Asking your advice about this french cased 18k omega

[Green_P0ison]

Hello OF community!


I’m posting this thread because I would want to ask your advice about a watch that I’m considering to buy. I have 21 years old, I’m living in Belgium and I’m collecting watches for about 3 years. I’ve been reading threads on this forum for nearly 2 years (I learned so much! thanks to everyone contributing here!) and I progressively focused my collection on omega watches (mostly manual winding and automatic but also have some quartz ones and electronics). I will post a thread soon where I will present myself more in detail and post pictures of my entire collection. I’m a student so that’s sometimes difficult in terms of time and money to have such a hobby (i got the bug from my father). So I was trying to save some money for the last months to add a beautiful piece to my small but beloved collection. But regarding my limited budget I really don’t want to make a mistake and regret saving money for something that isn’t worth it..

Here is the watch (I really like dress watches that’s why this one caught my eye) :



I really struggled finding any information on this watch, I passed the last few days searching OF and the web to find a watch like this but I failed. Also the pictures don’t help so much as the quality is quite bad (already asked the seller for some better pictures but I don’t want to annoy him so much opening the watch a second time). My apologies for that, I really don’t like to post a thread without having found all the Information needed.

But here is what I know :

• it is for sure a french cased 18k omega : old omega logo on inside of the case, case maker’s logo : probably PGF, seller confirms that the watch has an Eagle hallmark on the exterior of the case (and I think I can see it on the 3rd picture), on the exterior of the case there is a reference : 645307 (but I know that this will likely not help as french case references are something appart and don’t match with Swiss cases references).
• IMO the watch seems to have a caliber 620 and seller is stating that its reference is : 19.xxx.xxx. So the movement can be dated to 1962.
• Dial : As I didn’t find any other watches like this one I can only make assumptions. My gut feeling says that the dial is authentic : the surface of the dial looks « omega like » and does not appear to be painted « cheaply » (as often seen on redials), the omega logo looks fine and nicely executed.
• Hands : Aren’t they too small?
• Case : looks absolutely stunning but I wonder if there is a shock between the 7th and 8th hour marker and also on the bottom left lug (can be seen on the 1st and 2nd picture) - waiting for some pictures from the seller to confirm and if not visible I will ask him directly.

What do you think about this watch regarding the fact that the seller is asking 550 euros for it? As stated I really struggle to find any information on this watch so your expertise would be really helpful and would reassure me. Sorry for the long thread, and for my lack of knowledge..


And thanks in advance for reading my thread and for your reactions. 😀

 

[Dr No]

The buckle and strap alone might be worth 550 Euros if it's hallmarked.

😀

 

[Green_P0ison]

Dr No

The buckle and strap alone might be worth 550 Euros if it's hallmarked.

😀

Really? I didn’t know that the strap and buckle could fetch these kind of prices 😲 So I should ask the seller if the buckle is also 18k gold ?

 

[LesXL]

Hello fellow compatriot!

What is the diameter of the case? And not sure if it is my phone, but pictures are low quality and I can really see anything of the movement (blurr).

Better pictures would help

Ps: congrats on being interested in the hobby so young! There is hope 😀)

 

[X350 XJR]

Hands look fine for this type of watch, be aware the watch is small, 30-32mm.

 

[Green_P0ison]

LesXL

Hello fellow compatriot!

What is the diameter of the case? And not sure if it is my phone, but pictures are low quality and I can really see anything of the movement (blurr).

Better pictures would help

Ps: congrats on being interested in the hobby so young! There is hope 😀)

X350 XJR

Hands look fine for this type of watch, be aware the watch is small, 30-32mm.

Thank you so much for your replies! Yes I knew the watch is quite small (32 mm). But I have a small wrist and I think the watch should wear nicely. I’m still waiting for some news from the seller, I’ll keep you informed! 👍

 

[gatorcpa]

I think the watch is very, very close to this one from the Omega Vintage Database:

https://www.omegawatches.com/en-us/watch-omega-other-omega-ot-14782

Regarding the "nicks" on the case, I would ask the seller to take a picture of both sides of the watch. I think there is a chance that what you are seeing could just be reflections.

The crown down picture will have your answer. Good luck!
gatorcpa

 

[Dr No]

Green_P0ison

Really? I didn’t know that the strap and buckle could fetch these kind of prices 😲 So I should ask the seller if the buckle is also 18k gold ?

Ask for a close-up of the back of the buckle.

 

[Green_P0ison]

gatorcpa

I think the watch is very, very close to this one from the Omega Vintage Database:

https://www.omegawatches.com/en-us/watch-omega-other-omega-ot-14782

Regarding the "nicks" on the case, I would ask the seller to take a picture of both sides of the watch. I think there is a chance that what you are seeing could just be reflections.

The crown down picture will have your answer. Good luck!
gatorcpa

Yep, it seems to be exactly the same watch : same case (just french cased), same dial, same hands, same caliber. Thanks a lot for finding the information! 👍

For the moment the seller is not very communicative. But he seems legit (owns a jewellery shop).

Dr No

Ask for a close-up of the back of the buckle.

I’ll definitely try to confirm with the seller if it’s a gold buckle.


Thanks for your precious help! I’ll keep you informed how this goes! 👍

 

[Dries]

Hi there from a fellow Belgian collector in his early twenties,

regardless of gold value and (potential) parts value, I wouldn’t be spending hard-saved cash on such a small watch with an even smaller caliber. I have absolutely tiny wrists, and with these thin gold dress watches I don’t go below 34mm. As said earlier, this is looks like 30mm.

Are you hell-bent on gold? I’m sure with steel or gold-plated/filled you could get more watch for the money.

enjoy the ride!

 

[Seemeister20]

Hello @Green_P0ison, as simillary stated from @Dries i would advise you to only buy a watch that size if you had a similar one on your wrist before. My wrists are also really tiny and the sweet spot of watch size for me is 34mm. Hard to believe but every single mm more or less makes a ton of a difference. 33mm is the smallest I would personally go, 32 or even 30 could be a unwelcome surprise if you put it on your wrist for the first time.

Not want to talk you out of this watch, I would just advise to make sure that you really feel comfortable with the size and try on a similar size before buying.
All the best, Max

 

[Green_P0ison]

Hey everybody. I was thinking about all your feedback during the last days. And, In the light of your opinions I decided to proceed to a self-criticism. I realised that sometimes it was better not to rush things too much and rather wait in order to potentially be able to afford something better. Thanks for this lesson! So let me explain, the seller of the aforementioned 32 mm gold watch was not very responsive, he only confirmed to me that the strap buckle is not gold (so I lost 550 euros in accordance with what @Dr No said ). The seller is in no rush to sell but has hinted that he may be able to lower his price in the next few months. So I will wait and try my luck again if I feel like it. So I decided to go on, without haste, looking for a better deal when I had free time. And that's when I remembered that a few months ago I passed next to a watch that I liked a lot for lack of funds. Thinking about it, I realised that today I was able to afford it (it is a little more expensive than the watch covered in this post). So I asked the seller if the watch was still for sale, which he confirmed. It is an Omega Constellation 168.005 cal 561 from 1966 (23.xxx.xxx).

Here are some pictures :



The watch really appears to be in good aesthetic condition and is IMO perfectly authentic (apart from the strap and the plexi obviously) : beautiful dial with gold lumed hour markers and correct matching gold lumed dauphine hands, clean movement, «dog leg» case with some scuffs but not polished and I also think it has a correct crown. The buyer would like 700 euros for the watch (already after heavy negotiations). So I’m considering buying this watch instead of the other one because even if I really like small dress watches (see this thread : https://omegaforums.net/threads/need-your-opinion-about-this-1944’s-omega.129829/ ) I’m really a big fan of the constellation designs from omega’s « golden era » (I already have a 168.005 « pie pan ») and I think this watch might bring me more satisfaction than the other as I already have many dress watches. Also the price seems fair to me. Do you think I’m correct in making this decision? As I’ve mentioned before, It would be a big investment for me so I really would not want to buy a watch which in the end would not bring me complete satisfaction. Thanks a lot for the precious advices that you all already gave to me and hope I’m not annoying you with all my questions.

Greetings!

 

[Dr No]

Looks original to my eyes, including the crystal. 700 Euros seems like a fair price so long as it runs halfway decently.

Art

 

[ConElPueblo]

Unless there is lume on the dial that I cannot see, the hands are mismatched with the dial. At €700, I still don't think it is a particularly bad deal 😀

 

[Green_P0ison]

ConElPueblo

Unless there is lume on the dial that I cannot see, the hands are mismatched with the dial. At €700, I still don't think it is a particularly bad deal 😀

Actually the lume is inside the hour markers. But I agree it’s hard to see on the picture. It should be the same dial as this one (picture of a 168.005 from internet) :

 

[Peemacgee]

Pretty good deal IMHO.
Will need a service (some evidence of rotor rub and regulator hard over) so factor that in.

 

[Green_P0ison]

Ok so I’ve just bought the Omega 168.005. When the watch arrives I will drop it to my watchmaker for service. When it’s done I’ll keep you informed with some pictures. 👍

 

[Green_P0ison]

Hello everybody! So I’ve just picked up the watch today from my watchmaker. As promised here are some pictures :










Thanks again for all your help! 👍


Greetings

 

[jeppe888]

looks beautiful, congrats on your purchase.
i hope it meets your expectations

 

[Sherbie]

Lovely pick up with nicely defined lugs still

enjoy