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Month and Year of Manufacture for my FOIS?

  1. haqq777 Dec 8, 2018

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    Hello OF friends,

    Quick question. Is there anyway I can tell (plugging in serial number somewhere etc) what month and year my FOIS was made? My apologies if this has been asked, I searched here on OF and did not find what I was looking for.

    Since FOIS is numbered edition, I am at 95xx so it is probably going to be within last couple of years I think since the number is at 10xxx now. I purchased mine earlier this year.

    Any help would be appreciated. My wife asked me this question interestingly enough and she rarely asks me any watch related questions. Thought I would ask here.

    Cheers
     
  2. ext1 Dec 8, 2018

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    I don't think you can order extract for new pieces, but I think you might be able to ask your nearby OB for info? I know people go to OBs to get their early 2000s speedy LEs get authenticated.

    Actually that's kind of interesting, the numbered serial info....we can actually extrapolate around how much FOISes omega makes per year.
     
  3. haqq777 Dec 8, 2018

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    Thanks. I got mine from OB and the guy behind counter had no idea. Also did not know much about FOIS. Kept calling it a 'limited edition' - which it isn't - and just seemed sort of nonchalant. I don't think he knew a lot about watches let alone Omegas or FOIS etc. So yeah, not very confidence inducing in terms of knowledge base. I learned ten times more here on this forum, honestly :)

    I remember reading somewhere that you can put in serial number in a specific website and it tells you exact manufacture month and year? Perhaps it is for older moon watches only.

    I think the FOIS numbering has crossed 10k as per one of the threads here. Quite interesting. I haven't seen a FOIS on anyone's wrist since I got mine though. I like that it is rarer in a way than regular Speedy Pro. I do love the moon watch though and plan on getting the icon as well.
     
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  4. ext1 Dec 8, 2018

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    Haha, for sure this forum is exponentially better than OBs in terms of knowledge base. I personally have had a series of bad experiences with just about every OB I've walked into....none of them are even willing to get me spring bars for free. But I still made the recommendation because they've got the serial database and we don't!

    Yeah, that website you're thinking about is ilovemyspeedmaster.com . Handy website for doing extract predictions!

    FOIS released 2012 right? If it's at 10k range now then it's something like (very crude approximation) 1600-2000 per year? But I think you should ask to look up your serial on their database to get the exact month and year.

    Well I mean, I've not even seen a premoon speedy on anyone's wrist IRL in the wild, so it really depends on where you are I think. But I agree, probably less chances of seeing FOIS on someone's wrist than regular speedy. I think I've seen the regular speedy just twice.
     
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  5. erikr22 Dec 8, 2018

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    Correct, I picked up FOIS #10,819 a few weeks ago.
     
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  6. Donn Chambers Dec 8, 2018

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    Quick answer:

    No.
     
  7. haqq777 Dec 9, 2018

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    Thanks.
     
  8. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Dec 9, 2018

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    Quick and correct answer:

    Yes. Sort of...

    It depends on what the OP considers the date of manufacture. Are you asking for when the movement was made? When the watch was assembled? When the watch finished final testing? When it was shipped to the distributor in country? When it was shipped to the AD and put up for sale?

    Okay those last 2 aren't anything to do with the date of manufacture, but the first 3 could be certainly.

    For the first one, the date the movement was made, there is a date code stamped on the movement. This one isn't from the same type of movement but it's the one I have handy to illustrate:

    [​IMG]

    Cheers, Al
     
  9. haqq777 Dec 9, 2018

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    Thanks, Al. I am always impressed by the knowledge you have when it comes to watches and the pictures videos you always share to help elucidate your points.

    Can you pls tell me how to read the date code on the movement?

    I am not sure how people usually consider manufacture dates. Do they usually account for it going by when movement is made? Or is it the final watch assembly date? I mean when people say birth year Speedies how are they measuring the manufacture date? If its by movement then I think that would be what I wanted to know for my FOIS as well.

    Thanks so much again.
     
  10. 3nicewatches $100 well spent Dec 9, 2018

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    You are the bomb. I feel like we should all only be allowed to post questions, and only Archer should be allowed to post answers :)
     
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  11. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Dec 9, 2018

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    Date of manufacture is a relatively vague concept, so I don't personally think about it too much. You will have to let others tell you what they consider the date of manufacture, as it seems when it comes to vintage watches, even Omega uses different things at different times. That had ended up in a lot of controversy, so what people consider the true date is not something I can answer.

    Found a Speedmaster example - see the code here:

    [​IMG]

    Closer look here:

    [​IMG]

    But the thing is, not all Speedmasters have it, so the first thing is to determine if yours does.

    Cheers, Al
     
  12. M'Bob Dec 9, 2018

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    I have to confess, this whole issue perplexes me. I need "Understanding Omega Numbers for Dummies."

    Okay, so the movement number, if it is there, is when the movement was made. That's clear. The serial number, which I believe people use for an extract (never ordered one), is roughly, what, the date Omega sent the watch to its destination? Then there's the reference number, that can have a date suffix. And this correlates to the serial number within, about a couple of years? Alright, does the serial number and the movement number correlate as well? In other words, if the date derived from the movement number can be determined, could we either assume or know for sure, that the serial number-related date follows that by a typical time period? For instance: the movement number is 1964, and the serial number is 1966, because it typically took Omega two years from when the movement was constructed, to when the watch was sent out? And I thought dating women was difficult...
     
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  13. alam Dec 9, 2018

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    .. appears you reached out to an intern, on active training and left behind the counter w/o the supervision of an OB Master Apprentice.... :p
     
  14. haqq777 Dec 9, 2018

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    Haha, could very well be!