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Help Identifying Omega Automatic

J
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Hi,

Would appreciate help identifying this Omega Automatic I inherited from my father. My guess is that he acquired it in late 50's-mid 60's. My father has passed so I don't have much else to go on. I looked at many pics on omegawatches.com and here, and couldn't find anything similar. I haven't had the courage yet to pop off the back to look inside; I haven't worked with watches so will want to research a bit more to make sure I don't make anything worse.

thanks!

IMG-6350.jpg IMG-6353.jpg IMG-6354.jpg IMG-6356.jpg
 
Canuck
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The information you are asking for will be available once the case back is removed. We would need to see any stamped numbers inside the case back (ignore “scribbled” ones), and also the mechanism. Are the case lugs bent? The watch might have had a tough life, evidenced by the cracked and crazed crystal.
 
J
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Hm, after reading the "morons and do-it-yourselfers" thread, I'm now a bit reluctant to crack it open myself. 😀 There's a local place in town that does vintage watch repair and restoration, I'll see if I can get them to crack it open for me so i can have a look inside, and see what options they give me. It would be nice if I could get this in wearable condition again.

I take it that it's too difficult to guess the type/vintage of this Omega from exterior pictures alone?
 
janice&fred
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I would guess 50's gold filled. As Canuck mentioned it appears to have slightly bent lugs so better to have a pro disassemble it if you choose to have the movement serviced and at that time the lugs can be gently coaxed back into position. 👍
 
DON
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Based on case design. Early late 40's early 50's. 28.10 caliber.

Lot of wear to the case. Lugs bent to accommodate the incorrect spring bars. Guessing 16 mm between the lugs now

I would just leave them as is. Trying to bend 4 lugs back into place could distort the case frame or worse. Snap a lug off.

DON
 
janice&fred
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DON DON
Trying to bend 4 lugs back into place could distort the case frame or worse. Snap a lug off.

You would be surprised how easy it is to realign bent lugs. Most accomplished watchmakers do it all the time. Most often they simply tap them back in place with a small wooden or plastic hammer while positioning the watch case on the edge of thin wood. Of course the thicker the lugs the tougher it gets, like for instance Rolex oyster lugs but they still do it. The lugs on the OP's watch will move back in place quite easily. 👍
 
SkunkPrince
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DON DON
Lugs bent to accommodate the incorrect spring bars. Guessing 16 mm between the lugs now.
Because, goodness, who wanted to spend another $1.50 on a new strap when you could just mutilate the watch case?!
 
Canuck
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It would be safest to have the lugs repaired by someone who can strip the case and anneal it, first. Metal hardens as it is bent. It hardens even more when straightened. During straightening, lugs have been known to snap off. I recently acquired an Accutron 214 with two bent lugs. Someone (not me) attempted to straighten one lug, and fortunately, they quit when the lug cracked. The lug didn’t fall off. A goldsmith friend declined attempting the repair. So I got out the borax, ethyl alcohol, gold solder, and acetylene torch. The cracked lug soldered nicely, and the process resulted in the case being annealed, so both lugs straightened with no further problem. The repaired case.

4DA3413F-B0B1-486A-B8C4-EF40D25AB71F.jpeg
 
janice&fred
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Canuck Canuck
It would be safest to have the lugs repaired by someone who can strip the case and anneal it, first. Metal hardens as it is bent. It hardens even more when straightened. During straightening, lugs have been known to snap off. I recently acquired an Accutron 214 with two bent lugs. Someone (not me) attempted to straighten one lug, and fortunately, they quit when the lug cracked. The lug didn’t fall off. A goldsmith friend declined attempting the repair. So I got out the borax, ethyl alcohol, gold solder, and acetylene torch. The cracked lug soldered nicely, and the process resulted in the case being annealed, so both lugs straightened with no further problem. The repaired case.

4DA3413F-B0B1-486A-B8C4-EF40D25AB71F.jpeg

There's a lady that sets up at the flea market in NYC on weekends and she usually has a handful of forlorn not running 214's for cheap. I will see if she has anything for next to nothing and snag them for you if you want. If they can be had for like $10 and have usable dials and parts it might be good for you to keep them on hand?
 
J
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Good eye....Just measured and it is ~16mm between lugs. My Dad bought one of those NATO style watch strap sets (different colors to match his suits I guess 😀 ) , and I can see that even those straps are too wide for the "extended" lug width. Guessing he likely had "the guy at Zale's" perform this mod to accommodate the straps. Getting more and more curious to see this watch opened!
 
J
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What is the proper lug width for this watch? I'm hoping to take this to a watchmaker soon; any inputs on what a "reasonable" price would be to get this in "wearable" condition?
 
SkunkPrince
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J jknuckey
What is the proper lug width for this watch?
I'll hazard a guess that it was originally 11/16". 16mm is too small and 18mm is too large. They chose to size down, I think.
 
J
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I brought the watch to a watchmaker to get it serviced and restored, and he kindly took some photos for me.

The 16M serial number places it in 1958.

I wasn't able to find any information on "2862 / 2865 4 SC" (although I did find a 2862/2865 3 SC that looked similar but had a "honeycomb" face and slightly different looking hour markers)

Anything you could tell me about this watch would be greatly appreciated!

Inside back:
Omega Watch Co
FAB SUISSE
SWISS MADE
PLAQUE OR L.

60(?) MICRONS
HF(?)
2862
2865 4
SC

Movement:
Omega Watch Co Swiss
Twenty 20 Jewels
16026107

Also, it doesn't show in the pictures, but the watchmaker says it's a Caliber 501 which does look similar to pictures of 501s I've seen on the internet.

IMG_0013.JPG IMG_0016.JPG IMG_0015.JPG
 
SkunkPrince
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Based on this information, it is definitely not US collection nor is it old enough to have been imperial sizes, anyways. Likely 18mm. Also, since the lugs were obviously bent only on one side, it was an amateur job. The gold is very thin. Good luck in getting them straightened.
 
masteroftime
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That is probably the nicest cal. 501/500 and dial that I've seen in a while. If I were you, I'd want to try and get the lugs fixed. if that is not possible, you may be able to source a replacement case on ebay.
 
J
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The watchmaker completed a service and overhaul, which included re-aligning the lugs. I'll be picking it up soon so will now how successful that went. 😀 I'll post the "after" pics

Could someone explain the meaning of the markings on the inside back of the case?
- "PLAQUE OR L. 60 MICRONS" : Gold Filled?
- "HF" mark: The casemaker? I found some resources on markings/symbols, but didn't see anything resembling this
- "2862 2865 4 SC" : Any decoder rings to decipher this?
 
SkunkPrince
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J jknuckey
Could someone explain the meaning of the markings on the inside back of the case?
- "PLAQUE OR L. 60 MICRONS" : Gold Filled?

Not in the common use of the term in the US jewelry industry.

Plaque is sort of "applied"
Or is "gold"
L is mechanically bonded (G is electroplated)
60 micron thickness, which is better than 20 but not by much.
 
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