An Omega Found...

[cvv]

When I graduated from college my mother gave me an Omega watch. Not being much of a watch wearer I wore it for a few months and then put it in a drawer. Over time I forgot where it was, but often wondered...

Last night my youngest daughter hands me this random bag of stuff and in it was the watch which I hadn't see in more than a decade.

But I graduated in 1988 and the watch is a 1988 Omega Seamaster with the 1441 (quartz) movement and because it was essentially unworn for the last 35 years in almost perfect condition. Upon replacing the battery it had a little trouble starting up again, but after an hour the second hand smoothed out and it's ticking away.

I am not interested in selling the watch, but wanted to put this story here along with some pictures because this site and these forums were invaluable in letting me know what I might have and the things to look for when identifying it (e.g. the movement, quartz vs. automatic etc.).

And yes, I called my mother to thank her again.

 

[GuiltyGear]

Nice watch with a good story. Since it's a keeper, I'd advise to send it for a service. There's a few moving parts that need to be cleaned and oiled. Also a good clean of the electronics doesn't hurt.

 

[Scarecrow Boat]

GuiltyGear

Nice watch with a good story. Since it's a keeper, I'd advise to send it for a service. There's a few moving parts that need to be cleaned and oiled. Also a good clean of the electronics doesn't hurt.

Agreed that’s its worth sending for a service; although, it’s worth nothing- I believe Omega, if they still accept this caliber, will just replace the movement altogether.

 

[Donn Chambers]

Nice. Glad that the battery didn’t leak. I ruined a watch once doing what you did — leaving it sitting for several years. Luckily it wasn’t worth that much.

 

[FREDMAYCOIN]

It’s worth a ton to CVV! His mother gifted it to him.

 

[cvv]

Scarecrow Boat

Agreed that’s its worth sending for a service; although, it’s worth nothing- I believe Omega, if they still accept this caliber, will just replace the movement altogether.

I was considering that, but from reading these forums sending back to Switzerland did not seem like a good idea (too many things replaced to make it "new").

I am fortunate to live about a 40 minute drive to a Omega Boutique though that has someone on-site that can do repairs. Would you suggest that route or just go to a high-quality watch repair shop?

Thank you!

 

[Modernism]

Nice. I like the pre Bond, I think it still looks very cool. Deffo get a decent service for peace of mind. On site repairs will work out a lot less than them sending it to an Omega service centre if it doesn't need the movement replacing, but check out their reputation online, if you can. If someone had a crappy experience, chances are it'll be online somewhere. Depends what you want to spend on it. UK wise, a quartz isn't a cheap service sending to the service centres, it's about 450GB. Prob same in dollars these days

 

[Omarrye]

C cvv

I was considering that, but from reading these forums sending back to Switzerland did not seem like a good idea (too many things replaced to make it "new").

I am fortunate to live about a 40 minute drive to a Omega Boutique though that has someone on-site that can do repairs. Would you suggest that route or just go to a high-quality watch repair shop?

Thank you!

I’d just leave it without a service if I were you. Just take the battery out if you plan to store it again.

 

[padders]

Don’t send it to Omega if you value the accuracy and competitive rarity of the 1441. I suspect they will swap it for a 1438 or 1538. As noted above, they don’t service recent quartz stuff, they swap out. Also case components like bezels are no longer available separately so again I’m not sure what benefit you’d get from a very expensive service costing maybe 75% of the watch value. See how it’s running as it is, it may be just fine and can be adjusted for rate by you. It’s tidy for an early one. Most Merc hands PreBonds are grotty, very few have survived that nicely.

 

[chiefenergy]

Wear it.

 

[pbrob]

chiefenergy

Wear it.

Absolutely. Enjoy!

 

[The SIgnalman]

HRH Prince William, the Prince of Wales almost always wears a quartz Seamaster, which was a gift from his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. And if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me.... 😀