One year ago I bought this lovely Omega Dynamic Geneve from the States. Although I recently bought an even nicer Speedmaster Mark II, this one gets sufficient wrist time. I love it's color, the size is great for my small wrist. I am looking for some background information on this watch. All the other examples I see seem to look quite different than mine. Can any of you tell me more? What reference number is it? Year of production, etc? Much appreciated!
I'm no expert but from what I found doing a quick look on the internet it looks like a ref 166079, which if correct dates it from 1970. from the pictures yours looks like someone has had a go of re painting the dial, and not very successfully to be honest. Apparently these early ones were prone to being damaged and it is not often that one comes across a nice original one. As I said I am no expert so I could be wrong about the dial but it does look a bit of a mess compared to the two examples I found on the internet.
Looks like a 166.175, probably a caliber 1010/1012. Dial is refinished. Smooth top on the case and lack of trim on the date window are the indicators that OPs watch is not one of the earlier caliber 5xx watches.
Thanks for the information guys. I would say it is the 166.175 based on the other pictures I found. I don´t really mind if the dial would be repainted. It was a bargain and I love the Geneve Dynamic, true 70 vintage style, of it anyway. And it runs smoothly. Yours is also very nice, X350 XJR! Something totally different of the blue-metallic styled ones you see a lot. Does anyone of you guys know a place where to buy the tool 107? And perhaps the red plastic caseback/bracelet opener?
I saw one of the red caseback openers on the bay last week and the tool 107's pop up sometimes. There was a member selling the crystal lift tools in the for sale section here. You can use a generic crystal lift and case wrench if you do not want to hunt around for Omega branded tools. I just picked up my first Dynamic this week.
Those red case openers pop up on the internet from time to time but they are not hugely common, as people who buy them tend to keep them for their own dynamics, so if you want one buy it while you have the chance, it might be a while before you get the chance again. There are 10 available on ebay right now, well now there are 9, because I just bought one, I bought a dynamic back in January and have been looking for the tool since then.
There's usually one or two dynamics in the window of Austin Kaye on The Strand. Overpriced, of course ;-)
The shiny stainless steel case looks rather like one of mine, which is a NOS Cal 1481 from 1973 pictured below. I also have an earlier Cal 565 from 1968 with a blue dial that looks rather different, shown second.
Found one of those little red bracelet/caseback openers on the Bay. Now there are 7 left Nice watches Sgt. Bilko, I like the colors on the first one, and I love the applied logo on that second one. Although the Dynamic Geneves are not my favorite vintage Omegas, they appeal to me because of their style, form and their price. Anyone is able to buy one of those. And I love the fact you can change the bracelet. So I'll be checking the interwebs now and then to find myself a new, better, version. Perhaps one with date and time. But now I have seen one with applied logo, perhaps that one will be on top of my list.
I collect vintage watches as a shared hobby with my father. It was something he started and I became more involved over time. Between us we now have close to 40 watches, though I'm starting to feel it's too many because servicing is becoming a headache. We generally concentrate on more classic designs from the mid to late 60s. The first Dynamic is literally as new and we even have the original price tag. The second Dynamic was a recent acquisition but my father has now taken to wearing it every day because he likes it so much. I think the Dynamic is an interesting watch and very much of it's time. Some of them feel like they were designed by the same people who chose those avocado green bathrooms with orange towels and I imagine Austin Powers would have liked the Dynamic. If you are looking for another one to use regularly I would try to find out the movement first. There is nothing wrong with the 1481 that was co-developed with Tissot but all the the 56X movements were pretty legendary and I'm actually surprised they were used in the Dynamic but it shows how good Omega was at that time. I think it's safe to say Omega quality did start to suffer in the 70s and it took them a long time to recover. Reports suggest Omega are much improved lately but I don't own a modern watch.
As an afterthought the 1481 date can be changed by simply pushing in the crown and then releasing it. Some say they are not reliable but unless you were changing the date fifty times a day as a sort of weird hobby I wouldn't have any concerns. I wore a 1971 Geneve with a 1481 movement every day for a long time and it has never given me a moment of trouble. I have tended to see more problems with the later 10XX movements.
I've just found that red Dynamic case back opener on eBay being sold from the US. Does anybody know if these work on all Dynamics? It's called an "MI 57 Original Omega Swiss 206 watch case opener red vintage dynamic" EDIT: OK it seems the 107 is needed to remove the crystal but not entirely essential. http://forums.watchuseek.com/f20/geneve-dynamic-i-circa-1968-a-921783.html#post6821865
I ordered one of these, I sent an enquiry asking if this can be used for switching the bracelet on the dynamic and the reply was yes. I didn't think to ask if I needed something else.
I ordered one as well! Now I'll be on the look out for some nice leather strap. Hoping to buy a Omega tool 107 in the near future.
Or like mine, Dynamic, I guess those sold with the watch was labeled Dynamic and the one sold by Omega as aftermarket was labeled 206