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HELP - purchase a watch to remember my deceased father

K
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Let’s me preface and say that I do not know anything about watches. Neither new/vintage or automatic/quartz. I just wear Seiko Sport 5 automatic watch, which I appreciate.

My father passed away a few years ago (due to cancer), and I’m coming to realization that I don’t have any momento / keepsake to remember him by. Since I now have a son/daughter, they won’t have any memory of their grandfather either.

Since the only precious jewelry I would wear is a watch, I would like to:
* acquire a watch made in 1948 (my father’s birth year)
* acquire a watch made in 1979 (my birth year)

And when I pass, I would like to leave these to my kids for keepsake to remember the men in the family.

I would also like to wear these watches for normal use and/or for occasions.

For past few months, I’ve been using keywords to search for watches from 1948, and I’m drawn to Omega watches...maybe because I also noticed the NEW Omega Seamaster 1948 line released couple of years ago, which can be my 3rd watch eventually when I can afford it.

I’m willing to spend a 2-3 grand on both watches above (1948 / 1979) but I really don’t have any clue in terms of fair price, or quality of watches.

For 1948, I was drawn to this watch, but seems really expensive, and also wondering if there are Automatic watch from 1948, which are also jumbo sized.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Om...-/203189277580?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

For 1979, this looks pretty nice. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Omega-Seam...-/184632059349?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

I’m here to just really learn and get advice. Any advice on the model and price of watches would be amazing. If you have suggestions on 1948/1979 pairing of watches, that would be great!

Or if you have something that you are willing to take pictures and share the quality so I get a baseline, that would be amazing as well.

Thank you in advance for your help,
Kenny
 
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STANDY
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So $2-3K is enough to get the watches you want but come with several months of searching and knowledge needed prior.

My advice is use the money to put towards a new Seamaster.
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/omega-seamaster-1948-limited-edition-introducing
6D6D87BC-C3C4-42A2-A3A1-0BA24ED0B1E6.jpeg




Think of this watch as the watch you bought to celebrate your fathers life.

The sentiment of what you want is great and sounds solid but not as easy as just buying something from those dates hassle free.

I bought a vintage engagement ring in the town my mother grew up overseas after she passed so I can understand the thinking.

Good luck and welcome.
Edited:
 
Shabbaz
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Sorry to hear about your father. Great gesture to buy a watch.

Anyway, first watch is refinished. Second one overpriced.

I would step back and follow OF for a couple of months. Narrow down what you want and then go for the hunt.

With your budget you can buy some great omega's. Although 1979 is'nt the best period of omega. Maybe it's a idea to let go those birthyears because the best omega designs IMHO were made in the 50's and 60's. Birth year watches are great but I'm from 1976 and omega was'nt at the top then. I rather give my kids a beautiful constellation iso a funky 70's omega
 
Screenshot_20201017-071947_Gallery.jpg
TimeODanaos
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Welcome, Kenny. I completely understand where you're coming from, and I wish you success. I agree with Shabbaz on (nearly) all points. In particular, NB the seller of the second watch has a bit of a reputation - quite expensive refurbished watches and frankly excruciating write-ups are their schtick. Nothing wrong with that, but you can do better.
As Shabbaz says, Omega had a real wobble in the face of the 1970s/80s quartz crisis, and so did lots of others. FWIW, I would save buying the new (or maybe the original) "1948", and look for a decent 1979 Datejust. Just my 2c - good luck!
 
Rudi99
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Hi @kennyklee and welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear about the passing of your father, but I think it is a great gesture to acquire these two watches as future heirlooms.

I would recommend a 1948 Seamaster for the first watch. They were mass produced and it is not super difficult to find one, but like said above, it won't be something you will find so easily or quickly. It might take you months to gather the info and to narrow down the two watches you want, but I think it will be definetely a rewarding experience, given the special role these watches will play as mementos and heirlooms of your family.

The 1948 Seamaster is an iconic watch made by Omega. It was the birthyear of the Seamaster series itself. The original looked something like this.

This is mine and very similar, but from the year 1958, by then it suffered some alterations already but this looks close.

IMG_20210123_144439.jpg


About the second one, I am not sure, as I don't know much about Omegas in their 70s and 80s.

To help you with your research, you can maybe usd this to track down watches to the year:

Screenshot_20210124_123756.jpg


Like @TimeODanaos said, a Rolex Datejust from this time would also have a great design and be wearable for generations:

1_DJ16030_sn93227_watch.jpg


Good luck with your hunt,

Rudi
 
TimeODanaos
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There's a thread on here called "Early Seamasters" you might want to look at, if only to see how tricky a territory that can be, especially as 1948 was its launch year. The other thought, if you're looking at something commemorating 1948, is the Omega Centenary itself. Again, you'll want to take your time, browsing learned opinions on here, no rush.
Edited:
 
Shabbaz
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But if you go for a 1948 you need to do your due diligence. Lots of minefields out there! But you can always post here before you buy. Not links but pictures if you can. Good luck!
 
Spruce
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Three further points to consider:

1. Most of us remember the watch/type of watch our dad’s (mum’s) wore. My dad gave up wearing watches when he retired in the mid-seventies. Notwithstanding that I remember that he always wore a black dial Arabic numbered 34mm watch that he 'acquired' serving in Germany during WW2. As a partial consequence, when I started getting interested in old watches, I was always attracted to that type of watch.

2. Do you intend to get a very valuable watch that may become a 'safe Queen’, only worn on special occasions or a less expensive/ostentatious everyday watch that you’ll look at 24/7 and remember your dad.

Also remember your kids will remember you wearing your every day watch. If that’s likely, go for a robust watch possibly in stainless steel.

3. You’re not limited to birth year watches. Many of mine coincide with my 21st birthday and are the watches my parents might have given me if they’d thought to give me a watch. I was actually given a nice Smith’s Astral when I was in my mid teens which was still running well a few years later.
 
ConElPueblo
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You should be able to find a jumbo (36,5mm) Seamaster with a serial number that fits a 1949 production date with that budget, but you may have to wait.

The real problem will be to make sure that it really is a 1949 production and not 1948/1950, as the available serial number lists aren't 100% accurate. The Seamasters etc. of this age doesn't typically come with extracts (a document you pay for Omega to publish stating details such as production dates etc.) due to the relatively high price of the extract compared to the watch.
 
amcclell
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Hi Kenny, welcome to the forum. Your plan for birth year watches sounds very nice. For 1948, there are nice autowind watches available but finding parts for these old ones is getting much more difficult. We collectors tend to baby these old pieces and wear them sparingly unless we know they are in very good condition. I would suggest that a manual wind from this era may be better in the long run, as there are fewer parts to wear out. The Omega 30T2 is an outstanding movement and Omega built variations of these calibers into the 1960's as the 26x and 28x series of movements. There are lots of parts available. The ebay link you have in your post is hideously priced. If you watch this forum, you will find non-chronometer 30T2 examples with original dials for $800 - $1600 depending on condition. Note that dating a watch to the exact year is difficult without paying for an archive search. The Omega serial number chart shows 1947 for 11M and 1950 for 12M.

In 1979, for reasons stated above, Omega movements were not as robust but they were still ok. My sister-in-law's father has a Seamater from this time that his parents gave him upon graduation from university. He wears this every day and gets it serviced every 5 years. It is in perfect condition and will eventually be passed on to one of his grandchildren. Rolex were better than Omega but will put you over budget. If that is a problem for you, you could look to Tudor, which were also good.

Good luck with your search.
 
K
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What an amazing community here! Thanks for the kind words and giving your input.

From what I gather from thoughts above, buying the recently released 1948 Seamaster might be the better option for the grandfather heirloom, and go for Rolex datejust for 1979.

This is probably the best option for a watch newbie, and least risk of over-paying/scammed.

I will keep y’all updated through my search.
 
K
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Shabbaz Shabbaz
Sorry to hear about your father. Great gesture to buy a watch.

Anyway, first watch is refinished. Second one overpriced.

I would step back and follow OF for a couple of months. Narrow down what you want and then go for the hunt.

With your budget you can buy some great omega's. Although 1979 is'nt the best period of omega. Maybe it's a idea to let go those birthyears because the best omega designs IMHO were made in the 50's and 60's. Birth year watches are great but I'm from 1976 and omega was'nt at the top then. I rather give my kids a beautiful constellation iso a funky 70's omega

This watch looks really awesome.
 
SkunkPrince
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I want to point out that the serial number lists are only approximate. If you want something to leave your kids, get a new watch and wear it every day. Make it a part of you. That's what matters, not when it was made.
 
wagudc
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Any 1948 watch Is going to be a blue skies only watch. So, I would consider a 1948 Bulova (or Hamilton) which are quite nice and can be had for a couple hundred, then get the 1948 Seamaster reissue when you have the money. 1979 is a hard time for watches, right in the middle of the quartz crisis.
 
Dan S
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Knowing that a watch was made exactly in 1948 will be a potential problem. When I read your post, I thought that I would offer to sell you my jumbo ref 2505 with a 30T2PC movement, but I looked up the serial and found that it was 11.1M, which was likely delivered in 1947 instead of 1948. This led me to appreciate how challenging it will be for you. Do you know what serial number range you are looking for? The only way to know for sure that a watch was delivered in 1948 would be to pay for an extract of the archives, which is something that you would more likely be able to do after purchasing the watch.

This also made me wonder how you know that the watches you linked on eBay are from 1948 and 1979, respectively. Are you just taking the sellers' words for it? The first one doesn't even show the movement or give any serial number info.
Edited:
 
K
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Dan S Dan S
Knowing that a watch was made exactly in 1948 will be a potential problem. When I read your post, I thought that I would offer to sell you my jumbo ref 2505 with a 30T2PC movement, but I looked up the serial and found that it was 11.1M, which have been delivered instead 1947 instead of 1948. This led me to appreciate how challenging it will be for you. Do you know what serial number range you are looking for? The only way to know for sure that a watch was delivered in 1948 would be to pay for an extract of the archives, which is something that you would more likely be able to do after purchasing the watch.

This also made me wonder how you know that the watches you linked on eBay are from 1948 and 1979, respectively. Are you just taking the sellers' words for it? The first one doesn't even show the movement or give any serial number info.

Are people dishonest on Ebay about vintage watches? It’s a serious question since this is my first entry into vintage watches. Now that I know this is such a great group/forum, I know to post pictures/link here before the purchase.

Thanks so much for reaching into your collection for consideration! Very kind.
 
Dan S
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K kennyklee
Are people dishonest on Ebay about vintage watches? It’s a serious question since this is my first entry into vintage watches. Now that I know this is such a great group/forum, I know to post pictures/link here before the purchase.

Thanks so much for reaching into your collection for consideration! Very kind.

Not only are people dishonest, they are also ignorant. And not only on eBay.
 
amcclell
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Dan S Dan S
Knowing that a watch was made exactly in 1948 will be a potential problem. When I read your post, I thought that I would offer to sell you my jumbo ref 2505 with a 30T2PC movement, but I looked up the serial and found that it was 11.1M, which was likely delivered in 1947 instead of 1948. This led me to appreciate how challenging it will be for you. Do you know what serial number range you are looking for? The only way to know for sure that a watch was delivered in 1948 would be to pay for an extract of the archives, which is something that you would more likely be able to do after purchasing the watch.

This also made me wonder how you know that the watches you linked on eBay are from 1948 and 1979, respectively. Are you just taking the sellers' words for it? The first one doesn't even show the movement or give any serial number info.

I was thinking the same thing as Dan. I have a 11.5 million serial number, early production 260 (next generation of 30T2) that I will be selling at some point. It is right on the cusp but I have a feeling it may have been cased and sold in 1949.
 
Shabbaz
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K kennyklee
Are people dishonest on Ebay about vintage watches?
I mean this in a good way. But thank god there are still people like you in this world. Post your watches here and OF will help you with your purchase! Enjoy the hunt!
 
Dan S
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If it really matters to you that the watch was delivered in 1948, Longines could be a good option. If you upload a few photos of the watch (showing the numbers on the movement and caseback) to their website, they will send you information from their archives for free, typically within a few days. So you could even do a check before buying. You would be looking for roughly 7.5M serials.
 
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