How i research & assess watches i intend to buy

Bumper

After buying a speedmaster date in 2006, i decided to google for Omega watches & was blown away by the amount of info that came up. I started going through all the results & realised that Omega had vintage watches. That caught my fancy even more, there were some great collector's blogs & sites that are no longer around, www.30T2.com was one of my favourites, It blew my mind that this one guy ( was it Per?) had so many Omegas, and, that Omega had so many different models. That blog was one of the reasons i got into vintage watches.

So before i start this post proper, here's the disclaimer for all the trolls and strawberries:

1. I do not profess to be an expert on watches/vintage watches/the authority on Omega watches, vintage or modern/web searches/watch research/valuation, etc this is, as the title states, how i do my research & assess potential additions to my collection.

2. I have no connection to any of the links used in this post, i am neither advertising for them, nor promoting their sites. They are purely used as examples. All credit for the photos go to the sites.

3. For the purpose of illustrating this post, i will stick to Vintage Omega watches as much as possible.

4. I will be starting with the basics, you may have similar methods, but please do not construe this as my proclaiming that "my method is better than yours" & proceed to debate, if in doubt, read the title again.

5. If i have made any mistakes or errors, they are all mine, i am still learning, if you would be so kind as to point out the mistakes, i can edit them out.

How to search?
These days, there is a lot more data available & searching itself is a skill. Just typing "Omega watches" will bring up a lot of watch traders, dealers, grey market sellers, etc. Your searches have to be specific.

I used to spend at least 4 to 5 hours a day going through websites, blogs, dealer's pages, forums, etc. It was after 1 to 2 months of this that i bought my first watch online, and the first few i bought were still rough. Admittedly, i was afraid of the more expensive watches & i started out with the cheaper auctions on ebay.

*Pause for a rant*

Before you read on,
- If you want to buy a watch & have no idea what to buy, don't buy one, don't put up a "what watch should i buy" post.
- If you want to buy a watch & have to ask strangers on the internet which watch you should buy, don't buy one, don't put up a "which watch should i buy" post.
- If you have narrowed down your search to 2, maybe 3 models, decide which you like the best / suits your lifestyle / suits your budget / suits the look you are going for, and buy it. Ultimately, it's a personal choice & you should make the decision. I haven't seen any "which girl / guy should i marry" posts, if you understand how that is a personal choice, than this point should be understood.
- If you are offended by these points, you can stop reading right here. It says a lot that these days you have to put up disclaimers for everything.


If you are a noob and have no idea which model you like, how much it may cost & how many variations there are,
a basic search would be "Vintage Omega Watch"

Vintage Omega Watch

Still, a lot of dealers come up, so if you are looking for info rather than a dealer, variations on this search would be;

Vintage Omega Watch Blog
Vintage Omega Watch Collector

Get the idea? Vintage Omega Model / Manual Wind / Automatic / Stainless Steel, the permutations are endless. Now if you want to skip reading through all the sites & look at photos till one catches your eye, click on "images" at the top of the page.

If an image does catch your eye, click on it, some info about the image will come up. Also, similarly titled pics are shown on the right.

Lets start with a manual wind

Lets say you decide that this is really nice and you've followed the link to the page

https://vintagecaliber.de/collections/archive/products/1949-omega-ref-2639-radium-dial

The watch has been sold & it doesn't display the selling price. But, you now know these details;

- It's from 1949
- it's reference is 2639
- It's a manual wind
- Case is 35.5mm
- Caliber is a 265
- Serial number on the movement is 11720995

What do you do with this info? For anyone interested in Vintage Omega watches, this site is a valuable resource.

https://www.omegawatches.com/vintage-watches

Type 2639 into the search bar & hit enter, you're lucky & have a hit. ( Just btw, Not all the references are in the database, not all the results have a picture)

Omega also has 4 digit, 5 digit 6 & 7 digit references
- 2639
- 14389
- 145.022 ( Sometimes these show no results, but adding an extra 0 as in the next line, may yield results)
- 145.0022

Click on the result

Does the data match the details of the watch?

Now google for "Omega Serial Numbers"

I normally use the one found on Chronomaddox

- Serial number of 11720995 dates it to about 1949,
- Manual wind Cal 265 is correct for the model

What is an Omega cal 265? If you are unsure, this site will tell you more, another very valuable resource.

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&1ranfft&b0&2uswk&Omega_265

So now you know what a cal 265 looks like & that it should have 15 jewels

Now go back & look at the watch again, the first pic doesn't look bad...


Note how the hands look fine in the pic above, but at a different angle, you can see that they are rusty.

This is why you ask for pics from all angles.

The crystal looks new, & the case looks like it has been given a light polish. I can't tell from the pics if the crown has been changed.


Close up of the dial shows the patina isn't as attractive as the first pic & the sub second hand isn't black, it's rust!


There is pitting on the case back,


The movement looks a little worn honestly, it's not the bright copper colour you normally see ( as in the pic from ranfft), not the cleanest,
but certainly not the worst.
View attachment 675214

So this watch has
- a lightly polished case
- pitting in the case back
- some patina on the dial
- rusty hands
- tired looking movement = may have had a lot of work done given the condition of hands, but not recently, judging by how it looks.

I might be interested if the price was right, certainly not for $1200. But, given all the conditions together, i would pass.

Next time my boss is out of the office, i will do an automatic model & what to look out for. Thanks for reading.

Bumper

*Pause for a rant*

Before you read on,
- If you want to buy a watch & have no idea what to buy, don't buy one, don't put up a "what watch should i buy" post.
- If you want to buy a watch & have to ask strangers on the internet which watch you should buy, don't buy one, don't put up a "which watch should i buy" post.
- If you have narrowed down your search to 2, maybe 3 models, decide which you like the best / suits your lifestyle / suits your budget / suits the look you are going for, and buy it. Ultimately, it's a personal choice & you should make the decision. I haven't seen any "which girl / guy should i marry" posts, if you understand how that is a personal choice, than this point should be understood.
- If you are offended by these points, you can stop reading right here. It says a lot that these days you have to put up disclaimers for everything.

dantheman3u4i

Great post! 4-5 hours a day, wow you weren’t messing around!

Bumper

Yup, i was single at the time...

Bumper

After buying a speedmaster date in 2006, i decided to google for Omega watches & was blown away by the amount of info that came up. I started going through all the results & realised that Omega had vintage watches. That caught my fancy even more, there were some great collector's blogs & sites that are no longer around, www.30T2.com was one of my favourites, It blew my mind that this one guy ( was it Per?) had so many Omegas, and, that Omega had so many different models. That blog was one of the reasons i got into vintage watches.

So before i start this post proper, here's the disclaimer for all the trolls and strawberries:

1. I do not profess to be an expert on watches/vintage watches/the authority on Omega watches, vintage or modern/web searches/watch research/valuation, etc this is, as the title states, how i do my research & assess potential additions to my collection.

2. I have no connection to any of the links used in this post, i am neither advertising for them, nor promoting their sites. They are purely used as examples. All credit for the photos go to the sites.

3. For the purpose of illustrating this post, i will stick to Vintage Omega watches as much as possible.

4. I will be starting with the basics, you may have similar methods, but please do not construe this as my proclaiming that "my method is better than yours" & proceed to debate, if in doubt, read the title again.

5. If i have made any mistakes or errors, they are all mine, i am still learning, if you would be so kind as to point out the mistakes, i can edit them out.

How to search?
These days, there is a lot more data available & searching itself is a skill. Just typing "Omega watches" will bring up a lot of watch traders, dealers, grey market sellers, etc. Your searches have to be specific.

I used to spend at least 4 to 5 hours a day going through websites, blogs, dealer's pages, forums, etc. It was after 1 to 2 months of this that i bought my first watch online, and the first few i bought were still rough. Admittedly, i was afraid of the more expensive watches & i started out with the cheaper auctions on ebay.

*Pause for a rant*

Before you read on,
- If you want to buy a watch & have no idea what to buy, don't buy one, don't put up a "what watch should i buy" post.
- If you want to buy a watch & have to ask strangers on the internet which watch you should buy, don't buy one, don't put up a "which watch should i buy" post.
- If you have narrowed down your search to 2, maybe 3 models, decide which you like the best / suits your lifestyle / suits your budget / suits the look you are going for, and buy it. Ultimately, it's a personal choice & you should make the decision. I haven't seen any "which girl / guy should i marry" posts, if you understand how that is a personal choice, than this point should be understood.
- If you are offended by these points, you can stop reading right here. It says a lot that these days you have to put up disclaimers for everything.


If you are a noob and have no idea which model you like, how much it may cost & how many variations there are,
a basic search would be "Vintage Omega Watch"

Vintage Omega Watch

Still, a lot of dealers come up, so if you are looking for info rather than a dealer, variations on this search would be;

Vintage Omega Watch Blog
Vintage Omega Watch Collector

Get the idea? Vintage Omega Model / Manual Wind / Automatic / Stainless Steel, the permutations are endless. Now if you want to skip reading through all the sites & look at photos till one catches your eye, click on "images" at the top of the page.

If an image does catch your eye, click on it, some info about the image will come up. Also, similarly titled pics are shown on the right.

Lets start with a manual wind

Lets say you decide that this is really nice and you've followed the link to the page

https://vintagecaliber.de/collections/archive/products/1949-omega-ref-2639-radium-dial

The watch has been sold & it doesn't display the selling price. But, you now know these details;

- It's from 1949
- it's reference is 2639
- It's a manual wind
- Case is 35.5mm
- Caliber is a 265
- Serial number on the movement is 11720995

What do you do with this info? For anyone interested in Vintage Omega watches, this site is a valuable resource.

https://www.omegawatches.com/vintage-watches

Type 2639 into the search bar & hit enter, you're lucky & have a hit. ( Just btw, Not all the references are in the database, not all the results have a picture)

Omega also has 4 digit, 5 digit 6 & 7 digit references
- 2639
- 14389
- 145.022 ( Sometimes these show no results, but adding an extra 0 as in the next line, may yield results)
- 145.0022

Click on the result

Does the data match the details of the watch?

Now google for "Omega Serial Numbers"

I normally use the one found on Chronomaddox

- Serial number of 11720995 dates it to about 1949,
- Manual wind Cal 265 is correct for the model

What is an Omega cal 265? If you are unsure, this site will tell you more, another very valuable resource.

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&1ranfft&b0&2uswk&Omega_265

So now you know what a cal 265 looks like & that it should have 15 jewels

Now go back & look at the watch again, the first pic doesn't look bad...


Note how the hands look fine in the pic above, but at a different angle, you can see that they are rusty.

This is why you ask for pics from all angles.

The crystal looks new, & the case looks like it has been given a light polish. I can't tell from the pics if the crown has been changed.


Close up of the dial shows the patina isn't as attractive as the first pic & the sub second hand isn't black, it's rust!


There is pitting on the case back,


The movement looks a little worn honestly, it's not the bright copper colour you normally see ( as in the pic from ranfft), not the cleanest,
but certainly not the worst.
View attachment 675214

So this watch has
- a lightly polished case
- pitting in the case back
- some patina on the dial
- rusty hands
- tired looking movement = may have had a lot of work done given the condition of hands, but not recently, judging by how it looks.

I might be interested if the price was right, certainly not for $1200. But, given all the conditions together, i would pass.

Edit*

Forgot to add these points;
- Whenever there is a "Is this watch real? / Is this a real / authentic Omega " post, this is what you are asking someone to do for you. Now you can see what is involved, be patient. It requires a bit of time & some research.

- If you decide that you like the look of this model & want to get one, keep crib notes. I did this for the watches i wanted so i didn't have to check every single time.

Omega 2639 Manual wind with sub-second
- reference 2639
- from 1949
- manual wind
- Case is 35.5mm
- Caliber is a 265 / 266
- Serial number on the movement from 11,6xx,xxx to 12,xxx,xxx

Next time my boss is out of the office, i will do an automatic model & what to look out for. Thanks for reading.