I bought this 1950 bumper watch a couple of months ago, I fell in love with the original patina, I just wanted to know your thoughts on it... are these respectable watches? It’s slightly on the small side being 32mm but is this common with the era or would it have been aimed towards the female market?
Cool watch! I like that patina. If you want to see others similar I would recommend checking out this thread: https://omegaforums.net/threads/show-me-your-omega-with-patina.71515/ Certainly a respectable watch, and I don't think 32mm is too small to wear, it was a common size for a mans watch of that era and definitely not aimed at the ladies market. Case looks quite sharp and crown looks correct. You should be able to find the reference number at the reverse of the caseback.
I love how by pure chance it has created a completely unique style of its own, there will never be another like it. I love how the movement still runs faultlessly yet the dial looks like it’s had a hard life, shows you can never judge something by how it appears.
Lots of love for patina on the vintage forum. Here are some threads for your reading pleasure: https://omegaforums.net/threads/some-pictures-of-patina.27528/ https://omegaforums.net/threads/its-all-about-the-patina.77134/ https://omegaforums.net/threads/patina-lovers-wheres-the-line.77011/ https://omegaforums.net/threads/show-me-your-omega-with-patina.71515/ https://omegaforums.net/threads/vintage-watches-and-patina.60884/ https://omegaforums.net/threads/patina-or-evidence-in-a-murder-case.44720/
I don’t know enough to comment but I am learning. Is that type of patina the result of moisture intrusion? When is it patina and not damage?
We had this debate recently- a bee in my bonnet due to all the creative marketing with colorful language out there touting damage as patina. As said by another member in the other thread, patina like that on bronze and copper, which are naturally occurring and act as a protective coating on the surface, is patina. Anything else is damage. By that standard, every watch we own has “damage” to some extent the second it left the box. It’s just a matter of if we can live with it or not.
And yes, I believe it is moisture instrusion into the case causing the materials and finished to break down. The fact that the OP loves the results is all that matters here. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beer holder.
Absolutely. For me this one is intriguing, but I probably would think twice. No matter. It does have great character and I'm for anyone who doesn't think that vintage watches have to be flawless to be ... perfect.
As stated above, patina is subjective. For some reason, I think it works. It is interesting, and doesn’t have that universally unappealing moldy green look.
I tend to think that if the patina is uneven and spot-like as in the OP example, it’s damage from moisture intrusion. You can have some interesting effects but it is damage.
I think the ideology of Wabi-Sabi can be applied to anything but I think even the Japanese have their threshold between beauty in aging and damaged.