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Advice on Vintage Military Watch

mistergough
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Hi. I'm new here and looking to get some advice on a watch that was my grandfather's. He was a Lancaster Bomber pilot in WW2 and gave me the watch in the picture. I think it's called a CK2129. It works although I think it needs tweaking a little to keep good time. I'd like to keep it but I went into an Omega boutique to ask about servicing and I think it would cost a lot more than I could afford to get it done. So now I'm looking for a good auction site to sell the watch. It's quite small and I think if it was a better size for my wrist I'd be more inclined to find the money for servicing, but as it stand I think selling it is the best option.

So, does anyone on here have advice for good auctions sites? Many thanks.

IMG_0701.jpeg
 
padders
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Can you show a picture of the back of the watch.
 
X350 XJR
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Plenty of options for competent servicing other than Omega out there. Give us your location for recommendations.
 
mistergough
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I live in the South West UK, near Bristol. But anywhere South-ish UK would be fine. Thanks!
 
AAAKK
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Nice Omega Weems. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe there was a civilian version made available so your caseback has been skimmed of its issued markings.
 
Syrte
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AAAKK AAAKK
Nice Omega Weems. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe there was a civilian version made available so your caseback has been skimmed of its issued markings.

That is correct— but please @mistergough don’t sell this very special watch.
it’s a very nice and rare watch. The value to collectors is diminished by the fact the military markings which should be at the back have been removed, but it’s quite remarkable that you have it directly from your grandfather.
An independent watchmaker can service it for much cheaper than Omega would. And an extract of archive from Omega, although its not cheap, should confirm its military pedigree.
Do a Google search on line about “Omega Weems” and you should find quite a bit.
 
Syrte
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timoss timoss
Or a case back from another watch?

Hmmm… why would anyone have scratched off the serial number on the case back if it had been from another watch?
 
JimInOz
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Syrte Syrte
Hmmm… why would anyone have scratched off the serial number on the case back if it had been from another watch?

Original was lost/damaged so a watchmaker found another that fitted, but did the right thing by obscuring the now incorrect serial number.

Just my guess.
 
OllieOnTheRocks
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JimInOz JimInOz
Original was lost/damaged so a watchmaker found another that fitted, but did the right thing by obscuring the now incorrect serial number.

Just my guess.
This is what I suspected too.. you wouldn’t scrub out a serial number inside an original case back - the only other reason I can think of is probably some method of stopping stolen watches being traced. I doubt this would be the case here.
 
timoss
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JimInOz JimInOz
Original was lost/damaged so a watchmaker found another that fitted, but did the right thing by obscuring the now incorrect serial number.

Just my guess.
Exactly.
 
Tire-comedon
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OllieOnTheRocks OllieOnTheRocks
This is what I suspected too.. you wouldn’t scrub out a serial number inside an original case back - the only other reason I can think of is probably some method of stopping stolen watches being traced. I doubt this would be the case here.
Unless you keep an issued watch (RAF property) and don’t want it to be traceable. Not uncommon with military stuff.
Very beautiful watch by the way.
 
JimInOz
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Tire-comedon Tire-comedon
Unless you keep an issued watch (RAF property) and don’t want it to be traceable. Not uncommon with military stuff.
Very beautiful watch by the way.

😲
I'm shocked to think that would happen!

Thankfully I've never done that.
(Clarification: That is, I've never done that with a watch)
 
mistergough
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Thanks for all your comments, really helpful. I agree that it looks like the back has got swapped. Looking these up I can see what the RAF back should look like. Thanks for servicing advice too. I'm still not sure about the right route for selling something like this though. Is there an auction company or other channel to sell it through that anyone here would recommend? My feeling is that I might be better off selling it and getting a watch I can wear all the time.
 
mistergough
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Syrte Syrte
That is correct— but please @mistergough don’t sell this very special watch.
it’s a very nice and rare watch. The value to collectors is diminished by the fact the military markings which should be at the back have been removed, but it’s quite remarkable that you have it directly from your grandfather.
An independent watchmaker can service it for much cheaper than Omega would. And an extract of archive from Omega, although its not cheap, should confirm its military pedigree.
Do a Google search on line about “Omega Weems” and you should find quite a bit.

Thanks. Very useful info.
 
jaegodylan
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The watch is a pretty stunning example of a Weems.. the dials on these are normally not great.

If you intend to sell it I wouldn’t even bother with servicing it. On the other hand I think selling it would be a shame.. it’s a part of your family history and the history of England.

You would achieve a decent result pretty much at any marketplace. Ebay would preform well if you start at a low price and let the market dictate the return. There are also some local auction houses that would do a good job but to a smaller audience than eBay.
 
Tire-comedon
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mistergough mistergough
Thanks for all your comments, really helpful. I agree that it looks like the back has got swapped. Looking these up I can see what the RAF back should look like. Thanks for servicing advice too. I'm still not sure about the right route for selling something like this though. Is there an auction company or other channel to sell it through that anyone here would recommend? My feeling is that I might be better off selling it and getting a watch I can wear all the time.

23042812132719182118166799.jpg
Sold for 7500 GBP on 18 jan 2022 at Bearnes, Hampton and Littlewood,

23042812132719182118166798.jpg
Sold for 6000 GBP on 18 march 2023 at Tennants.

Both prices are without auction fees. Probably putting them at an auction house affiliated with an online auction platform (e.g. the Saleroom) is a good way to have a good price.
 
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