Hey all, I'm a newb here, but after reading through a few threads I'm thoroughly fascinated! I'm hoping you kind lot might be able to help me with a watch that has been passed down to me from my Great Aunt. As much as it is a watch that I already own, please don't feel the need to be 'gentle' I'm looking for honest opinions on it please.

Anyway I don't know a great deal about the watch, only that it is a manual winding type, my aunt says it's around 80 years old, and also reckons it's solid gold (although I have my doubts about it being solid gold and wonder if even if the watch itself is genuine the bracelet may have been replaced over the years?!)

The crystal is the same size as a Euro cent and slightly smaller than a British five pence piece.

I realise that seeing inside the watch, at the mechanism etc is important in making determinations about a piece, however when my husband tried to remove the back casing, rather than the back case coming away, rather the dial came out of the crystal and we didn't know where to go from there!

If it is required that you all need to see inside, I'd appreciate some guidance on how we go about getting the back casing off!

I think that's about all the info I have on it, please find the photos below, I hope they're of a good enough quality.

Many many thanks in advance, I really appreciate any help, advice or expert opinions I can get about this - I'm so curious!

Regards,
Natalie

 

My opinion is that it is a real Omega. My opinion is that it is not 80 years old. It may be solid 14-karat or 18-karat gold alloy. The style is reminiscent of Omega watches for ladies from the 1960s, so maybe 60 years old. As to what more you should do re: getting it out of the case? You’ve already (seems to me) done too much! You mentioned the dial “came out of the crystal”. I have NO idea what you might mean by that. But if you notice the dial appears to have been turned counter clock-wise in the case. In messing with it, the dial feet may have been broken off! Several Swiss watch companies during the 1960s sold women’s watches with a variety of one-piece straps of numerous colours that slipped through the wire “stirrup” lugs on the watch case. The wire lugs on your watch mean this could have been one of these. Rolex produced a watch like this which I believe they called a “Chameleon”. For good ness sake, do no more! It has the potential to me a nice watch, so have it attended to professionally!

 

Looks like a gold hallmark here.

 

@Canuck Thank you for your response, I really appreciate it! Forgive me, maybe I've got the terminology wrong with what I was saying... What I mean is that when we tried to take the back off it, rather than just the back casing coming off and revealing the mechanism inside as we expected, the back case remained with the mechanism and the face of the watch and so we were left with that (also the winder knob [again please forgive me!] ) as one part and then the glass case still attached the the bracelet as a second piece. I hope that makes a little more sense...?

We did notice that the dial has been turned in the case and the watch was like that before we tampered with it, regardless the feet may still have been broken at some I guess.

Thank you for letting me know about the possible reason for the wire lugs, I was worried that the wire lugs might have been an indicator of a terrible fake as I've not seen anything like this in the little bit of research I've done so far.

Overall I'm glad to hear you believe it is genuine, and will most certainly take it in to a professional to be looked at!

Do you know if it will have jewels in it? My dad wants to know! Also is it likely worth anything bar sentimental value?

Many thanks again for your response I really am very grateful and I'm learning so much!
Natalie

 

@X350 XJR Good eye! Thank you! I'll see if I can get a better view of this hallmark, with the naked eye we could barely read it and my husband and I came to the conclusion that we thought it just said 'Omega'!

 

Actually, when I look at the stamp on the bracelet end more closely, I see the numbers 9 and .375. That means the bracelet was most likely made in England, and it is nine karat gold. Pure gold is 24 karat. So if you divide 9 by 24, the result in .375. Or decimal 375. I doubt the case is 9 karat gold. More likely 14 karat (.585), or 18 karat (.750). The “works” could be a caliber 480 Omega as shown in the link to the Ranfft archive. If so, it should have 17 jewels.

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&2&2uswk&Omega_480

The works should lift out of the case back once the bezel (and crystal) have been removed. But I would suggest you don’t try it. One mistake and you might render it unrepairable, or end up with a very expensive repair bill.

 

Thanks all, I will stop trying to take it apart myself and will take it to a specialist tomorrow. Exciting stuff. Many thanks again for the insight, greatly appreciated.

 

Hi. Just an observation. The name on the other side of the bracelet has KASSIA stamped into it. I tried to darken the area in photoshop to try to get a clearer view. Have attached a couple of pics to show. I googled KASSIA Gold and loads of things came up. Wouldn't know if they have any connection to Omega.

 

FYI jewels in watches don’t add to value. The jewels are just man made sapphire that is used as a bearing/bushing.

You can kind of look at it that higher jewel counts denote higher quality.... but once you break 10 or so it no longer matters much. Not really a hard and fast rule...

 

I meant to add to the end of my post that it looks like KASSIA, but a sharper, closer image would tell all.