Help and advice on Grandfather’s watch

Hello all,


First time poster, haven’t perused these forums exhaustively but have done a bit more research over the internet as a whole, and I’m seeking out opinions and advice related to my Grandfather’s watch of unknown provenance, which is also missing lugs on one side.


The questions I’d like answered, or at least opinions on, are the following:

1. First and foremost, to confirm the watch is authentic
2. To get opinions on model/year, or at least an idea of which decade it’s from
3. Advice on best way to get the lugs repaired, considering I don’t want to go the donor replacement case route

I’ll post the pictures, then provide more details and information on the watch and related to the questions I’m asking.



Okay, so, I inherited this from my Grandfather, and have had it for maybe almost 15 years now and it’s sat in a box in a safe because I haven’t had the funds to justify repairing it. I’ve wanted to for years, but just didn’t have the disposable income until now (maybe, anyway, depending exactly how much it’ll cost, which is now seemingly more than I was hoping/anticipating).


My Grandfather was not a cheap man in terms of tastes, so I have no reason to believe it’s a counterfeit, the only thing that concerns me is that, like I’ve seen others say, I haven’t been able to find a watch online that looks exactly like this one.


Anyway, from my searches, it looks like it’s either a 50’s or 60’s era (thinking 50’s based on the austerity of it), but the Kreisler band seems to be from the 60’s(?). But this is based on the handful of comparable pieces I’ve been able to find online, like I said. So, definitely curious everyone’s thoughts. Obviously I intend to have the watch professionally repaired and serviced, so clearly they would be able to tell specifics based on the internal markings.


Finally, in terms of the lug repairs, as I mentioned I really, really do not want to proceed with the replacing the entire case with a donor route, as to me this would no longer be my Grandfather’s watch and would become a modified version of it. I do not, unfortunately, have the missing lugs in my possession, and I have to assume they are long gone unless they happen to be lying at the bottom of my mom’s jewelry box, but the chances of this are probably less than 1% (worth asking her to check, though). Because of this, I’d have to source a donor case just for its lugs, and I’m more willing to use lugs from a donor that are not an exact match but close enough than I am to replace the entire case with one that has 4 intact lugs, if that makes sense.


I’ve read that the process to reattach lugs is tricky (usually laser welding(?) is what appears to be the recommended path, and not everyone is able/willing to do this) and, more importantly, expensive, but I haven’t seen any numbers so I’m curious what I’m looking at here. If we’re talking many thousands of dollars, compared to simply replacing the case with a donor, then I might very well be able to be talked into it.


Finally, I’ve read that Omega is not to be trusted with these watches (which is crazy to me), is that true? Is that just like your local American Omega repair branch or even Omega Switzerland’s repair/restoration department? Just curious on this as I’d think they’d be the most likely to have the same/similar lugs on hand, but maybe I’m wrong based on what I’ve read.


Anyway, thank you all in advance for your time and assistance, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Buying a case and then snapping the lugs off and re-welding them on doesn't make sense.

Laser welding. Search says it can be done, but make sure you find a professional otherwise you'll end up with something a lot worse than you brought in

Watch is late fifties early sixties

You have the ears on one side as a sample. It will not be difficult for an experienced jeweler to make a copy of the ears according to the sample and weld them with laser welding.

Thanks for the replies. Interesting responses. I do not know if the watch works - I've started to wind it a little bit and nothing happened and I was too hesitant to continue as I didn't want to risk damaging it. I have no reason to suspect it doesn't work, I just figured I'm ultimately going to get this thing serviced, regardless, so they'll be able to spot/fix anything off anyway, in the off chance there is, with no need for me to risk damaging it by winding it up when something's amiss. Maybe/probably that's just me being overly cautious but, since I can't wear it currently, why risk it is my logic.

I had actually, before anyone replied, come around to the idea of replacing the case with an exact or "close enough" match, since I had (despite knowing they were not one and the same) made the realization that, wait, that's right, I can still retain my grandfather's case back which is much more critical of a component of it being his watch then just the case. I knew they were not inseparable, yet for some reason my brain just did not want to compute that I could replace the case without needing to replace the case back.

So, that's where I'm probably leaning now as I've read that it's either A. really expensive to get things laser welded (and that's before the need to potentially fabricate new lugs), B. very difficult to do it properly such that it's appropriately sturdy (i.e., comparable to original manufacturing strength), or both. Your responses, however, do have me still intrigued by the idea, so please correct me if I'm wrong there as if it's not much more expensive and it's not difficult to find someone skilled enough to do it properly such that it's just as strong, then heck, I probably will go that route just to keep it as complete as possible.

Separately, I've tracked down what appears to be an almost identical watch on Tim Mackrain's site: https://database.omegaaddict.com/members/display.php?mode=display&watchID=1092
Details of it are:

• Name Omega Manual
• Year 1964
• Case P-6313
• Dial n/a
• Jewels 17
• Calibre 600
• ID 1092
• Serial Number 21209180

So, I imagine mine is in that ballpark. Obviously I'll know its exact specifics whenever it is opened, but I'm presuming that, supposing I bring it to an independent shop with an Omega parts account, they will be able to source a replacement case if I decide to go that route? Or are the Omega parts accounts largely for internal components and something like a case is more of a secondhand marketplace find? Just curious, as I'm willing to track down a suitable replacement case as needed, but I imagine any respectable watchmaker will be able to source just about whatever is necessary (supposing they're not unicorn parts).

Finally, I'm located in South Florida, USA - does anyone have any recommendations of where to go or where NOT to go? There are a handful located in the Miami area (where I'm located) that I was intending on taking it to based on Google reviews, but I'm curious about everyone's input.

Thanks again for you time.

Yeah it's a D&A case. Would online/forums presumably be the best place to source something like this vs. a watchmaker?

And, realistically, does that mean my only option is going the laser welding route?

Thanks.

I’d find a replacement case. Your watch is gold plated so welding lugs will not only be cost prohibitive but the whole case will also need replating too. You can always keep the original case and put it back as it is now if you really want to.

Thanks everyone for all the help, glad I posted here. Alright so, replacement case is essentially the way to go, supposing one can be sourced. So then this leads me back to: is this something the watchmaker can/should be able to do (source a replacement case through their available channels/network) or is this going to be on me to source once they’ve opened it up and I’ve confirmed specs of what I need?

And if the latter, I’m assuming this site would be a good place to start but any other recommended avenues to pursue?

Thanks as always, you all are awesome and incredibly helpful. Cheers.

For vintage watches, finding the correct part is not always straightforward. It would be unreasonable to ask a watchmaker to source the replacement of an uncommon case (or any case for that matter) so it’s something for you to do, and then send the watchmaker all the parts needed.

Interesting, that’s the opposite of all other vintage/restoration industries I can think of (cars, audio, antiques) wherein the professional, not the client, is almost always tasked with sourcing the necessary parts for the restoration work. Anyway, if that’s how it is with watches, then so be it. Obviously I’m new to this so I appreciate you all helping me through.