Hi, I am going to start a very modest collection. My pockets aren't very deep. I have a Planet Ocean which has been my daily wear for about 13 years. I picked it up second hand from ebay back then. It has been serviced twice, had the bezel replaced with a genuine one and it is on its second fake strap. I bought 2 straps off DHGate 4 years ago. Unfortunately, they don't sell branded ones there now, but they can still be bought from etsy at an extortionate prices, £40! I am looking to add a 1960s/70s Seamaster or Geneve to get me started. From what I see on the comments people don't go for watches that have had the faces restored. Why is that? I have seen some really tempting examples on ebay from South Korea.

 

The nature of collecting is to fetishize the rare. Thus pristine, unmolested, original condition is the standard all is measured against. But buy what you like.

 

If you see something you really like and it’s a stated redial and you would enjoy wearing it I see no issue with that. I personally avoid them as I tend to focus on the faults but this whole thing is supposed to be about wearing and enjoying unless your on another level and keep everything in a safe. Not just for safety but to maintain condition.

 

Just be careful of some vintage Omegas from South Korea; obviously not all of them are redials but those colourful Geneves from Korean are redials.

 

fundamentally, they’re less valuable in the market.

Accordingly, the trick is to NOT buy a redialed watch for the price of an original.

There’s a “right” price for everything, but usually redialed watches are being sold at prices intended to confuse/deceive a buyer.

Then again, it’s only money!

 

As said above, if you like the looks of a redialed or “restored” watch, then by all means- go for it. But don’t pay a collectors premium for it. The values of vintage watches are typically in their originality. Once they have been altered, they are merely worth the value of the remaining parts. So if a near flawless orginal Seamaster is worth say $800, a redialed one shouldn’t be worth nearly as much since it’s value had been diminished. But the people selling the “restored” watches would have you believe otherwise

 

Perhaps take your time and learn more about vintage before making a purchase.

 

This is a good intro to vintage watch hunting

https://omegaforums.net/threads/learn-how-to-fish.52603/

 

Thank you all very much for your replies. I will have a look at the how to fish threads and look on the ebay links here. I don't think I will be wearing the watches i buy very much as they will just get destroyed. The Planet Ocean has taken a battering. The new bezel and fake strap has made a huge difference.

 

I think something needs to be added to this. I won 300 bucks on the last Tyson Fury fight. I don’t regularly gamble but my coworker was giving me a hard time thinking he was a boxing expert so I took the bet to shut him up. I collected my winnings and went directly to my buddies junk/antique store. I held up the money and said “look I want you to take this from me if you give me some decent vintage/new watches.” Usually he half ignores me makes me dig through all his junk. He moved quick unfortunately he only had a few pocket watches and then some ratty quartzes but every once in a while I do hit something decent there. So for now on I’m walk-in like I own the place even if I have to cover up a wad of singles so it looks like I actually have a roll.

 

One consideration that newbies often forget is the fact that vintage watches require maintenance. If you buy a frankenized or redialed watch with no collectible value, it can be hard to convince yourself that it makes sense to invest another $300 in a movement service. On the other hand, a historically correct survivor is worth maintaining IMO.

 

Welcome to the forum! The learning how to fish thread was a great resource for me when I started looking into vintage omegas. I definitely second giving it a read but as others have already said, it all comes down to what you like!

 

DSCF8686 by william Heron, on Flickr
The above is what is left of the bezel and strap of my PO. It has had a hard life on my wrist.

 

When I consider how much I have spent on servicing, a new bezel and a couple of fake straps I know it is an expensive hobby.