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Crown warning

F
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So I just got my first vintage Omega. Super excited, but of course it has to come with a twist after I purchase it… “full serviced” supposedly. All original parts still I believe. After shipment the dealer tells me “hey be careful pulling the crown too hard. It does come off if pulled too hard. Because it is vintage, it is delicate and the crown can come off” I asked is it crown and stem or just crown. They stated just the crown.

Is this common for vintage omegas or is this sketchy and something I should take to be checked. Cause I’m assuming a crown coming off a “fully serviced” watch should not be a problem. Photos attached
IMG_6138.webp IMG_6143.webp IMG_6147.webp IMG_6148.webp IMG_6146.webp
 
JimInOz
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Seller is bullshitting to you.
Crown and/or stem should remain with the watch with normal use and not "come off".
I have many vintage Omegas and can pull the crown quite hard when setting time. They never "come off".
 
gbesq
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Total bullshit. This is an unethical seller and if this detail wasn't disclosed to you prior to purchase, that's a problem. Of course this can be fixed and it's not a major repair, but the larger question is WHAT ELSE wasn't disclosed. I would think seriously about returning the watch and insisting upon a full refund with the seller also paying for return shipping and insurance.
 
dsio
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Reminds me of one crummy dealer in the UK who is now banned but lied to a woman he sold a Cal 551 powered Constellation to, telling her the fact that it needed to be regularly wound in order to not stop periodically was because vintage Omegas like the Cal 551 are highly inefficient and that their winding system was not capable of keeping them running.

She was shocked that I would doubt his “expertise” when I explained and Archer backed up that a 551 winding system that isn’t in bad shape is far from inefficient and should be very capable of keeping it wound.
 
F
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JimInOz JimInOz
Seller is bullshitting to you.
Crown and/or stem should remain with the watch with normal use and not "come off".
I have many vintage Omegas and can pull the crown quite hard when setting time. They never "come off".
When I responded saying this should not be happening and I will most likely take it to a dealer to be checked they responded:

“the watch is recently serviced and runs perfect and it is not coming out if you treat it normally…it is just something I mention if someone buys its first vintage watch since it happened before with clients that pulled it strong at it at first” idk, I guess when I get the watch today, I should tug a little on the crown?
 
rendo
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Sounds like the seller is also the watchmaker and he had that problem with this watch.
 
Mark020
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My thought as well
 
PatinaPete
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Lots of crap being dumped. I bought a watch off eBay from one shown here and the seller said “oh this is a special type of omega with an indirect center second driven movement”. Here I am 30 days later ready to take it to the watchmaker because it clearly has a problem with the winding mechanism and I got screwed again. All puns intended. Nobody is safe. Everyone is a fraud. Happy Friday.
Edited:
 
Scarecrow Boat
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F Funky Monkey
hey be careful pulling the crown too hard. It does come off if pulled too hard. Because it is vintage
F Funky Monkey
it is just something I mention if someone buys its first vintage watch
Nah. He’s knowingly passing on a fault as a quirk of vintage to an suspecting buyer as a way to insure he keeps his money. This dishonest dealer talk directly translates to “it’s your problem now.” Return it, recoup your funds, and make them figure it out on their own time & dime.
 
Scarecrow Boat
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F Funky Monkey
I guess when I get the watch today, I should tug a little on the crown?
No, don’t do anything but initiate a return. Worst case scenario you pull the crown and it falls off. You then message the seller this and request a return/refund. They deny you and/or give you a horrible run around stating they fairly warned you. As I said above, let them deal with this on their own time & dime. Return it and work with a more trustworthy seller. You’ll find plenty of them on this forum.
 
Davidt
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I agree it's bullshit, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater - it depends what you paid. If you got it for a good price and was considering servicing it anyway, who cares. On the other hand, if you paid a dealer price for a serviced watch, absolutely send it back.
 
rendo
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I agree with David, but it looks like this was sold on Chrono24, so I would be surprised if it was a bargain.
 
Geezer
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The crown coming off by pulling hard sounds like something that could possibly happen if this model was using a split winding stem (like with a front loaded case). But that's not the case here.

Maybe the seller had this problem with a similar looking Omega front loaded watch and he's just confusing things.
 
F
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Davidt Davidt
I agree it's bullshit, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater - it depends what you paid. If you got it for a good price and was considering servicing it anyway, who cares. On the other hand, if you paid a dealer price for a serviced watch, absolutely send it back.
I definitely don’t plan on returning it. I have been searching for a couple months now and am pretty happy with my price and find. I definitely plan on giving it a little tug when I get it. If it stays firm, great. If it not, it’s okay. I’ll take it into a watch specialist and get it fixed. I would definitely personally let the seller know to call them out of their BS too. Easy to leave a review for them as well
 
Davidt
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Geezer Geezer
The crown coming off by pulling hard sounds like something that could possibly happen if this model was using a split winding stem (like with a front loaded case). But that's not the case here.

Maybe the seller had this problem with a similar looking Omega front loaded watch and he's just confusing things.
I was thinking the same
 
gbesq
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I'd be interested in knowing what the OP paid for this watch. Watchcharts.com currently has the average market price at $732. In this case, I would say a couple hundred more for the BOR bracelet assuming that it's genuine Omega.
 
JwRosenthal
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gbesq gbesq
I'd be interested in knowing what the OP paid for this watch. Watchcharts.com currently has the average market price at $732. In this case, I would say a couple hundred more for the BOR bracelet assuming that it's genuine Omega.
Endlinks are stamped 670 so at least that’s correct for the reference- length is always questionable but links are out there.

I would agree that the seller was warning about a split stem front loader for a new-to-vintage owner (I have pulled aggressively before with a weak split stem and had it come out), but the OP asked specifically if it was stem or crown and seller said crown which punts it back into stripped threads on stem and crown comes off easily.

OP, give it a few standard pulls and if it comes off then you know you are going to have to eat a couple hundred bucks for a watchmaker to figure out if it’s the stem or crown and know that these crowns are not available from omega anymore. The replacement crowns look different- which is fine if that doesn’t matter to you and you actually want your watch to be waterproof. But short of that you may be trying to hunt down another crown.
 
Dan S
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gbesq gbesq
I'd be interested in knowing what the OP paid for this watch. Watchcharts.com currently has the average market price at $732. In this case, I would say a couple hundred more for the BOR bracelet assuming that it's genuine Omega.
I would sell Seamasters with BoR bracelets for $1k all day long. If the OP paid that much, he can easily buy another without problems. I would certainly call BS on the idea that it is serviced.
 
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