972 General Omega leaflet. Owned by Me / hosted by Chuck Maddox. This Leaflet covers (amongst other things) The functions of Chronostops with/without dates & with/without inner rotating bezels.
My Main Index. I have a number of Chronostop related webpages all accessible via my index page.

Does anyone know if this kind of "leaflet" exists for other race tracks ?

I'm a reasonable bloke. I make mistakes, I forget things. If I've got anything wrong here or missed anything, please feel free to E-mail me.

I have tried to limit the data shown here to facts, but every now & then I may express an opinion. You are free to believe what you want.

I have researched, written & taken the pics/scans on this page. I have written this page to share the limited knowledge I have. Please don't abuse me, my work or other peoples pictures. It's not a nice thing to do !

Finally, It pisses me off that I have to write a disclaimer like this !

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