Hello braintrust,
First post to the forum so please be gentle. I'm a die hard vintage Hamilton man but I'm considering broadening a bit after seeing an Omega Flightmaster at a local watchmaker. It was nearly love at first sight. The watch is in good overall condition with the original band, fair to good case with "radiant" brush lines, faded but visible plane on case back, and is in good running condition. According to the watchmaker, he bought from the original owner (cough) But as a newer watch enthusiast (and not a rich one) I've been doing lots of research; but still have a few lingering questions and concerns (particularly around the dial). I've posted my hastily taken, crappy photos. I'm completely new to Omegas so any help or pointing to resources would be appreciated.

1) Dial
-Is Exactly what color should the dial be with appropriate patina? Should it be grey on the inner ring and brown in the sub-dials?
-Should there be tritium lume dots at the 3,6,9 position like the ones on either side of the Omega logo? This was doesn't.
-Should the large second hand, and the sub-dails at 3 and 6 both be orange hands or yellow or was this variable by year?
-Do Omega service dials have "T-Swiss-T"? I'm basically trying to figure out if the dial is original or not. Gut says no.

2) Pushers
-Most of the color has gone off the pushers. If I purchase this watch, should I replace them? If replaced with other vintage sets, will value be maintained?

3) Overall
-How many years where they produced? I've heard '69-73 but also heard until mid-late 70s.
-Is the AM/PM (I think 910?) version any more or less valuable? Is the Cal. 910/911 movement better/worse, cheaper/more expensive to service, etc.

I've searched online and ebay for prices and they seem a bit all over the place. I'm wondering if the experienced Omega folks on the forum would think its worth taking a shot at in its current condition or waiting for a better one. Sorry for so many questions. Thanks in advance.
~Nick

 

Hey Nick, welcome. These are great watches and easy to fall in love with IMHO. I'm not an expert, but that dial looks pretty pristine to me. Possibly a service dial? The blue airplane hand, hour hand, and minute hand also look like possible replacements. It's hard to tell with the photos being a bit blurry. I've seen these sell from $2,500 to $3,500 give or take on each end. I've also seen these listed as high as $5,000 at a brick and mortar vintage shop. Crazy price IMO.

As for replacing the crowns and pushers, as long as you keep the originals, should be ok. As someone once said to me, that case has a lot of holes in it and replacing the crowns and pushers will help keep moisture out. That being said, some people really prefer to keep them original, so it's really a personal choice. Can't really comment much on your other questions.

Hopefully some experts will weigh in. Some better photos will also help.

 

Hi Nick:

Welcome. I'm no expert, but I have a flightmaster (one that I've had since this past winter but have never shared with the group until now, mostly because it was in service for a while then it took me a while to decide whether to keep it or flip it!) and I can attempt to answwer some of your questions. See below:

And here's mine. This was a case of taking a gamble and losing - I hoped that the watch was better in person than in eBay pics but it was sadly the other way around. But the watch is growing on me and I plan to keep it for a while.

 

I decided on a 910, with luscious chocolate subdials for both esthetic and potential to increase in value reasons. Seems like I read the 910 was manufactured for a year or so.
I also wanted to insure no water incursion (vapor or liquid) and opted for replacing anything with a gasket, keeping the originals.

Servicing fees I would think the same for either.

Prices are what they are, but usually within a range($2-4k USD) depending on visual and service condition, and with or without original bracelet.

Love the chocolate and green contrast

 

Andy K and M.D., Thanks for the wisdom. This is all uncharted for me as a newbie and I truly appreciate your perspective. Andy, I know you feel yours was a bad gamble, but it still looks like a great daily wearer. Since I'm not really a collector, I don't "need" perfection, but would like as clean an example as I can afford. Tex, that's a beauty! While my gut instint leans toward the 911, that green really pops and I love the dial. My only lingering question is about the dots at the 3,6,9 position. Tex's has them, others don't. Not sure what to make of that. I'm going to swing by the watchmaker again this week and take a closer, more patient look. My research and reading here has made me fee much more prepared for the follow up. I likely won't purchase from him and will probably look to buy from a member of the forum when I'm ready to pull the trigger.

 

My "Master of Omega" book shows "dots" with 910, no dots for 911.

Ad copy/boxes show no dots, even at 12, but that was changed very, very soon, some slipped out.

Best to look for green/no green to distinguish at a glance.

Service dials, I do not know.

 

My 910 has no dots.

 

Some slipped out all right....very cool.

 

One place to check out is hqmilton.com. They usually have one or two in stock and their pricing is reasonable, especially given the fact they are a brick and mortar shop. Jacek is well known and is a good guy to work with. Good luck with your search!

 

Amazing piece. I agree that the brown tropical sub dials are a killer. What makes this stands out from the rest is the sublime condition. Congrats!

 

The no dots is a rare bird as it was only produced for the very first batch of the FM.

 

Let me try here:

1) Dial
-Is Exactly what color should the dial be with appropriate patina? Should it be grey on the inner ring and brown in the sub-dials?
I have seen both. From my experience, it seems like the inner sub dials changed to tropical are pieces that have never seen much sun. Whereby the topical dial ones are never safe queens.

-Should there be tritium lume dots at the 3,6,9 position like the ones on either side of the Omega logo? This was doesn't.
Both versions are available.

-Should the large second hand, and the sub-dails at 3 and 6 both be orange hands or yellow or was this variable by year?
For the professional ones made for the pilots, they should be in yellow and the commercialized ones in orange.

-Do Omega service dials have "T-Swiss-T"? I'm basically trying to figure out if the dial is original or not. Gut says no.
No. Service dials will NOT have the T. Thats how I differentiate the service and original dials. Lucky for us.

2) Pushers
-Most of the color has gone off the pushers. If I purchase this watch, should I replace them? If replaced with other vintage sets, will value be maintained?
Yes you should. I don't see why not. It will not diminish the value so long as all parts are still with you.
There are 2 types of colored pushers on the chronograph.
One with a split (common) red and yellow
And the other (rarer) just a single yellow color. This one is all original and correct for the pilot version.

3) Overall
-How many years where they produced? I've heard '69-73 but also heard until mid-late 70s.
Do a google. I cannot remember.

-Is the AM/PM (I think 910?) version any more or less valuable? Is the Cal. 910/911 movement better/worse, cheaper/more expensive to service, etc.
910 is definitely more valuable as they are lesser in the market, and the green appeals more to the purist collector. Both should cost the same to service. Why would it be different?

I've searched online and ebay for prices and they seem a bit all over the place. I'm wondering if the experienced Omega folks on the forum would think its worth taking a shot at in its current condition or waiting for a better one. Sorry for so many questions. Thanks in advance.

No I will pass on this one. I don't like the dial; the tritium hour markers seems to be washed off.
And honestly, nothing on this piece really attracts me.

 

Thanks @reficul_x , I think you pretty much filled in the remaining gaps for me. If the seller is motivated, I may take a shot, but probably not. It did, expose me to a "new to me" model and I can start my hunt for the right piece to balance budget/condition. Will also check out hqmilton.com and others.

 

You might consider setting up an alert on WatchRecon. I just did a search and got a hit. http://www.watchrecon.com/?query=omega+flightmaster+910

 

Thanks @efauser , I will definitely do that. The local watchmaker sold his Flightmaster so the hunt begins!

 

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the advice and tips from the forum. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be buying my Flightmaster from a forum member. However, I came across this onePurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network on the bay while researching and was shall I say "confused." I hesitate to post because I don't know if this is a forum member selling and mean no disrespect if it is but I'm here to learn so be gentle. When viewing this item on the app, it shows 9 bids from 8 bidders and 19 retracted bids. Is there any other way to look at this other than shill bidding? I'm seriously asking because to my newbie eyes it looks to be in good condition, but the retractions make it a little scary. Any insight appreciated.

 

I don't think they are retracted bids, but automatic bids, put in a max bid and once that has been bid over, it becomes invalid, you then have the option of increasing your max bid. the bids in grey are automatic bids that have been out bid as it were. This seems like a nice example so if you want it you are probably looking at another 1000 1250 usd on the current price. There is one on watchrecon for sale at 2500 usd but i haven't looked at the watch so not sure if its worth that.

 

Thanks for the reply @lillatroll. Initially, that's what I thought too but the app shows the number of retracted bids. That was my concern. The automatic bids make sense.

 

Well then the possible answer is that the seller wants a lot more money than he has been offered so far and he is pushing up the price via a friends account. It might be worth sending a mail to the seller and asking him what he would want for the watch, if he comes back with a silly price then you can move on straight away, if he asks for what you are comfortable with paying then you get the watch you want. I have done this a few times and sometimes you get a good deal some times you pass or bid on it and hope. The key is to be patient, they are not rare watches and sooner rather than later you will get the watch you want.