Hello guys. I am in no way a watch aficionado, I only use what my parents used to give me. My family recently moved houses. We happened to unearth some of my late father's watch collection while we were packing.Upon researching, I found out that one is called a Pie Pan. The pie pan has a stuck winder which doesn't turn or extend to change the time, the other 3 have functional crown parts. They all still work. I believe all of them had no exposure to any watch treatment/service because this is the first time I've ever seen them, and I'm 25 years old now. The three are Constellations, the little one is a Ladymatic. We have no plans on selling them, but we plan on taking them to an official Omega store to see how much it'll take to clean them and get the Pie Pan winder to work. Can anyone help identify them or their model numbers? Also, an estimate on how much it'll cost to restore/clean/repair them would be really really nice. I apologize for the really poor quality of pictures. I tried my best to take pictures that look like how you guys take pictures of your watches. Let's call this watch A for reference. Watch B Watch C: Ladymatic:
Alright, may I know why I should not let Omega touch my watches? Also, do you mean not to let Omega or not to let ANYBODY AT ALL service them? Thank you.
Using the search function, I found this post, among many threads, that sum up the reason. https://omegaforums.net/threads/what-do-i-have.70884/#post-892695
Omega has a history (as do other watch brands) of changing out old components for new ones, including dials, hands, etc. This removes the “vintage” charm, not to mention the value, from these pieces. If you send them to Omega, they will not give thought to preserving originality - by going to an independent watchmaker (plenty of recommendations on this board depending on where you live) you will have more say over what gets done to your watch.
Omega will destroy the "vintage" aspects of the watches. Kind of like replacing that "old" dashboard on the 65 mustang with a brand new one with Sat radio. There are hundreds of threads here that discuss why Omega service is bad for vintage watches like this. Do your research and find a trusted independent watch maker. I am sure people on the forum will have recommendations. take your time with your research. You cannot "undo" a bad service.
I live in the Philippines, a southeast asian country. Hmm. I'll have to check all my friends to see who are real watch enthusiasts who can point me in the right direction.
Recommending Nesbitt's is fine if the OP is in the US. If he's in the UK, or the Philippines, not so much.
Gotcha! How small my world view can be at times. I was just recommending a place that did a fine job on my Connie. I would assume if he was on another continent he would just ignore my suggestion, but thanks for looking out.
It's alright. Do you guys have a ballpark figure of how much it can take to clean and fix the stuck winder on the pie pan? It's okay if it's in your countries' respective currencies.
Not really sure how much it would be to fix only a certain part of the watch. When I sent mine in for service they recommended a full service, and they did change quite a bit of things I wouldn't have even known were an issue. The way it works for Nesbits is you send it in and they give you a quote within a week or two. Another plus is they sent me back all the original components that they replaced. So in some ways you would be able to hold onto your father's "original" watch while getting an overhaul.
What model are you referring to. Servicing costs can vary depending on manual/auto, time only/chronograph, date/no date etc.
They all need to be serviced, after so long, the movements will be dry. Find a good watchmaker, someone recomended. Hopefully someone from the phillipines will chime in here. In asia, i imagine the price of a service might be cheaper, for a straight service with no parts required, i used to pay about USD$60..
Sorry after hitting post I had that feeling that something was missing. The watch that I had serviced was an Omega Constellation ref#168.045-038.845 cal 751. Here is a picture