My uncle died in 1980, and I found his old 50s or 60s Omega watch only recently. Sadly, it is in a deplorable state. I gave it to the local jewellers to restore, but they decided as it is missing a stem and crown in addition to requiring a considerable amount of work, it would not be viable to spend time working on it.
This was very disappointing, as I had set my heart on being able to wear it.
The watch has perhaps only sentimental value, but that itself is reason enough I think to post this query here.
I will be retaking the watch from the jewellers tomorrow. In the meantime, I attach a photo or two that I took of it. I will add more of the inside when I can.
Having read some posts here it seems that the inside back cover will have idendentifying information as to the model which I hope will enable me to source a correct replacement crown and stem.
Any comments will be much appreciated.
Many thanks.
V.

 

Unfortunately, the watch has seen water ingress. Some of what you are seeing may be loose debris but some of it may be deposited on the dial. It's hard to tell until a watchmaker opens it up and does some careful work on the dial. The dial will never be great, but it might be acceptable if you're not picky. The elephant in the room is the state of the movement. How badly is it corroded?

 

Stem and crown are the least of your worries.
The jewelry store was correct, it's not worth fixing. You would be able to buy a similar / nice example for half the repair costs.
I'm guessing you have no intention of selling it so it's sentimental.
The movement could be really bad. Next step is to have someone open it up and get an estimate. Snaps some pics of it and post here.

 

Thanks for your amazingly speedy and helpful reply!
The jewellers had opened the watch while I was there, prior to their later assessment. On initial inspection, as far as I can recall, the movement seemed to be fine. Apparently, the water ingress did not appear to be extensive, or to have adversely affected the mechanism.

 

Will do thanks.

 

I'll let Dan or one of the watchmakers chime in here, but you can send it back to Omega and have them do a full restoration, but most likely they would throw away the existing dial/hands and replace them with service equivalents. If you went that route, it would cost more than buying a good-condition equivalent, but maybe that's worth it to you.

 

Thanks. Perhaps sentiment, like many things, has a price. At this stage I'm already beginning to think that if there is value in it to someone, the cold economic fact may deem it wise to sell it (somehow), and find a modest replacement to adorn this pensioner's wrist.

 

Good point, and this is worth considering for a family piece with sentimental value. It really depends what type of restoration the OP is interested in. It can be sent to Omega in Switzerland, and they will perform a soup-to-nuts restoration for a cost. This may involve replacement of the dial, or complete repainting of the dial. Other parts may also be replaced with new-but-authentic service parts. They will also get it running well and provide a warranty. The watch will look pristine, but may lose some of its "originality" along the way, if that matters to you.

An independent watchmaker might perform a restoration with a lighter touch, by simply cleaning the existing dial as much as possible, replacing the crown with one that is period-correct, and hunting down any parts that are needed to repair the movement. Most likely, this would be less expensive than a factory restoration, but still probably more than the value of the watch.

So there would be a difference in price and also the final outcome. Some people want their family heirloom to be restored to like-new condition, and others would like to retain more of the watch's history.

 

Very interesting points. Much appreciated. I'm finding the potential cost a rather daunting prospect, admittedly.

 

As long as you aren't wearing it or trying to use it, there isn't really any more harm in letting it be and waiting until you have the funds to service it if the money is a concern. Pulling numbers out of my ass, I can't imagine a full restoration from Omega to brand new status would cost more than $2k; I'd imagine an independent watchmaker, not replacing a ton of the parts, would be under $1k.

 

Fair enough. Maybe it's best to just hold onto it for now and see what the future brings.

 

Ah, okay, well I think from that I'll bring it to an alternative jeweller for review. I think the previous chap was of even a considerably greater vintage than said timepiece, and although he might well have enjoyed (?) the clean-up operation, he likely baulked at the idea of having to search for locate and obtain the necessary replacement parts.

 

My opinion,

Case looks like it covered in wrist cheese. Remove the strap and go over the case with a toothbrush and nothing else (no soap etc.)

If the bristles are soft. Trim them down so they're a bit stiffer to remove the heavier areas.

Bezel looks gold filed, but buy a jewelers rouge cloth and go over the case.

Dial is shot. Best suggestion is to get it refinished and if you find a place. Ask if they can polish the indexes

New crystal (or polish), replace the hands (not original). New stem and crown (new crowns gold plated as apposed to older gold filled/capped)

All in all. Could be looking at about $400 on or about

Take picture of movement and get case reference number on inside caseback

DON

 

On a watch like this, you can't just take it to any watchmaker or jeweller. Find one that specializes in vintage (would be helpful to know your country), and/or is Omega certified (that way, if Omega for some reason still has any parts available for this, they can order it from them -- but more likely than not, a lot of the parts will need to be custom fabbed).