I realize that I posted in the wrong threat earlier - sorry

I just bought this on Ebay - felt really good about it and then started feeling suspicious that it may be fake... any thoughts? I have always loved this dial style and saw this one for a good price with the nice patina and kind of impulsively jumped on it. I have 14 days to return it after it is shipped to me. If not fake, can anyone describe to me in more detail what I just purchased? I was feeling suspicious of the lack of reference number on the inside of the case and the lack of omega symbol on the crown. I only own one other Omega and am by no means an expert.

 

It's a refinished dial, but not a fake.

 

great to hear - any other info that anyone could provide about the watch would be much appreciated. It kind of looks like two screws are missing in the movement? Do you guys think I should keep the watch? I payed $300 for it

 

I really like the "rancheroesqe" look of it... I wonder what the original dial looked like. Is it possible that it used to be a ranchero and when they painted over it they did not rewrite the distinction? I am not totally sure what "refinished" implies... Thanks again for the help!

 

That's why it was refinished in that pattern. It was probably a generic Omega dial on the caliber 267, and put in a case that wasn't marked with a reference number in hopes of a n00b without experience buying it because it looked like the VERY popular Ranchero. The odds of it originally being a Ranchero are slim to none. It would have a reference number marked on the inside of the caseback, 299x (maybe with a - 1, or some other single digit suffix) if it were.

Frankly, $300 is about $175 more than anyone here would have paid because the value of that watch is for the movement as parts. I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but I'm a believer in straight (blunt) talk.

 

Thank you very much for your honesty and providing me with that information. When I receive it in the mail I will decide if I want to keep it or not. If the refinish looks nice to me I may just keep it... Still a cool watch for a broke 27 year old medical student to wear and use to assess heart and respiratory rates. I am happy to hear that it is at least a genuine movement. What are your thoughts on the "refinishing" job? Not sure if that is a taboo thing - is anything not totally original frowned upon by you guys? The watch still looks pretty sharp to me and has a nice tropicish look.

 

I'd be more worried about the water resistance, because as a doctor (and med student in the second half of school) I had to wash my hands constantly, and the watch will get wet a few times a day/week. So make sure you get it serviced and sealed, and pressure tested to 30M.

 

If you are needing a tool watch to measure pulses, you might want something a little bigger with a proper sweeping second hand. You don't want to crane and strain your eyesight in low light conditions all the time. When I was doing research for this watch, I read a great story about a paramedic who used it for 25 years on the job and loved the styling the simple stopwatch function.... I suggest the Omega Chronostop 'Fortuna" style , apparently (though disputed as most things are here) made for the Swiss/Italian market. It's a different shape to the standard one, but to me it's a thing of beauty and perhaps my most favourite watch of all...