Hello, My father in law had a steel Genev omega that he claimed to have bought for 60 bucks in the 70s in Italy. The watch appeared to look cheap to me an I thought it was definately fake. I had an issue with a new seamaster that I bought off of Amazon and was sending to Omega to have it serviced. I decided to throw in my father in laws watch too just to know for sure if it was real or not before throwing it away. Sure enough the watch was real. I decided to go ahead with getting it restored through omega and suprize him. This however opened a can of worms for me. I recently bought 2 watches that I liked and also want to send them to get restored. I'm having a hard time finding any info on these. I would love to hear any feedback. I will also post pics of my father in laws watch once I get it back. Here are the 2 I am looking for any info on. Year, rarity, value and opinions on getting vintage watches restored through Omega I believe this one is 14 gold and from the early 70s.
This is the other one I got on eBay. I believe is from 1936-1937 and also 14ct gold. I also sent it to omega but given the age it has to go to Switzerland to even get an estimate. I'm open to any information anyone has to offer on these and their opinions on getting them restored along with rarity and value. I don't plan on selling them but always interested in learning what exactly I have. Thanks again
A lot of members on this forum, and a lot of vintage watch collectors strive for originality in all their pieces. To maintain originality often times that means NOT having the company service the watches. Omega will do pretty much whatever it takes to make your watch look like new i.e. Repaint the dial, polish the case, replace hand/crown/parts. Sure the watch will look nice and new and fun great, but it will not be original therefore it can lose a significant amount of its value. So if you want to maintain originality it would be best to go to a trusted watchmaker and give them very specific details on what you want done.
That is good information. Thank you. I already decided to go ahead with my father in laws watch since I don't think he appreciates the vintage look. Getting the watch restored is the right thing for him I think. The 2 gold watches were just ones I picked up off of eBay since they looked interesting to me. My plan was to restore the one with Roman numerals since the dial was so rough but would reconsider if it's a rare model and would be appreciated more in its original state. I was actually thinking about giving to my wife since it resembles the popular Cartier model but much cooler IMO. The older watch from the 30s I really liked for myself... but again I wanted to learn more about it regarding rarity and value. Is it gold or gold plated ect.. I'm the most interested in options to have this one serviced through someone other than Omega and keep it original. Thanks again
After reading more threads I think I definitely want to get the older watch fixated up by a reputable watch maker and keep it original rather than having it restored through omega. Does anyone have a reccamendation as to where to send the watch? I am in RI in the USA. Also, I would still like any information anyone has to offer on either of the watches. Thanks
Both watches are in solid gold (14 k and 9 K). The second one probably has an English or Australian case. Maybe American for the first one. First one has a 620 caliber. A good movement but not a very moines after one. The second one has a 23.4 movement, which is more interesting for a collectionner. Both look genuine and are nice. But I do not think they are very rare or looked after.