If there is one thing to remember forever in collecting vintage omegas, it is that condition is first and foremost. Of course the piece has to be original in the first place but if there is one lesson that has been imparted to me and one I wish to pass on it is that.

As I have stated in another thread, it is far better to overpay for an excellent original vintage omega than to underpay for one in below average or average condition. My greatest regrets in this hobby have been not overpaying for excellent examples - if only I could raise my offer some more for these long gone and in many cases never to be seen for sale again examples.

Other rules I TRY to live by:

Better to have 1 excellent piece than 3-4 so-so ones.

Never sell to a dealer - you will never get close to what your watch is worth.

Ebay is the best place to get nice vintage omegas at reasonable prices IF and only IF you have the knowledge and patience to sift through the many many crappy pieces.

If you do not know the seller always pay via paypal using your credit card - that way you will have some recourse if the deal goes wrong - and if you do enough deals something will inevitably not go your way.

You should have 1 or 2 trusted watchmakers preferably someone local. And when you have something repaired be explicit about what you want done and not done - I attach an index card with written instructions for every watch I have serviced - want to make sure everything is crystal clear.

 

I would say yes, then upgrade when you get the chance.

 

Yes, if you can get a good model for cheap, ($250 for example, but this is a relative amount) and it appears sound, operational, though perhaps not so pretty, then by all means indulge yourself. You may enjoy wearing it knowing another scratch won't hurt or make much difference. You might later use it as a parts source or sell it for what you paid for it. You might even give it a way at some point to a budding young enthusiast (forget it Kyle, you've already bloomed )

But if you are buying vintage for the creation of a fine collection, then heed Mikes advice.

 

I guess the other thing regarding value, particularly on Omegas, if you do pay top dollar for a top end, sought after mint condition example, 5 years later that top dollar will be rock bottom

 

I'm going to sticky this, people need to read it before buying junk

 

Wanted to add - With very, very, very few exceptions, try to AVOID REDIALS! The exceptions would have to do if it is an extremely scarce watch and if you think you might have one of those - I advise you to think again since there are only a handful of models you should consider making that exception for.

 

That would be the safe thing to do. I am pretty close to that to - 99.5% of the watches in my collection have original dials.

 

Have the movement serviced properly and have worn parts replaced accordingly. For most vintage omegas, there are no "special" parts save for some early chronometre movements - both manual and wind and automatic which feature the Rg regulator.

For the rest of the watch, PRESERVE the rest of it as much as possible. I don't like repaints or redials - if the dial is in bad enough shape that it needs to be repainted, I walk away from the watch unless it serves a specific purpose (need parts from it usually). Exception here is the crystal and in many cases crown and pushers.

Think TWICE and THREE TIMES before having the watch polished. In general, I don't have my watches polished - REMEMBER - once it is polished it cannot be undone! If you refrain from polishing, you can always do it later (or leave that decision to the next owner). I avoid watches that have been polished significantly - again unless I need it for parts. I believe my no-polish rule is even more important for the omega sports watches.

 

Look at the vintage omegas owned by collectors who have been at this game a lot longer than you - chances are they concentrate on the watches they have because these are usually the desirable ones. When I first got started in this hobby - I'm a relative newcomer having bought my first vintage omega in December 2007 - I asked one of my still to this day watch buddies help in narrowing which omegas to buy. He told me to buy John Goldberger's book Omega Watches and look at the vintage omegas in his collection. I have of course learned a lot since then and have also discovered some problems with a number of watches in the book but it is a good overview as to which corners of the vintage omega world I should pay attention to. It also helped reaffirm that since I am putting quite a bit of money into this hobby, I should also buy several examples of watches I like and I think will either hold their value or appreciate in value.

 

Patience, Patience, Patience - an even harder rule to live by.

Cultivate sources, make friends, and wait. Several of my best vintage watches I have had to wait over a year for. Sometimes you will end up waiting in vain but a few times your patience will be rewarded and you will end up with a very nice piece. The really serious vintage omega collectors will give up a nice piece(s) only in trade for an equally nice piece(s) and even then these types of transactions take some time to complete. Then there are full time/part time watch enthusiasts/dealers - they are typically the best ones as they figure out what you are after and when they see a nice piece they think will be to your liking it gets offered to you first usually at a repeat-reliable customer discount. I have experienced this myself and have heard many similar tales from fellow collectors who get pieces I have had no idea were even available. Sometimes the price is exorbitant (at least at the time it was offered) - but may not seem so bad in today's market.