I'm getting married in a few months and as a token of appreciation for everything he has done, I'd like to get my dad a gift and I am thinking of a watch. The idea crossed my mind to find him a vintage Omega from the year he was born, 1959. He's not currently a watch guy, but I know he would appreciate it a lot as he knows my interest, and maybe this would get him more interested... I'm wondering what watches might be best to look for from 1959 that would be a 'reasonable' price. I will be spending a lot of my money on the wedding and accompanying events, so I don't have a ton to spend on this, so if you could give me some suggestions of watches, and likely selling costs I would be tremendously appreciative. Is this is even reasonable, or are any decent watches from that time going to cost me $$$? Might be a long-shot, but I'd like to see what I could find for under $1000 - the further under, the better! Thanks in advance, Evan
Welcome Evan! You and your Father-in-law are going to get along great. Check out wruw thread under open discussion heading and see what catches your eye. We have a sales forum also that will be helpful. Patience is the key! Some basic questions: Omega only or consider others? Gold or Stainless Steel? Sport or Dress? Daily wearer or occasional? 100% Authentic Collectible or just a quality darn nice watch? Evan, for $1k you are going to be able to find a beauty! A 1959 Omega will have a movement (Workings) serial # of 17,xxx,xxx or perhaps 16,xxx,xxx. I wish you were marrying my daughter.
Thanks for the quick response, Buck. Been looking at the WRUR thread for a few weeks now and have seen SO many beautiful watches - I just don't know enough to know which I might be able to afford and which would be from the correct time period so thought I'd start this separate thread. To answer your questions: -leaning towards Omega ideally as that's my new interest, and I think it would be cool to share it with him -don't have a strong preference for gold or stainless - I've seen plenty of examples of both I have really liked -dressier watch - not necessarily super dressy, but something that will look good with a suit or tux for sure -an occasional piece - like i said, something to wear with a suit/tux which he certainly doesn't wear every day -quality, darn nice watch; if I can get 100% authentic, fantastic, but if I can get something 90% that looks great, I'd take it! Thanks again!
Evan, I am barely a Sophomore, let's hope some of the Professors join in! A stainless, gold-capped or gold-filled Omega in near perfect condition should be within your budget. Solid gold may be tougher but not impossible. Any gold or silver, gold/black or silver/black should give you the look you are seeking. P.S. I have used Steve and he is an artist and a friend. He is also very busy, try to be patient.
You can score a VERY nice correct Seamaster from 1959 in stainless or gold cap within your budget. You'll have several movements to choose from too. That year was the end of the 50x series and the start of the 55x/56x series, and you'll even see 591's too. All are good automatic movements. You'll want a movement serial number between 16,7xx,xxx and 17,4xx,xxx I think.
These two are both from around 1959 (photo borrowed, by the way) the geneve is well within you budget and are undervalued, in my opinion
Both fantastic looking watches. I also really like the Seamasters from that period so I think I'll keep my eyes peeled for any of the three and will certainly be back to this thread asking opinions of specific pieces when I find them. Thanks, all!
Closer to the top of your budget but you could probably score a nice dome dial Constellation as well.
If I were to go in a slightly different direction, I do really like the look of this watch - anyone familiar enough with Tissot to tell me if it looks original and what the fair market value is? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...akeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:enPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network