I've been looking for a vintage buckle for my 1961 Seamaster. There's one on eBay (seems legit) for $169, which seems excessive. It's gold-plated, not solid.
How much would you pay for a vintage gold-plated buckle?

 

(Don’t tell anyone but if the watch doesn’t come with an original, I buy replica buckles for about $20 each)

 

Many fakes out there but $169 is definitely too much. I would probably pay a little less than half that for an original.

 

If it's purely for my own enjoyment then no more than say £50 otherwise I would be happy with a replica as no one apart from me would ever notice.
If I was going to sell the watch and I thought it would add value or improve saleability then maybe a little more.

 

Interesting comments and not what I expected!
Perhaps I'm being too specific and a generic would work just fine.

 

Some people collect vintage buckles, but I've never really gotten into them. I suppose they could be nice to have, but I don't think I would be interested at $169 for a gold plated buckle.

But please don't listen to me or anyone else. If you like buckles, then you should collect buckles. I have great respect for people who follow their own tastes to guide their collection, instead of just following the herd.

 

$60 to $90 is a good price for a plaque buckle in 16mm and you really have to look hard and a long time for it. Ninety percent of vintage buckles are reproductions, unless you are going for odd sizes. Buckle hunting like crown hunting can take a year or more, so If you can't wait and you are sure it is real it may be worth paying the premium to get it now. I have had good luck with Japanese sellers. Targeted searches on eBay are handy too with notifications. Good luck. The joy is in the hunt.

 

I really can't get hung up on the buckle, even many Patek Philippe's and other high end watches end up losing their original buckles over the years. I like to match the case color to the buckle (rose gold case = rose gold buckle, SS case = SS buckle), but I'm not going to pay a bunch of money for a real vintage buckle when good quality contemporary buckles are available at a fraction of the cost. This is especially true on a mid-grade Omega watch. But some people like original stuff, if it's your go then let the search begin.

 

Curious, does Omega still sell them?

 

Depends which make. If it was a big logo MG and I was desperate...
Any photos?

 

Yeah about 2x overpriced.

 

You can buy a 16mm from a Omega boutique that would do me.

But suit yourself as for some it’s all about completeness. Several watches I would and have payed that but probably not for a Seamaster or every watch.
(Rose gold buckle pool is a lot deeper than $169)

But can we see the other side of the buckle.

 

Omega sells buckles but they don't look at all like the vintage buckles.

 

I've bought steel buckles for up to 50eur, and sold one or two for up to 70 (omega, real vintage ones). I've bought repro for 10 to 20.

I would not even bother with a plated buckle at this price level: you could just have one made in gold for probably not much more if you have some scrap gold laying around.

 

Looks like an AW buckle.

 

Blurry, but I believe it is an AW.

This is a birth year watch so I wanted it to be as close to original as possible. From what I have seen so far, people are looking for top dollar. I'll continue to look for a while but will probably end up with a copy or new one.

 

If the watch is important to you and you know the buckle is correct and genuine then bite the bullet, life’s too short. I waited a year for a particular Grand Seiko buckle to pop up under $100 and when it eventually arrived the seller had packaged it terribly and it was destroyed. As soon as the refund cleared I bought the best example I could find and kicked myself for all the time I wasted searching to save myself fifty bucks.

 

I’ve seen JLC buckles go for more than $500... it’s just about what it’s worth for ya. I personally don’t care about buckles and sometimes mismatch the metals and it doesn’t bother me, so I’d never shell out. But I know others who wouldn’t hesitate!

 

All buckles have different levels of scarcity.

The rarer the buckle the closer I am likely to pay those crazy prices you see quite often from Some eBay sellers.

More everyday examples like the one you pictured come up on auction on eBay every now and then... I’ve seen 2 in the last couple of months and bought one of them myself.

To date I think the most I have paid is £75 for a rare 1950s Longines gold plaque buckle. I might go to £100 for a steel one.

It all depends how much you want it. I put value in having accurate buckles on your watches so I do spend a little more, but if it were me I would not pay anywhere near $160 for that Omega buckle. $80 tops.