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Help Wanted! Advice on a vintage Omega Railmaster

B
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Hi Guys. I’m looking for some advice on a recent find at a charity shop believe it or not.

The watch is naked .. no box or papers.

I have not seen the same one listed anywhere online. I have seen similar but not the same.

It IS keeping time.

I have an Omega Railmaster. Very Old. I did take it into an Omega Boutique and the staff there assured me it was definitely real. I do need to purchase a genuine Omega strap due to the current one being an aftermath ‘ cheap ‘ one. This will set me back (£450 inc stainless steel clasp).

The watch is very original. No work done on it in the time it’s been around. Omega did mention it would cost me £350 to send to Switzerland for a service which they would carry out ‘ necessary’ work and I would be charged for it also a list of some ‘ advisories’ Which I’m a bit skeptical of due to things that are original may be replaced with new pieces which I’m sure would significantly drop the value of the watch and make it a ‘ hybrid ‘ of a new and vintage watch.

I feel like the only benefit of the service would be a piece of paper to go along with the genuine authenticity of the watch due to it being naked with no box or papers.

- I do need advice on what would be the best route to proceed with

- I would like a ballpark figure

- I PERSONALLY (with no expertise) feel like buying a genuine strap and clasp is the right thing to do however the service maybe isn’t.

IMG_9857.webp IMG_9855.webp IMG_9856.webp IMG_9860.webp IMG_9861.webp
 
Dan S
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I don't know who told you that no work has been done on the watch, but hopefully the hands and dial can be salvaged. The strap is not an issue, put it out of your mind.
 
redpcar
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I think the hands will be easier than the hour markers 😲
 
Davidt
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First of all, it does look genuine, however, someone has scraped all the lume from the dial and hands (presumably as it was radium) and clumsily replaced it with that white compound which looks horrendous.
The first thing to do is research relumers in your area/country and get in touch to see if they’re willing to look at removing that white goo and reluming it properly. Then it likely needs a service and clean from a good independent watchmaker.

The strap is the least of your concerns and even when everything else is sorted, I wouldn’t bother getting an Omega one.

So how much did you pay???

Edit: although actually it looks like one of the later/service dials with tritium, hence the T Swiss Made T
 
B
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Davidt Davidt
First of all, it does look genuine, however, someone has scraped all the lume from the dial and hands (presumably as it was radium) and clumsily replaced it with that white compound which looks horrendous.
The first thing to do is research relumers in your area/country and get in touch to see if they’re willing to look at removing that white goo and reluming it properly. Then it likely needs a service and clean from a good independent watchmaker.

The strap is the least of your concerns and even when everything else is sorted, I wouldn’t bother getting an Omega one.

So how much did you pay???

Edit: although actually it looks like one of the later/service dials with tritium, hence the T Swiss Made T
I appreciate the reply mate.

My girlfriend picked it up for me for £3.

I have no idea where to start or how to really conduct to the watchmaker what exactly I want e.t.c. I think by the sounds of things I’ll just chuck it in the back of the wardrobe.

I was hoping it would be a bit more straightforward and fetch a few quid but doesn’t seem the case. Not bad for £3 thought I suppose.
 
Dan S
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You did very well to rescue it and it's a bargain at that price obviously. But it needs restoration. The hands aren't hard to do, but cleaning the paint off the lume plots of the dial will be a delicate task. Worth it, but it needs to be done by the right person, not just a typical watchmaker but a specialist.

Contact this person: https://www.alchemistrelumer.co.uk/
 
Davidt
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If you don’t fancy taking on the work you could list it in a no reserve auction on eBay a get a few thousand quid for it
 
Davidt
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You could also send it to Omega for refurbishment but it will cost a lot more than £350. I’d say around £1500. Maybe more.
 
B
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Thank you for the reply Dan, I appreciate it mate.

I’ll definitely look into that. I’ll give them a phonecall tomorrow and keep you updated (if you care lol). Exciting times I guess.

I’m just really clueless about it all and don’t want to be taken for a ride by inexperienced people or people that can take advantage so I appreciate it.
 
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Davidt Davidt
If you don’t fancy taking on the work you could list it in a no reserve auction on eBay a get a few thousand quid for it
I see. In your own knowledge do you have a ballpark figure it could fetch in the current state ?

Also if they necessary work is done i.e service and relume e.t.c what would the ballpark figure be then ?

Cheers
 
B
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Davidt Davidt
You could also send it to Omega for refurbishment but it will cost a lot more than £350. I’d say around £1500. Maybe more.
When I went into Omega they said they would HAVE to send it to Switzerland which is a set fee of £350 plus whatever work is done to it.

Also, why would the Omega strap not be necessary? (Just curious)
 
redpcar
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B barrymylad
When I went into Omega they said they would HAVE to send it to Switzerland which is a set fee of £350 plus whatever work is done to it.

Also, why would the Omega strap not be necessary? (Just curious)
Collectors look for originality. The original Omega strap never would have survived. It's the least of your worries as we have said. A good quality leather strap is fine. A new Omega strap will set you back several hundred and won't add to the value (at least dollar for dollar). If you plan to keep it and want an Omega strap, go for it.
 
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redpcar redpcar
Collectors look for originality. The original Omega strap never would have survived. It's the least of your worries as we have said. A good quality leather strap is fine. A new Omega strap will set you back several hundred and won't add to the value (at least dollar for dollar). If you plan to keep it and want an Omega strap, go for it.
Ahh right, I’m with you. So the strap makes no difference at this point because it’s not the ‘ original original ‘ so that ship had sailed then. Dammit.

Thank you for your reply Redcar
 
padders
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B barrymylad
When I went into Omega they said they would HAVE to send it to Switzerland which is a set fee of £350 plus whatever work is done to it.

Also, why would the Omega strap not be necessary? (Just curious)
That figure makes no sense at all and I suspect you may have misunderstood. The minimum price to service a recent 3 hand model is now £590. Older models like this incur much higher costs, they will bill you for a new dial amongst other items and it will be easily 4 figures. I wouldn’t go that way myself. I’d get a £300 service somewhere else and maybe a good hand and dial relume.

https://www.omegawatches.com/en-gb/customer-service/interventions-and-prices/price-information
 
B
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redpcar redpcar
Collectors look for originality. The original Omega strap never would have survived. It's the least of your worries as we have said. A good quality leather strap is fine. A new Omega strap will set you back several hundred and won't add to the value (at least dollar for dollar). If you plan to keep it and want an Omega strap, go for it.
Sorry to bother you Redcar, do you think it’s worth sending to Omega for a service ?

I understand a very good watchmaker may be just fine. I thought just more so I have a receipt from Omega themselves to say what has and hasn’t been done and it has a bit of paper to go with it rather than fully naked.

I just worry that they may change original parts for new parts which as mentioned previously takes the ‘ originality and vintage ‘ completely away from it if it has ‘ modern ‘ parts .. I’m guessing ?
 
B
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padders padders
That figure makes no sense at all and I suspect you may have misunderstood. The minimum price to service a recent 3 hand model is now £590. Older models like this incur much higher costs, they will bill you for a new dial amongst other items and it will be easily 4 figures. I wouldn’t go that way myself. I’d get a £300 service somewhere else and maybe a good hand and dial relume.

https://www.omegawatches.com/en-gb/customer-service/interventions-and-prices/price-information
Very interesting. The Sales Assistant at Omega itself pulled pulled out a folder and read the price (£350) from it. But you’re right it does say £590

Not saying you’re wrong padders, just saying what I saw mate

Cheers
 
Davidt
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B barrymylad
When I went into Omega they said they would HAVE to send it to Switzerland which is a set fee of £350 plus whatever work is done to it.

Also, why would the Omega strap not be necessary? (Just curious)
Fair enough. I’d estimate that extra work will be well over £1000 though.

B barrymylad
I see. In your own knowledge do you have a ballpark figure it could fetch in the current state ?

Also if they necessary work is done i.e service and relume e.t.c what would the ballpark figure be then ?

Cheers

Railmasters aren’t that common and the condition here is clearly an issue. I’d guess at around £2500-3500 but potentially more.

It’s a tricky question as to how you could improve the value by restoring it. A good restoration would increase the value, but a bad restoration could cost you £1000 and decrease the value of the watch. It would take a reasonably experienced collector to do a good restoration on this one.

If you have a desire to restore this and keep it, I’d say it’s certainly worth it. If you’ve simply stumbled on a lucky find and want to cash out, I’d sell it as is. It’s the quickest, least risky option.
 
Dan S
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B barrymylad
I understand a very good watchmaker may be just fine. I thought just more so I have a receipt from Omega themselves to say what has and hasn’t been done and it has a bit of paper to go with it rather than fully naked.
Collectors of vintage watches are not interested in paperwork from Omega.
 
Davidt
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B barrymylad
Sorry to bother you Redcar, do you think it’s worth sending to Omega for a service ?

I understand a very good watchmaker may be just fine. I thought just more so I have a receipt from Omega themselves to say what has and hasn’t been done and it has a bit of paper to go with it rather than fully naked.

I just worry that they may change original parts for new parts which as mentioned previously takes the ‘ originality and vintage ‘ completely away from it if it has ‘ modern ‘ parts .. I’m guessing ?

No vintage watch collector would care a jot about modern service paperwork from Omega.
 
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