1948 Omega Centenary

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Hi all,

I just bought a 1948 Omega Centenary and have questions about the watch hands and crown. Are they original to watch?

I have being googling Centenary and all the photos have the Dauphin type hands.

What type of a watch strap and buckle did Omega provide with the watch? I'd like to purchase one.

If anyone has information about this Omega Centenary please post.
 
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Is this the watch that was sold by The Real Real?

If so, here’s my assessment that I gave to another member looking at this watch:

1. Watch is listed as “not running”. My understanding is that The Real Real does use some kind of an authentication service. I looked at descriptions on other vintage watches (esp. Rolex, they have a lot of them), and they use terms like “running to specifications”, etc. So there is something wrong here. What it is, I haven’t a clue.

2. Dial is probably original, although there seems to be some damage to the minutes track between 10 and 11.

3. Crown is not correct, yellow rather than rose gold. Also too new. Good luck finding a replacement.

4. Case is polished. Not terrible. The engraving is a big plus.

5. I don’t think this model came with leaf hands. 99.9% seem to have solid gold dauphin hands. I was able to find only one other example with leaf hands.

1532115-75cbf97095f094bca15c8e353b2a5746.jpg

https://www.timeline.watch/watch/1948-omega-centenary-ref-2499-2500/

The pattern of dial damage looks very similar. This could very well be the same watch as The Real Real.

Summary, I concluded that it was too much work for me to make this one right.

If you can do the repair work yourself and can get the gold hands and crown (both of which I think are solid 18K on this model), this could be a bargain.

From the looks of it, the watch seems to be in running condition. That's great. Frankly, it looks a lot better than it did on The Real Real site. If you got it for that selling price in running condition, then you did very, very well.

Wear in good health.
gatorcpa
 
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What type of a watch strap and buckle did Omega provide with the watch? I'd like to purchase one.

UPDATE - Found a picture from "A Journey Through TIme" that shows a Centenary with what looks to be an original hand tag and buckle:

img_2141-jpg.1096003
https://omegaforums.net/threads/is-this-centenary-engraving-legit.122055/#post-1639194

Here is an original advertisement for the Centenary.

omega_image.3633053.jpg

That watch band looks similar to the ones on the Constellation from a few years later. If so, then those were elephant skin and are now illegal to purchase in most of the world.

Hope this helps,
gatorcpa
 
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Is this the watch that was sold by The Real Real?

If so, here’s my assessment that I gave to another member looking at this watch:



From the looks of it, the watch seems to be in running condition. That's great. Frankly, it looks a lot better than it did on The Real Real site. If you got it for that selling price in running condition, then you did very, very well.

Wear in good health.
gatorcpa

Hi,

Thank you so.much for the feedback. Yes it is the one from the real real and I paid 1640.00 for it. I am guessing the best place to find replacement parts would be eBay?

Oh and other bit of information, the watch runs. I wound it and set the watch CCW. The crown was lose.. Lol. I am happy.

Would you happen to know the crown size and hand sizes?

I'll replace.rhem myself. If anything it's awesome to have one.

I will take pictures of the movement when I start replacing parts.

Thanks for your help,

Bob
 
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Oh and other bit of information, the watch runs. I wound it and set the watch CCW.
I’m now kicking myself for not grabbing it. If the crown is just loose, that’s an easy fix for a watchmaker.
Would you happen to know the crown size and hand sizes?
I do not, but a watchmaker should know. And I’ll put out a bat-signal for @Archer to see if he can help.

The hands on this watch are solid 18K gold, as is the original crown and the dial. I just don’t think these parts are available from Omega anymore. Finding them on eBay will be a stroke of luck.

That’s the main reason this watch is in your box and not mine. But as I said above, it looks a lot better than the pictures I saw.
gatorcpa
 
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Yes, @gatorcpa and I chatted about this watch a while back. Congrats on your purchase. TBH, the dial looks a little rougher than I expected from the listing photos, but it's great news that it's running. The main issue now is the hands, and you can probably find something appropriate with some patience. The fact that you are looking for rose gold hands makes it a little harder.
 
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Thanks for all your info. One of the photos that gatorpa references shows a Omega ref 2500 with leaf hand. So all I have read that different countries had subtle changea to the Centenary. I'm leaving as is, will replace strap with an onega brand and rose gold buckle. Oh, and replace crown with as close to original I can find.
 
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Despite the dial damage, at that price for a ref 2500 in RG you did very well. Congrats!
 
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As always: No Risk = No Gain. Congratulations! And: A good Jeweller will be able to apply a pink gold layer on the crown. Will be the cheapest option.
Edited:
 
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As always: No Risk = No Gain. Congratulations! And: A good Jeweller will be able to apply a pink gold layer on the crown. Will be the cheapest option.
I agree. Replateit.com is an excellent option for this.