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iosist
·Hi OF-
I've worn my Casio F158W-1 every day for the past seven years or so (besides some formal occasions in a Seiko 5) and although it's perfect for my agricultural occupation and oddly aesthetically pleasing to me, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't always had my eye on a vintage automatic.
I recently gave myself permission to start looking into the prospect of buying a nice watch for some big forthcoming life events and found myself here. After lurking for a while, I've narrowed my search down to a stainless steel 1960's Seamaster, particularly reference 166.010 with cal 565. This one which was sold here yesterday had pretty much everything I want -- good condition, 5xx movement with date, white sunburst dial, onyx hour markers, beads of rice bracelet. That price of around $1200, is technically feasible for me but while I initially did like the idea of buying from a reputable expert/collector, as I learn more I'm becoming rather fond of the research and hunt and don't want to rush the process which is honestly half the fun with this kind of thing. I just had a few questions for the community for anyone who had the time or inclination to help a beginner.
1. Are there other references I should look at before I solidly commit to this one? I settled on it because of the simplicity of the dial (who needs extra text for "chronometer" or "De Ville"), the date complication with quickset, and the good reputation of the 5xx movements and their swan-neck regulators. However I'm a bit concerned I'm being influenced by newb-bait such as posts like this or this. If any seasoned collectors want to broaden the scope of my search I'm open to it.
1. How feasible is it for an educated non-professional to track down a comparable watch to the one above for <$1,000? What about <$700? I'm willing to be patient and quite excited to learn more about assessing references and condition just for the sake of the knowledge, but if getting a good deal requires being quicker than the professionalized world of vintage resellers who source these listings as full-time jobs... Can I really expect to actually find something below market value? Are there other strategies that can save money, like maybe buying the watch and bracelet separately?
2. Dashes around the words "-Swiss Made-". I've seen various comments here suggesting different things about what these dashes or their absence might mean. I saw one claim that they indicated the black hour markers were painted rather than onyx. This does not appear to be accurate. I've also seen people suggest it has something to do with lume? Is there any particular information I should be gathering from this part of a dial on a 166.010?
3. I'd also like to know if there is a close ladies equivalent to the 166.010. I'm having a lot of trouble finding information or reference numbers for the vintage ladies' Omegas, but it appears that there were plenty of watches made from the same period under Seamaster or Ladymatic which look very similar albeit with different movements. I've found plenty of comments suggesting that the supply of these watches outpaces the demand and that they can be found cheaply, but I'm not really seeing that reflected in listings. If anyone could point me to some reliable study material regarding these ladies' watches that would be amazing. If I do end up springing on one for myself, I'd like to find a matching one for my girlfriend as well.
Thanks for sticking through this longwinded post and for all the help I've already gotten from this forum!
I've worn my Casio F158W-1 every day for the past seven years or so (besides some formal occasions in a Seiko 5) and although it's perfect for my agricultural occupation and oddly aesthetically pleasing to me, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't always had my eye on a vintage automatic.
I recently gave myself permission to start looking into the prospect of buying a nice watch for some big forthcoming life events and found myself here. After lurking for a while, I've narrowed my search down to a stainless steel 1960's Seamaster, particularly reference 166.010 with cal 565. This one which was sold here yesterday had pretty much everything I want -- good condition, 5xx movement with date, white sunburst dial, onyx hour markers, beads of rice bracelet. That price of around $1200, is technically feasible for me but while I initially did like the idea of buying from a reputable expert/collector, as I learn more I'm becoming rather fond of the research and hunt and don't want to rush the process which is honestly half the fun with this kind of thing. I just had a few questions for the community for anyone who had the time or inclination to help a beginner.
1. Are there other references I should look at before I solidly commit to this one? I settled on it because of the simplicity of the dial (who needs extra text for "chronometer" or "De Ville"), the date complication with quickset, and the good reputation of the 5xx movements and their swan-neck regulators. However I'm a bit concerned I'm being influenced by newb-bait such as posts like this or this. If any seasoned collectors want to broaden the scope of my search I'm open to it.
1. How feasible is it for an educated non-professional to track down a comparable watch to the one above for <$1,000? What about <$700? I'm willing to be patient and quite excited to learn more about assessing references and condition just for the sake of the knowledge, but if getting a good deal requires being quicker than the professionalized world of vintage resellers who source these listings as full-time jobs... Can I really expect to actually find something below market value? Are there other strategies that can save money, like maybe buying the watch and bracelet separately?
2. Dashes around the words "-Swiss Made-". I've seen various comments here suggesting different things about what these dashes or their absence might mean. I saw one claim that they indicated the black hour markers were painted rather than onyx. This does not appear to be accurate. I've also seen people suggest it has something to do with lume? Is there any particular information I should be gathering from this part of a dial on a 166.010?
3. I'd also like to know if there is a close ladies equivalent to the 166.010. I'm having a lot of trouble finding information or reference numbers for the vintage ladies' Omegas, but it appears that there were plenty of watches made from the same period under Seamaster or Ladymatic which look very similar albeit with different movements. I've found plenty of comments suggesting that the supply of these watches outpaces the demand and that they can be found cheaply, but I'm not really seeing that reflected in listings. If anyone could point me to some reliable study material regarding these ladies' watches that would be amazing. If I do end up springing on one for myself, I'd like to find a matching one for my girlfriend as well.
Thanks for sticking through this longwinded post and for all the help I've already gotten from this forum!
