Hello;
I have an old watch from my grandfather (long passed away) that's been languishing in a drawer for many years. I've taken it out and worn it occasionally. It does run and keeps time well. I was considering passing it down to my son who's now grown, as a gift for his college graduation. So decided to do a bit of research. Only history I have on it is that my grandfather acquired it around 1950. To my knowledge, he believed it to be a genuine Omega, but it's certainly possible he knew it wasn't legitimate... Which, based on the reading I've done here, that's my working assumption at the moment, or at the very least a bit of a Frankenwatch situation. So, please help me out and confirm if this is indeed a fake, or if perhaps the movement is Omega, but the rest not? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks so much!

OG

 

couple of additional notes.... I do recall being told that the original crown was replaced at some point, which jives with the fact that the current one is clearly not Omega. Also, the serial number does seem to correspond with the right timeline, but I suppose the forgers at that time knew that as well.

 

Looks OK to me, Caliber 30T2 in nice condition dating to around 1950 or a year or two either side of 1950.

It could be that the case was a locally produced item due to the customs restrictions on importing gold watches to most countries at the time, thus the question, where did the watch originate?

Do you have a photo of the markings inside the caseback, they will tell the story.

Also have a look on and between the lugs to see if there are any gold hallmarks.

 

I opened it up again and took a closer look... Sure enough, there is a 30T2 mark that I hadnt noticed before. Thanks for pointing that out!

There are some letters after that mark, that due to the angle, I cant quite make out. Possibly "PO" or "PC" .
There are no stamps on inside of case back. But there are some very very faint hand etched numbers. 'V3380' possibly?

The origin is mostly likely eastern Europe, or Palestine/ early Israel, as that's where he was around that time.

 

Genuine caliber for sure. Maybe a case from a non Swiss country where the caliber has been cased - certainly not an Omega Swiss case.

And I am rather sure it is a redial.

But whatever how genuine it is, it is a familly watch. And it is not a fake, probably only a redialed non Swiss cased Omega.

 

Thanks !
We're very happy to have it, and that it's still running, and especially that it's a genuine Omega movement. The rest is interesting, and want to collect as much info as possible so I can relay the story to my son when I pass it down.

Any input on whether it would make sense to have work done on it? Can an Omega crown be found for it, and potentially a new crystal and dial? Would definitely replace the crystal if possible, but the dial maybe should stay as is?

 

Confirming what has pretty much been said already:

1) It's a real Omega movement.
2) It's not an authentic Omega case - probably South American or maybe Eastern European as you surmise.
3) The dial was repainted ("redialed" in our nomenclature) at some time in the watch's past.

 

I say family history trumps all else. Great looking piece regardless. If there's an old school watchmaker near you, that person should be able to swap the crystal and crown for good aftermarket parts quite easily (barring idiosyncrasies for the non original case). The dial might be more difficult and not worth the effort to update/repair/change. That's my very personal opinion. If it were me, I'd get it serviced and only swap broken or badly worn parts, get a nice presentation box and gift it to my son at the appropriate time with a nice story to go along with it. I hope you and your family enjoy the watch for many years to come!


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As it has several issues from a collector point of view, and as it is a familly watch, I would keep it as is. But a service could be a good idea. The movement looks good and it will probably work well for a long time if properly serviced from time to time.

 

I would like to at least find an Omega crown. Recommendations on how to determine the correct crown/stem, and where to order it from?

 

Any advice on reputable place to order an omega crown?
Also, reasonable amount to expect to pay a local shop for full service and cleaning of the movement?