Advice on a Large Lot of Disassembled Omega Watches

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and would really appreciate some guidance from the more experienced members here.

The lot I am asking about actually belonged to my father, and used to buy complete watches, spare parts, and other components. He had the habit of keeping his watches disassembled, and after many years of changes and re-arrangements, the pieces eventually got mixed together. Now I have more than 50 Omega watches, but in parts: cases, movements, and dials separated rather than complete watches.

Among the dials there are both old repainted ones and originals, in all kinds of conditions. Some movements and cases may match, but many do not.

My main question is how to approach selling them:

Would it make more sense to sell everything together as one large lot, even if that means a lower return?

Or should I take the time to sort and sell in smaller lots (cases, movements, dials)?

Another option would be to try assembling some of them back into complete watches, but I am unsure whether the effort and time involved would be worthwhile compared to selling them as they are.

Since this is a rather large amount of Omega material, I want to proceed in a way that is practical, transparent, and fair. Any advice, experience, or suggestions from the community would be greatly appreciated.

In that sense, I am considering whether it would be best to create a detailed inventory first. At the moment, I am making a list of the cases with their reference or serial (for the older ones), including details such as whether they still have the bezel, back cover, or holder. I am also thinking of doing something similar with the movements, perhaps using a basic 1-to-5 scale to describe their condition or functionality.



Any advice or comments will be greatly appreciated, Thank you very much in advance!

Initially, I searched the reference to find out the caliber and dial that could correspond to each watch.

I did this for 8 cases, which are not included in the photos above (set aside separately). Afterwards, I continued making a list only of case references and/or serial numbers (when available) to see if ChatGPT could help me identify the possible matching caliber, which I then verify manually.

Thank @sheepdoll you for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it. I think your suggestion is a good idea. On the other hand, I feel there is a risk that the final values might be too low, since in auctions most of the offers come from people who see it as an opportunity rather than a real need. That usually translates into lower prices with quite a bit of work involved in creating the listings.


Perhaps it could make sense to deliberately sacrifice some return (final value) but sell in smaller lots, or even sell the entire lot at about one-third of its potential value. This might actually be attractive for someone who works regularly on Omega repairs, or for someone who is just starting out in the world of watchmaking.

I think it depends on how much time on your hands versus the final return. Omega watches vary wildly in price depending on rarity, popularity and condition.

You could focus on the higher value items / projects to sell separately and then dispose of the lower value items as lots.

I live in the UK, and personally if I wasn't looking to sort it out myself I'd probably consign it to one of the specialist watch auctions. They may then advise to sub-lot it to maximise any sales potential.

Ultimately it depends on the time you have and motivation.

Like they are all saying, it's dependent upon your time. If you want to spend dozens of hours listing things separately, setting reserves, shipping separately, you can do that, but extracting maximum value really takes time and work. You might also not have the expertise to know everything about these components.

Thanks everyone for the comments. Yes, there were indeed a few parts from other brands, no more than 4 to 6. Basically, this is just part of what my father has—there are many more boxes from other brands.

Taking into account what I originally had in mind and after reading some of the comments here, I think I’m willing to sacrifice some value in exchange for selling everything as a whole. I believe the lot could be very interesting for someone who works in watch repair, enjoys fixing their own watches, or simply wants to acquire a wide variety of references in a relatively short time.

I will also start noting down in an Excel database the references of the cases, the movements, and the available spare parts. I don’t think it will take too much time.

Another option is to find a watchmaker that has a good knowledge of vintage Omega watches and pay him to reassemble the watches for sale (assuming the hands are all there too - that's going to be pretty hard to sort out).

As someone who restored and have parts lots. Do not put any watches together. Unless you know the serial number matches the case reference number. Your just making frankenwatches.

Look over the dials. Damaged dials (bent/dented) are good for indexes (I pop them off). Others sorted depending on condition. I noticed a chronograph, triple date . maybe a couple of Constellation and a Rolex. These will bring the better prices.

Others (again based on condition) sell in lots.

Movements. Sell 4 in each auction after going through them. Based on condition and caliber.

Look for certain movements and Chronograph, triple date, Constellation etc. and sell separately.

Cases. This will be more work to Google reference numbers to see what they were and price those accordingly. Others sell two at a time

Complete watches can be sold as is

Crowns. 10/15 per lot.

Slow stuff will be the pocket watch movements/cases and dials. Boxed items in upper left. Little packs match to the same caliber. Some people like working on certain calibers only, so matched items will sell better rather than random.

If I still had my watch makers. I would buy it all, but don't, so no sale today

Curious as to why he would take them apart and just leave them.

Good luck

Thanks all for responses. I think it all translates into a sort of “hoarding syndrome” combined with having had a comfortable financial situation.
I believe that most of the Omega cases have their movements scattered somewhere within the lot. There are even some movements with their dials. Everything has been re-packed and reorganized over and over again in bags and boxes through the years, especially with house moves and other changes. At the moment, the main focus is on coins, which I think is why this sale is possible.

Here are some photos of other boxes, along with some Rolex spare parts that were sold a while ago (they went to Italy).
This accumulation is not limited to watches - there is also a warehouse full of antiques with all kinds of things.
Regards.