Kid searching for my first vintage Omega + Advice

[trey4481]

ahh good to know! maybe one day I'll just have to have both lol. Side note: If you can't afford it, do you guys get aftermarket BOR bracelets or is that a "no no" for these watches

 

[JwRosenthal]

trey4481

ahh good to know! maybe one day I'll just have to have both lol. Side note: If you can't afford it, do you guys get aftermarket BOR bracelets or is that a "no no" for these watches

You can try but they never really fit properly and I have yet to find a modern company making a slim BOR in the 18/16 taper with a standard clasp- always thick things with double or butterfly clasps. The factory ones aren’t that expensive in the grand scheme of things

 

[steversaurus]

PlainVanilla

That's because collectors are afraid of gold capped/plated watches that show steel underneath around the edges, so these watches tend to be cheaper than plain stainless steel watches.

Back in the day, of course, new stainless steel Omega watches were cheaper than gold plated/capped ones.

Prices were interesting back then. I think I remember looking up retail constellation prices a while back. The cap golds were only ~15% more than the steel watches. The full gold ones were almost 4x the price of steel ones.

 

[JwRosenthal]

S steversaurus

Prices were interesting back then. I think I remember looking up retail constellation prices a while back. The cap golds were only ~15% more than the steel watches. The full gold ones were almost 4x the price of steel ones.

Yup! Stainless models weren’t nearly as desirable as gold back then- tastes change.

 

[PlainVanilla]

JwRosenthal

Yup! Stainless models weren’t nearly as desirable as gold back then- tastes change.

I still prefer gold.

 

[cineaste]

Nepomuceño

I started out here on OF almost four years ago now when I was 22 and now I’m 26. Lots learned over the course of the years but the biggest takeaway is patience. I wish I had done more research before making a purchase. Plenty of threads on here where a little patience could have saved countless newbies hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

As others have already said, buy from the private listings here. Lots of great sellers and the nice examples tend to move quickly so be here daily or you may miss out!

It can take a couple years of experience to hunt around eBay, local auctions, and in store. Give it some time and you’ll be able to spot a diamond among the weeds.

I was only recently able and comfortable enough to spot potential and correctness in this from a local auction:



And after a service from watchmaker it turned into this:

Dibs!

 

[buddman]

Take your time to ensure whatever you buy is correct - correct dial and hands. I prefer an unpolished case. I’d focus on getting the watch you want - you can always buy a bracelet later. And watches are not like a religion - you can keep changing as you find something better or your tastes change.

 

[trey4481]

in your experience, what are some mistakes/lessons you wish you knew from the beginning about collecting vintage watches? besides the obvious fake, redial, etc.

 

[PlainVanilla]

trey4481

in your experience, what are some mistakes/lessons you wish you knew from the beginning about collecting vintage watches? besides the obvious fake, redial, etc.

Take your time to find an example is really good condition.

 

[Dan S]

trey4481

in your experience, what are some mistakes/lessons you wish you knew from the beginning about collecting vintage watches? besides the obvious fake, redial, etc.

After a few years of collecting, it's extremely common for a new collector to be in a position where they want to consolidate their collection by selling a bunch of mediocre entry-level watches and replacing them with a smaller number of better pieces. Unfortunately, it's not so easy to sell mediocre entry-level watches.