Advice for purchase: Different Omega Seamasters

[gianluomega]

Offered at around 550$. Looks good to me, I love the patina on the dial, but I'm a total newbie. Is it a redial in your opinion? What do you guys think about this one?

 

[Dan S]

Looks generally ok. Is there a narrow strip of lume in the hour hand, I can't quite see it.

 

[JimInOz]

Hour hand should have a wide lume fill but it's hard to tell in those shots.
Bracelet is after market.
Otherwise it looks OK.

Similar example.

 

[gianluomega]

Thank you guys. Useful as always. Not it has the lume fill on the hour hand though.
How would you compare to this other one? Comes cheaper at 450$, but the dial has a stronger patina:


are these decent watches, or am I being too rushy?

 

[theluckyluke]

Personally I prefer the style of the second example - like gold and steel, two-tone dial, the bracelet is also stamped Omega and prefer the lugs style. But the dial is way too far gone for my taste. The condition is the first watch is higher.

Attractive patina is usually defined as uniform aging of the dial. This example shows some of this, which I could learn to like, but there is also a massively distracting damage around the center and the lume color isn’t attractive.

Perhaps worth rethinking your strategy here. You want to buy something you like and enjoy wearing. Not something with patina just because it’s sort of cheap.

Now, if your budget is only about 400-500$, then maybe check alternative (Geneve models, which were entry level watches for instance) but which you can get in great condition for about this budget.

Defaults and defects on vintage watches, such as poor dial condition, soft lugs etc., will only bother you more as you wear them and get to know other references. So if you’re unsure about it from the beginning, it’s usually best to pass. Save the money for a better example.

Only my two cents. Good luck with the search.

 

[gianluomega]

theluckyluke

Personally I prefer the style of the second example - like gold and steel, two-tone dial, the bracelet is also stamped Omega and prefer the lugs style. But the dial is way too far gone for my taste. The condition is the first watch is higher.

Attractive patina is usually defined as uniform aging of the dial. This example shows some of this, which I could learn to like, but there is also a massively distracting damage around the center and the lume color isn’t attractive.

Perhaps worth rethinking your strategy here. You want to buy something you like and enjoy wearing. Not something with patina just because it’s sort of cheap.

Now, if your budget is only about 400-500$, then maybe check alternative (Geneve models, which were entry level watches for instance) but which you can get in great condition for about this budget.

Defaults and defects on vintage watches, such as poor dial condition, soft lugs etc., will only bother you more as you wear them and get to know other references. So if you’re unsure about it from the beginning, it’s usually best to pass. Save the money for a better example.

Only my two cents. Good luck with the search.

Great advices over here, thank you! I totally see and agree with your point: as much as I love patinas, the second watch is too "seasoned" let's say. I could go higher with the budget, let's say under 1000$, but for something that's really worth it. I was actually considering some alternatives which are more expensive but within the budget. Option 1: around 1000$

 

[gianluomega]

Option 2: always ~1000$

 

[gianluomega]

Option 3: cheaper at around 700$.

Hopefully I'm not spamming. However, these are the ones that I'm currently considering.

What do you all think? They all look good to me, but far from being an expert. Are they worth of consideration? Is there some watches among these ones that has a good value for its price? I believe they all have their original dial, but again I'm a newbie.

 

[seekingseaquest]

These are very different watches, so let’s start here - which do you like? If you’re not in a rush, may as well take some time to figure out what you really want first?

 

[DaveK]

seekingseaquest

These are very different watches, so let’s start here - which do you like? If you’re not in a rush, may as well take some time to figure out what you really want first?

Exactly that

 

[Spruce]

… and, while you’re at it, have a look on the two OF selling forums (all sellers are members), Private Watch Sales and Watches for Sale. On the latter forum sellers like @nanjingcigaretes may well have suitable watches at reasonable prices.

 

[gianluomega]

seekingseaquest

These are very different watches, so let’s start here - which do you like? If you’re not in a rush, may as well take some time to figure out what you really want first?

I find each one of them very charming for their own reasons. I'd personally wear all of them in different contexts quite honestly.
Not in a rush whatsoever: I'm totally new to vintage watches, and trying to spend time reading threads trying to learn how to spot originals, redials, and so on... In my learning path, and in searching for a vintage watch to wear daily, I filtered the watches I liked, and I thought to share them with you all to learn their pros and cons and various differences. Obviously it's a nice little shortcut, I'd be much more time consuming to learn all the stuff by myself, and I will definitely continue doing that!

However, addressing your question, if I had to pick one among the ones that I posted, I would choose the "option 2", the 14381 constellation, purely for aesthetic reasons: I love the uniform patina and it looks in decent shape. However, as far as I understand (again, as a newbie) the crown is not the original one, not sure about the bracalet either, still struggling to spot redials

Immediately after that, I'd put the 2494 with the black deal, for very similar reasons. Also this one shares the "non-native" crown and the bracalet.

Third in my list, the 14389: in this case I like it a lot aesthetically, it looks like a watch I could wear literally every day, the patina is probably my favourite, and it's cheap. But there should be a reason for its price, right? What should I be looking for, when considering my first purchase? All my little knowledge ends here: I search for the ref on the Omega database, check the components it's supposed to have, I google the ref comparing it with other on the market, and try to spot what's wrong/right... all my very little knowledge ends here

 

[gianluomega]

Spruce

… and, while you’re at it, have a look on the two OF selling forums (all sellers are members), Private Watch Sales and Watches for Sale. On the latter forum sellers like @nanjingcigaretes may well have suitable watches at reasonable prices.

Keeping an eye on the forum marketplace basically every day! thanks for the tip