Hi All
I recently inherited my grandfathers Omega W.W.W. It is a 1944 military issue. It has been with the family for all this while and now my father gave it to me. To the best of my knowledge it was hardly worn in the last four decades and perhaps went for a service a few years back but, not to an official Omega service center. I checked the history of such Omega military watches in this and other forums and it seems some 25000 of such pieces were made during mid 1940's by Omega for the British Army. It truly has a fascinating history and I am very excited about wearing this vintage. In the meanwhile I am trying to figure out the following. Any advice/ warning/ leads will help at this stage.

1. I am now trying to get a good 18 mm NATO leather strap made for the watch. One link is this. Does anyone know of any other?
2. The watch is behaving in an erratic fashion. It stops very often. I observed that if kept vertical (hung on softboard) it keeps working but if kept horizontal it soon stops! I went to the Omega service center today and they said they will get back. Any clues how to go about this issue
3. The watch has some scratches on the glass and metal body and the guy at the service center said he can polish it (they call it buffing) so it removes the scratches. Is that a good idea?
4. The service center even suggested that these days they even get the dial refurbished/ re-painted. Am not sure about that either? A vintage can look like vintage right?
I stay in India and am not sure if I can get good support from the Omega service center on vintage watches here

Any leads will help
p.s - I only got interested in vintage watches after I inherited the W.W.W ! Now I think I might get hooked

 

Hi Pratyush, that is a great watch you have there and with a very nice family history. I am sure that experts will provide more detailed info, but the biggest watch out is to avoid over-restoring the watch and thus destroying the value (to collectors). Polishing the glas to take out scratches - yes, but carefully only. Polishing the case - NO, since it will blunt the case sides. Repainting or refurbishing the dial - NEVER, NEVER, NEVER please.

Ask help in this forum to find a good watch maker and let him/her do a proper service on the movement and clean the case + polish the glass. Leave the dial untouched and you will have a great heirloom!

 

+1

 

I echo what bieb1 said but would add that I wouldn't get Omega to work on it. They have strict guidelines on what they have to do to a watch. The best bet would be to have an independent watchmaker do the work and they will only do what you ask them to do. If you tell us where you are located, someone will be able to recommend a watchmaker.

 

You have a nice watch, but its value as a collectible is greatly reduced by a number of issues. First, the crown and hands are not original to the watch. While the correct parts can be sourced, the biggest issue you have is that the fixed lugs have apparently been removed and replaced. Hence, the value of your watch is mostly sentimental. I would have the movement cleaned and lubricated and perhaps replace the crystal. This way you will have a nice functioning watch which you can enjoy in the years to come.

 

You can also most likely get the correct hands from obsolete watch parts.

 

And maybe a NOS crown could help a lot.

 

Thanks bieb1 for the advice. I get it. I guess I will only get the glass polished and nothing more. Will post images once done. Yes it is an important part of my family history and I am quite curious to understand how it reached India in the hands of my grandfather! I do know of many British attache in India around 1940's who sold their watches and also swiss watches being sold through official outlets in Mumbai and Calcutta. Such watches takes you back in time and makes you imagine the past of a nation

 

Thanks MikiJ, I am in Ahmedabad, India. I am not yet familiar with good watchmakers here.

 

True. Maybe once I get the watch moving I will try and source the correct parts over time

 

Hi. Just got the message from Omega that they cannot help in servicing the watch, since they cannot source old parts of the Omega W.W.W military watch. They wouldn't tell me which part. I guess they are just not interested
So can someone help me locate a good watchmaker in India?
I stay in Ahmedabad (West India)
I would really like to get this watch serviced as it does work, perhaps it just needs a careful service

 

The history of your nation and British involvement is as interesting, if not more than the watch itself. Please share more about this family watch of yours if you find out more!

 

Well. I thought let me update the members about the progress I am making in restoring the watch I had inherited of my grandfather
Since I could not get much help in India, I took the watch to Singapore where I was traveling for an academic seminar. I met two most recommended watchmakers in Singapore. The link to them is here. This is a nice blog on vintage watches in Singapore

One of the watchmaker after examining the watch diagnosed the problem to the balancing staff. He said he can repair it but needed much time and I had to head back to India the next day. In any case the issue with the erratic movement was isolated as essentially a balancing staff problem. I have now ordered the balancing staff at ebay for 30 T2 and hope to find a good watchmaker who can do the needful here. In the meanwhile got a "close to original" NATA strap. It is already looking good. Here are some pics I wanted to share with you. I really love wearing this and it suits my slender writs! Also a pic of the movement

And btw I am making good progress in unearthing the history of such watches in India. It is becoming like an academic exercise but I am enjoying that thoroughly. I am a Professor by profession. So can't help it really! But you will have to wait for that thesis though!

 

google "Manish Jain" in India. Manish is a watchdealer with good watchmaker connections. he should be able to help you in india. kind regards. achim