hi all,

A few days ago I posted a picture of my grandpas watch I wanted to get identified but I finally got my hands on it and took better pictures. He bought it in Argentina and received it for his birthday in April 1966. It has been in a safe for 10+ years. My grandma says he bought it for him like this (with his initials on the clasp) but I haven’t seen an omega bracelet like this before. I live in Manhattan and would appreciate any recommendations on how to care for/service the watch. I was planning on going through Omega.

Any help with the watch/it’s caring is much appreciated. Thanks!

 

Members of the forum generally recommend against using Omega to service vintage watches, since they will often pressure you to "restore" the watch in ways that decrease value. Unfortunately, the hands are blocking the logo in your photos, but it appears as if the letters in the log are applied unevenly. Perhaps this was a sloppy repair done at some time. The appearance of the dial would be greatly enhanced if this could be fixed.

The bracelet is not necessarily made by Omega; it may have been added to complement the watch.

 

Hi dan thank you very much for the advice. I’m aftaid to move the hands because I don’t want to wind the watch but yes the letters are a bit uneven.

Are you able to identify the watch by any chance?

I’m going to look for a vintage watch specialist I guess. As far as dollar value goes I don’t really care I just want the watch to look as original as posssible and work well for as long as possible.

 

There's no real need to move the hands, since it's pretty clear the "OMEGA" logo is wonky, unless there is something really funny about the photos. However, I don't think you'd need to wind the watch in order to move the hands. You would pull the crown out to the "set" position, and move the hands that way. It's helpful to see the inside of the watch to identify the reference, but there are some expert members who might recognize it by eye. I used the word "value", but I could just as easily said "originality", "desirability", or "collectibility".

If it were mine, I would do is have the movement fully serviced by a reputable independent watchmaker with access to Omega parts. And if possible, I'd like to get the applied OMEGA letters straightened out, but obviously that is not absolutely necessary. If the crown is determined to be a replacement (other members will know), it would be nice to have it replaced by a correct crown during service. Definitely don't let anyone polish the case (you should strongly emphasize this to anyone who works on the watch) or refinish the dial.

Other members may have different opinions or advice, so stand by.

 

when you go to that watchmaker just ask to open the caseback first and from there most mysteries will be solved!

 

1950's

 

Got it. Thank you again for the help.

 

Thanks!

 

I don't know, it looks confused to me. With the sub seconds dial I automatically think 1950's with a cal 265/6/7/8. The applied " Omega " I don't recall seeing on the earlier calibres, only on 267 and 268. Watches from the Geneve line particularly, such as this 2903



The baton hands don't look right to me, I think they are wrong and should be dauphine, or maybe even the Alpha type seen on some earlyish Seamasters.

The dial has also been cleaned ( no minute markers ) and partially re-dialed ( sub-dial cross hairs )

All in all zero collector value, value would be only the case if solid gold ( more if Swiss and Omega, less if national production ) and the movement. Of course sentimental value does not have a price

 

The baton hands are damaged and some of the inlay has been lost, but they look correct with the black inlaid stick markers with squared-off ends. In my opinion, dauphine, or even alpha, hands would be very strange on this dial.

 

I disagree, IMHO stick hands would be very strange with this movement type ( sub seconds, and I'm assuming manual ) and the period that this movement type was in production.

 

You're right. Sorry, my mistake. I will defer to the experts.

One last observation I will make before retiring from this thread is that those thick rectangular markers would certainly be consistent with 1960s, which is when you say your father bought the watch (although you didn't say it was new at the time he bought it). This would be the last gasp of the 260-series sub-dial movements, e.g. cal 268 or 269, if that's what is inside this watch. In any case, we are engaging in a lot of unnecessary guesswork, which will be immediately resolved when you show photos of the movement and the inside of the case.

 

Thank you for the continued help. When I take it to a vintage watch guy I trust I will let you know what this actually is...

 

Thanks again for everything. If you’re interested I will update you when I find out what this actually is.