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  1. Radiozoop Jan 12, 2016

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    Hi all!

    I'm looking to get into the vintage game. I've always been fascinated with Omega automatics so naturally I'd like to start off with a Seamaster.

    I found this guy on eBay I'm looking into:

    http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/172053326304Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

    Would you guys be of assistance to verify to the best of your ability if it is authentic? I was going to bite on this and take it into the local Omega store to have it verified but would also like to save myself the hassle if you guys think it's a waste of my time.

    Thanks,

    -Radiozoop
     
  2. ConElPueblo Jan 13, 2016

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    If you bought that and brought it to an Omega store, they would confirm that it's an original Omega...
     
  3. CanberraOmega Rabbitohs and Whisky Supporter Jan 13, 2016

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    Agree. But I still wouldn't buy it.

    It's a bad redial - original metal which some numpty has repainted.
     
    ConElPueblo likes this.
  4. Willem023 Jan 13, 2016

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    You can do much better than this: ugly repaint. The case also looks rather polished.
     
    Geo! likes this.
  5. cvalue13 Jan 13, 2016

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    Welcome!

    What the respectable members above are inadvertently pointing out is a distinction that you would benefit from realizing.

    There is in these lands a distinction between what is 'collectible' vintage vs what is 'attractive' vintage.

    As for what is 'attractive,' beauty is in the eye of you. Aesthetic preferences are like arseh*oles - everyone's got their own.

    Meanwhile, as for what is 'collectible' vintage, there are some more discrete variables that are objectively borne out by the market. If you think of collectible vintage watches like you would old baseball cards, this makes more sense. For an old baseball card to be most valuable and desirable to collectors of baseball cards, you want the card to be as it was in its packaging (or better yet, still IN its packaging). If the card has worn edges, or has been repainted somehow, etc., then the baseball card collector is going to say "it's not worth much." (And if you take that baseball card with worn edges and some paint to a baseball card manufacturer, they may say 'yeah, that's a real baseball card!') and, the collector of rare baseball cards isn't going to just run around with them in their back pocket - they're going to put them in plastic sleeves, and rarely handle them.

    That doesn't mean that a baseball card with worn edges doesn't aesthetically appeal to you (or some other folks). And maybe a baseball card that's been repainted takes on an aesthetic beauty that transcends its original state. If these things are appealing to you, then the up-side is that you'll get that baseball card for relatively cheap! And, you may actually want to wear the damn thing with reckless abandon!

    But why it is cheap met relates to the fact that it's less collectible.

    I've got a few watches that aren't as collectible, but I like how they look on my wrist,or what they mean to me. I've also got some watches that are relatively collectible, and rarely see daylight.

    So, as you continue your search for a watch, start to think about your preferences in terms of the mixture (and it's always a mixture!) of cost, original-ness, collectibility, aesthetic preferences, and the purpose to which you intend to put it.

    Welcome.
     
  6. Willem023 Jan 13, 2016

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    That is putting it very eloquently, but very true too :thumbsup::cool:
     
  7. ConElPueblo Jan 13, 2016

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    Very true, @cvalue13 . What is worth noting is that there really aren't a lot of complete fakes around, as very few bother to reproduce fakes of old Omegas (this might change, watch this space...), because, let's face it, there are a lot of them and few of them hold any value that would make them attractive to fake.

    However, there are plenty of watches that has had a hard life, lost a lot of value and only recently has become valuable enough to "fix up". And this is, often, done the cheapest way - and the result could well look like this.

    It has no value for collectors, but if you end up buying it, you could probably offload it again on eBay for roughly the same as you bought it for. But it is not a good investment and if you continue delving deeper into the murky water of watch collecting, you'll probably end up losing the fondness of it, as the flaws will only become more apparent.
     
  8. Radiozoop Jan 13, 2016

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    Wow, thank you guys for your awesome replies! I really appreciate all the advice.

    I've decided to skip on this one and stick around for a more attractive offering.

    Thanks again, and I hope to frequent this forum!

    -Radiozoop
     
  9. cvalue13 Jan 13, 2016

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    Don't let @ConElPueblo mislead you that anything about vintage watch collecting is a good investment. That is a fiction we tell ourselves to make us feel better, or tell our wives in order to survive.
     
    Willem023, ConElPueblo and mozartman like this.