Complete novice looking for his first vintage Omega. Budget?

kkt

Do all those brands have spare parts from 1960s models pretty readily available?

danielhurst

In terms of Longines, where does that stand against Omega and Tissot?

Bumper

016


Hello Daniel,

Longines, IMHO, are still a little undervalued, esp the 50's to 60's models. The quality of their movements is comparable to Omega & in some models, even better.

Here is your classic Omega workhorse, the 30T2. Legendary movement, etc, etc.

Here is the Longines 280,

And here is the Omega 30T2 in all its chronometer rated glory.

So, difference between the standard 30T2 & chronometer rated 30T2? Apart from the regulator, you have polished screws, edges of all the bridges are polished/rounded off, the most noticeable are the teeth on the gears, beveled, polished & lightened like a car's flywheel.

So which of the 2 non chronometer movements has a better finish? Which looks nicer to you? Which looks like it had more time & effort spent finishing & polishing. The devil is in the details, train yourself to pay attention to the little things, (and this should also apply to the rest of your life, your wife, kids, your job) and trust your eyes. You may not know much about something, but humans tend to notice quality. Easiest way to explain this is ; shopping with the wife.

When i'm out shopping with her, be it for a sofa, a tv, furniture.... the most expensive thing in the shop always catches her eye. It's because it looks good, you can't disguise quality.

good luck, do lots of research. 👍

Bumper

016


Hello Daniel,

Longines, IMHO, are still a little undervalued, esp the 50's to 60's models. The quality of their movements is comparable to Omega & in some models, even better.

Here is your classic Omega workhorse, the 30T2. Legendary movement, etc, etc.

Here is the Longines 280,

And here is the Omega 30T2 in all its chronometer rated glory.

So, difference between the standard 30T2 & chronometer rated 30T2? Apart from the regulator, you have polished screws, edges of all the bridges are polished/rounded off, the most noticeable are the teeth on the gears, beveled, polished & lightened like a car's flywheel.

So which of the 2 non chronometer movements has a better finish? Which looks nicer to you? Which looks like it had more time & effort spent finishing & polishing. The devil is in the details, train yourself to pay attention to the little things, (and this should also apply to the rest of your life, your wife, kids, your job) and trust your eyes. You may not know much about something, but humans tend to notice quality. Easiest way to explain this is ; shopping with the wife.

When i'm out shopping with her, be it for a sofa, a tv, furniture.... the most expensive thing in the shop always catches her eye. It's because it looks good, you can't disguise quality.

good luck, do lots of research. 👍

slique12

Some members have rightly advised you to be patient and learn which will also give you time to save up a bit more towards your 1st vintage watch. And while it may be tempting to bump up your current budget, I would advise against that. When starting out in vintage watches, I believe it is better to start small relative to your personal budget so that any mistakes you make (and we all make some) aren't significant in case you ever need to sell and buy another watch.

Of course, if you have your mind set on a more expensive brand (Omega is an example) then you may have no option but to raise your budget to manage a decent, authentic example.

R RancheroMaster

I agree with what has already been said - at that price range you're best looking for a Longines. The finish quality of their movements during the 1950's and 1960's was exceptionally good, arguably better than Omega. Cyma is also an interesting brand who made some excellent movements.

Regarding the jewel count - above about 15 jewels it doesn't really matter. 17 jewels is regarded as 'fully jewelled', and is the standard minimum for a high quality vintage watch.

STANDY

A lot of Swiss watch brands worth looking into
Swiss watch less than £50 at a antique shop ( paid $70 AUD )

STANDY

Knew what it was from years of buying watches. Couldnt pay for it any quicker when I saw the $78 price tag. ( still haggled $8 off for cash.... )

The best advice in this game is research.


http://wornandwound.com/affordable-vintage-croton-nivada-grenchen-antarctic/

Google " vintage Nirvada watches " read a bit

danielhurst

Ah OK, so above is 15 is what I should be looking for. What does that Jewel count mean though?

In terms of Longines, would you be able to me what models/pieces I should be looking for?

Thanks! 😀

Regarding the jewel count - above about 15 jewels it doesn't really matter. 17 jewels is regarded as 'fully jewelled'

In the workings, you can see where it says "X Amount of Jewells", what does this mean? Is the higher the number the better the watch?
!

Bumper

Then there are quirks like this 😉