Just purchased my first vintage Omega automatic. It has the 342 "bumper" 17 jewel movement. Rotor has scratches as well as stem hold down screw. Aftermarket acrylic crystal. Branded crown and cheap expandable band. Got it last weekend at an antique/flea market. To be honest I was kinda nurvious because I do not know much about vintage Omega's and their values. I am trying to determine approximate vintage, also wondering if it would have a model name even though not printed on face and what model if so? I have read a lot about refinished dials and would like some feedback as to weather it looks to be original or refinish. To my eye it looks to be original. I also do not see any markings to determine the gold karat or type of finish "plated,rolled gold, solid" etc... I looked between lugs and obviously on inside of back cover. Hopefully you can tell in pics,majority of case looks to be stainless with gold lugs and outer bezel ring. I know every watch has its own condition and may be hard to determine from a few pics but also a ball park value to help determine what type of band to put on it. Just don't want to have way more in it than it may be worth. I know It doesn't matter as long as I like it and it's worth it to me but there's just something about getting a good deal and having less in a timepiece than it's worth. Thanks in advance for any feedback and information on my first vintage Omega.

 

It's a nice looking watch. Movement is in good condition for its age. I think (pretty sure) the dial is original going by your hi-res dial shot.
The gold is gold cap, much thicker than gold plate.

This link will describe your watch pretty well. Be aware that dials came in a variety of finishes and layouts.

The serial number could put your watch at about 1951 to 1953.

Good catch .

 

Echoing Jim, very nice first vintage Omega! The lug tops are capped with a thick layer of 14K gold, while the removable bezel is 14K solid gold. Value would be about $500-$700 through private hands. Movement appears in good condition but get it serviced properly or it will wear out while parts are getting harder to find.

 

Going for original dial as well. Do you have a pic showing the "Swiss made"?

 

Thank you for all the replies thus far. Here is a close up of the Swiss made at bottom of dial,it is way at the bottom. Good to hear that dial seems to be original. I am relieved to hear of the valuation as well. The asking price was $250 and I negotiated due to poor band,acrylic crystal and needing service. Now to find a reputable watchmaker. I will ask again as I am curious if this watch would have a model name and or would it be considered an "ENTRY LEVEL" Omega of its day? Either way I feel good about my purchase. Also is there a way to know if it would have had a leather band or bracelet?

 

Very elegant 342

 

You can tell if a watch this old has been on a bracelet mostly by marks on the back of the lugs and on the case between them . ( close up will give a better idea.)

Would look good on leather

 

Dial looks repainted to me.

 

It had a cheap metal expandable band on it so does show some lug wear from that band. I just didn't know if by the case or style number one could tell weather it came with leather or bracelet band. Not a big deal but would be kinda neat to get it back to how it was originally sold.

 

I muss at confess that I am not sure now... The pic is not clear enough, but the Swiss made does not permit me to assume it is genuine.

I do not know!

 

Meaning how it is so low on dial and almost covered by inner bezel ring or just the quality of print. I know the rest of dial seems pretty crisp and aged well?

 

Basically, yes.

The overall quality of the lines and scripts looks OK to me. But I have not seen dials like this one, which does not help. And the Swiss made looks indeed a bit low, and it is not centered the usual way - with the Swiss ending a little bit on the right. Of course, it could be because of the pic and because the cross line had to cut the Swiss made in the middle. But I am not sure.

This is beyond my little knowledge. Let's wait if someone has some more relevant insight!

 

Swiss Made and the bent 9 o'clock marker and the missing of minute markers.

 

Looks like they tried to pry the marker off to print the cross hair and bent it.

 

Thanks Hoipolloi!

But I find difficult to be sure with only pics concerning the marker. Genuine dials can have a bend marker or logo - I am talking of old vintage dials of course.

But I acknowlwdge this dial raises some questions...

 

Hi François.
My question is why they bent that marker? What did they try to do?
How many original dials that don't have minute markers?

...and when I have many red flags on one dial the answer is redialed.

 

I understand.

I have seen old dials from cal 30 that had slightly bent markers or logos. In those cases, I think they happened to be bent wihtout anyone trying to hide something (ie a redial). But I get your point! And in that case, the marker you pointed out is really bent...

So maybe a redial after all! But if it is a redial, I think it is rather a good one considering the crisp lines et the scripts.

The Swiss made seems off too. But still can be because of the pic - at least that could explain why it looks so low on the dial. KC 342, could you please take a picture of the Swiss made without the bezel? Thanks!

 

That marker at 9 is not bent at all.

 

Maybe my poor English is misleading me. I understood that Hoipolloi pointed out that the marker were not alined with the cross line. I can see that!

 

In the case the dia is repainted, take off $2-300 my estimated value above and you still got it for very good price. The movement and case alone as parts are worth more than what you paid already. This watch usually goes nice with a leather band - a non-Omega one will do. But if you like bracelet then an Omega bracelet is preferable and cost a bit more.