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I found this 1946 Chrono Stop in the attic!

ChristinaParker
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Hello Omega Forums,

My name is Christina, and I was told to come here for some expert advise. I hope you all could help me out.

Short story: Me and my husband found an old Longines watch at the attic of our summer house in Norway. We don't know much about vintages, and what the value of the watch is.

Long story: We've sent the watch to a premium vintage watchmaker here in Norway, who can confirm that its an 18k Chrono Stop 33mm. Extract from Longines archives tells us that it was bought in Oslo in 1946, the year after the WW2 and occupation ended. It's a 18k rose gold 12.68Z stop-seconds, and from what we now know, it was bought and owned by my grandfathers uncle. It has probably been sitting in a cubboard since the 1950's, until we found it. In other words, only one owner, and not worn since.

Can anyone pinpoint me in what the value is? I've gotten quite a few messages from people om Facebook, but since I'm not an expert, it's difficult to know who's being sincere, and who's just in for a bargain.

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Christina
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Edited:
 
rendo
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What a sale post. Wtf is a “premium” vintage watchmaker?
 
Dan S
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High quality watch and collectible in principle. However, it's on the small side and the dial is ruined, so someone would need to be sitting on a replacement dial to be interested. I would suggest getting the case weighed and calculating the value of the gold. That would be a good starting point, plus a few hundred for parts.
 
gatorcpa
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My opinion is that it is collectible even with the dial damage. I don’t know if I would go through the expense of a service if I were going to immediately sell it, as I don’t think that you will recover the cost.

I could not find another example of this reference in 18K gold. Almost all are steel with a few US made gold-filled cases.
gatorcpa
 
DirtyDozen12
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Nice and uncommon watch. Importantly, the dial is original (not refinished). Going forward, make sure that no watchmaker attempts to alter the original dial in any way as this could significantly reduce the value of the watch. It is difficult to pinpoint the value since there are not many comparable watches (i.e., Longines 12.68Z stop-seconds in 18K gold with original dials). If the condition of the dial was better, I would say 5000 EUR or even more. In this condition, maybe 2000-4000 EUR? Right now, the Longines market is not very strong, in my opinion.
 
J_pilot
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I agree and would argue that the dial is anything but ruined. Sure, some visible damage, but as noted it’s original, as is the crown, pusher, hands, etc. Many examples have fared far, far worse, and this remains a desirable style to collectors. I agree with @DirtyDozen12’s valuation and assessment of the current Longines market.

Juergen
 
Pastorbottle
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All I've got in my attic are spiders and rat shit! I don't s'pose you want to swap?
 
Syrte
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Beautiful watch. I like it even with the dial damage.
 
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