Discovering more about vintage Omegas

Hello all,

So I've been posting a few threads on here in the past to try and brush up on my knowledge with the intention of purchasing a vintage Omega. I want it only to wear and am not a collector by any means (although I did read someone mentioning how 99% of collectors start off this way...) but I want to do my due diligence so I don't get duped into buying something for 10 times what it's worth - as I very nearly did if it wasn't for all your help in my first post.

Anyway, came across this fantastic looking watch only to discover it was a listing from April 2015 but thought at least it would give me a good chance to brush up on my knowledge should a similar watch come up in the future: http://forums.watchuseek.com/f29/vintage-omega-geneve-blue-dial-cal-1030-ref-136-0104-a-1716170.html

Based on what I've learnt so far, this looks like it would have been a pretty good deal? The dial was probably repainted(?) but that's not the end of the world, right? Omega Geneves did come in a blue coloured dial as far as I'm aware. I'm not sure about the movement, ref number calibre. From what I've discovered on a few sites, the calibre 1030 was found in watches from the period ~70s(?). The Ref number makes sense for a watch of those specs(?). I can't see a serial number on the movement but not 100% sure where to look but if I were to find one, is there a way to find out if it belonged to that era watch or not?

Basically, I'm trying to do a case study into discovering a good vintage buy or not! Any help would be very appreciated.

Look here first, https://www.omegawatches.com/planet...ache=1&cHash=980d7c24f9a7543da57fcc860f71a74e, using the case reference numbers on the back cover. In this case 136.0104. This is the description of this watch.

1975

GENÈVE


ST 136.0104


FEATURES
INTERNATIONAL COLLECTION

1975

DIMENSIONS



CASE

Stainless steel

CASE BACK TYPE

Screw-in

DIAL

Silvered, with luminous hour markers (tritium) and luminous metal hands.

CRYSTAL

Armoured hesalite

BRACELET

Leather

FUNCTION



MOVEMENTS
TYPE

Manual winding (mechanical)

CALIBER NUMBER

1030

OTHER

Created in 1973
17 jewels
With central sweep-second hand

TECHNICAL DATA
WATER RESISTANCE

30 meters

Now the painted dial may make it look good, but if you ever decided to sell it, no collector would buy it. Again it would have to go to someone who is just looking for a nice watch. I also see no mention of any recent service. Assume it will need it. And as far as vintage, well yes it is, but I prefer something a like bit older. My first vintage watch was a Seamaster from 1960. Best bet is to look at the FOR SALE section. Some real beautiful watches there, and they are mostly all original. You can not post there yet, but you can PM the seller and try to make a deal. Be very careful where you look and use every resource you can find. Especially the OMEGA VINTAGE DATABASE. Good hunting.

Amazing! Thanks @novina - the Omega Vintage Database looks like a brilliant place to find more info. Yeah it is a trade-off re the dial. My preference is to go original but I do love the look of a clean blue dial.

You can find plenty of clean dials from that era, you dont need to buy a redial. Even watches that look rough can clean up well with a bit of tlc. Before you buy anything, cross reference the movement and case number, a quick google search of the case number will give you a lot of information. Looking at images of similar watches will give you an idea of the watch should look like.The real hard bit is patience, waiting for the right watch to buy for the right price. Searching ebay sold, Chrono24 and collector square should give you an idea of the price.