How much are 33.3 CHRO movements worth?

 

Just askin': Another "back-door" sales offering?

 

No, like I said, I am just trying to get as much info about it as possible before I list it for sale. I am a watch collector already but only just joined the forum. I have no problem waiting until I hit 200 posts, should be fairly quick anyway.

 

Fair enough. I'm sure those that really know will be most helpful.

 

As you know by now, you have an exquisite 33.3 CHRO. Your research is spot on.

If you intend to sell it, know that collectors prize originality above all else.

Since a watch is only original once, the prevailing advice on this forum is to NOT service the watch, do NOT send it to Omega for restoration, and do NOT replace the dial. In short, do nothing to the watch. Leave those decisions to whoever purchases your watch.

Collectors do appreciate provenance. If you can provide documentation showing your family's history of ownership of the watch - for example, photographs of someone wearing the watch, or old service receipts, boxes, etc. - those records will help to promote interest in your watch.

As far as valuation goes, your best approach is to do as you have done and search for auction records. The 33.3 movement went through several iterations during its long production life, but yours is one of the first generation. Early enamel dial watches are highly collectible, stainless steel cases such as your are preferred, and your watch retains the original moon hands.

Selling this watch at a well-publicized auction is your best chance at obtaining market value. Search this forum for the pros and cons of selling at auction, on eBay, or privately. Best of luck with your heirloom!

 

I would strongly urge you not to send it to Omega for a restoration. I have seen the result of that process, and they will often return a nice clean "restored" watch that has actually decreased in collectible value.

There's not much to gain financially from servicing the watch, and there is some risk that you could end up going down a rabbit hole of repairs.

The damage to the dial does hurt the value, but that's the watch you inherited. It's still a lovely piece, and desirable.

 

I'm no expert on this reference at all.

However, with any valuable vintage watch, the buyers with the biggest pockets want it unserviced and even uncleaned.

If I'm buying a one family watch I want it to come complete with years of gunk that's acts like a seal to show no modern watchmakers/dealers have been fiddling, especially in the last few years when the markets been up.

 

Thank you Vitezi,
I wish I had a better history of its' provenance, but I inherited it from the estate of my uncle when he passed. I'm quite sure that the watch was my aunts' fathers. She passed away in 2006 at 80 years old. Her father was born on January 4, 1900 and passed away on July 8, 1979. Knowing my uncle, I'm sure he never wore it himself. I'm pretty certain that it basically sat in a drawer for 33 years until my uncle passed away, and I've just kept it in a jewlery drawer until recently when I thought I'd get it out and have it serviced so that I could wear it. When I realized the value and the fact that it was never intended to be water tight, I felt like I'd be better off to use it to get something which I will be able to wear more practically. It is my only Omega, so I definitely want to replace it with another one. If the watch had belonged to my uncle personally, or to say, my grandfather, I would keep it myself for sure.
Anyway, thank you, and thanks to everyone else so far who have chipped in some tips on it.
Justin

 

This looks like the same model for sale on eBay from an Argentinian seller. Asking price is $9,500. The case is polished, and the dial has some damage, but the printing is intact.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Omega-chro...224046?hash=item33ea5be8ee:g:~EEAAOSwZB9aFyKrPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

Cheers, I am getting that vibe so far, and it makes a lot of sense given my later intention to sell it anyway. It's both sad and ironic that sending it to Omega may actually end up lowering the value. Normal logic would make one think that this would add value, but I can totally see what you mean in the way of collectors wanting to see the grit and grime.

I was at the 2015 Artcurial Retromobile auction in Paris when the famed Baillon car collection sold. They had very carefully plucked up the 59 cars from sheds, shacks and lean-to hiding places around the manor, trucked them all into Paris and put them on display at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. It was really incredible to see these super rare cars (Talbot Lagos, Delahayes, a Bugatti, Delange, a Maserati, and many other odd names I'd never heard of before), with the years of dust, and whatever other crud was built up on them from decades of not-so-secure storage (I think they at least removed any cat or chicken poop that surely had to have been present). Then at the end of the week, the lot altogether sold for a whopping $52USD mil, with roughly $18.5USD mil coming from the beautiful 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California (I'm sure most people in this forum would remember seeing news about this a few years ago). When it sold, the atmosphere was ELECTRIC!

I will admit that up until a few weeks ago, the watch was actually still in that "just-worn" dirty state and I spent about 5-6 hours one day cleaning it (very carefully, mind you). For one, I wanted to remove all of the crud around the back and in the lugs before even thinking of opening it up. I then personally polished the crystal myself, mainly because it was so scratched and hazy that it made it hard to see the dial clearly. I am a highly detail-oriented person and I very carefully masked the entire watch from the bezel outward before commencing. At that same time, I also polished off the striped ghosting that was on the case-back which was due to the old stretchy Spiedel watch band rubbing on it during the last 39 years worth of storage. I think I might have snapped a couple pics of it before any of that, and if I can find them, I'll post them here, or at least show them when I do eventually move forward with selling it.

Thank you very much for your input. It is reassuring to get the same response from multiple sources.

 

Yes, I have seen that one. It was nice to see one with the same features as mine, retaining the same hands and so on. Granted, the crown on this one has obviously been replaced, it's still a beautiful, shiny piece, albeit one that was obviously polished. I do not know enough to gauge and say if that is a light touch, or a heavy cut. When I look at mine, I am very happy to see that the edges of the bezel and the lugs are all still quite sharp, especially when compared to this one. Ours are only 1,121 apart in the serial numbers. Can anyone confirm that they did make one movement per serial number, in sequential series (without skipping numbers)? Another interesting difference is this one appears to have brass or brass-plated parts in the movement (I have yet to learn all of the unique names of the parts) and in mine, the only brass I can see are a few of the gears. If I had to guess: mine is actually nickel plated brass, and sometime before my movement was made, they did not nickel plate (the example above is older/lower serial than mine). It's all very interesting to me.

It is curious to note that both the dial in the example here and my own have some damage around the 10 o'clock position. Thankfully mine is almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

Thank you for your input!

 

I'm still curious if anyone can answer this:
Did Omega use consecutive serial numbers on their movements back then? ie, without skipping numbers.

 

I'm not sure why this is important or relevant. Your serial number gives a rough estimate of the production date regardless of whether or not numbers were skipped. And if you want more precise information, you will have to order an Extract of the Archives.

 

Okay, gotcha. Thanks!

 

I just wanted to see if I could better estimate how many watches were sold in the same configuration as mine. I have a growing list of 33,3 CHRO movements, their serial numbers and specifics of their current dials, hands etc. I get nerdy when it gets into these kinds of details. I think I actually will order an extract next month when I can pop into the Omega boutique in Waikiki.

 

The crystal had a pontil facet in the center. Leads me to believe that the crystal was replaced.

 

I thought maybe that's what you were getting at, but I think that will be hard to determine, since serial numbers were assigned to all movements, not just 33.3 CHRO movements. Even if you knew how many total movements were produced over a certain period of time, how will you know how many were 33.3 CHRO vs. 30T2, etc. Accumulating your own database is a great idea.

You can order the Extract by email if you prefer, and avoid two trips to the Boutique. You can request the blank PDF form from Swatch customer service ([email protected]). You fill in the form and send it back as an email attachment, and the Extract is mailed directly to you.

 

Ooooh, see that's why I'm glad there are people like yourself, willing to shed a little more light on these subjects. I hadn't thought about the fact those serials would have been across all various Omega movements at the same time.
Many thanks for sharing that info. If I do it the traditional route though, that's when they send you a spiffy grey envelope sealed with a wax seal, containing the extract? If it's the same price, I'd rather have the portfolio to include with the watch.

 

You still get the fancy envelope (mine are red) and wax seal if you order it by email.