Anyone have any idea what this case is made from. Looks pitted and was Chrome? Plated at one time. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Mo...e&pageci=7faf93a4-6d57-4ac2-817e-8f0b05cb8d1dPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network
It is chrome plated, as per this: https://movadolookup.wordpress.com/ The first digit "3" is the tell. The next 4 digits is the case reference in the above table. Cal. 75/55 would be correct for this watch. Hope this helps, gatorcpa
I looked at it again and saw aluminum listed but not in his description. I asked if he knew what metal it was and he said no. I like the Chronometre aspect but the case is beat up
I’m wondering if the case is not Aluminium after all. Googled aluminum plating and found it’s expensive and difficult because of the oxidation that forms very quickly. It needs to have another metal plated to it first and that seems like a lot of work and expense for the time. Not to mention that aluminum would have used for the war effort. Could it be Zinc?
It may contain some zinc, but it's quite likely a generic white metal alloy of some type, e.g. some mixture of tin, lead, zinc, copper, etc. There's really no way to know exactly without having it analyzed by a lab.
My guess is that the chrome pitted years ago and someone removed the plating, leaving the base metal. Probably some alloy of copper, nickel and zinc, generically called “German silver”. gatorcpa
An easy way to know for sure if the case is made out of aluminum would be weighing it. There should be a very noticeable weight difference between aluminum and nickel. I've been a watch maker for a very long time and during all this years I've only saw one Omega case made out of aluminum, meaning it's possible although unlikely.
That may be true, but its worth noting that most such alloys, including saxophones and other high-quality objects (I have a custom knife), show a much higher quality finish.
Texture of the case appears to me to have been glass blasted, i.e.: extremely fine glass powder abrasive. It removes all corrosion and gunk and leaves small pits where the corrosion has degraded the surface. I've seen the same finish on steel small arms parts that have been blasted prior to parkerising (also on my steel and alloy motor bike engine parts ). Also seen the same finish on a number of watches on a USA based website, can't remember the name of it.
The reason it looks awful is that there was a shiny chrome plate there originally. The dull, German silver finish was never meant to be seen. However, I’m sure a skilled craftsman could polish it to a reasonable finish. gatorcpa
It’s what was once referred to as “pot metal”. It would’ve then been wrapped or coated with different sorts of finishes (PCV, Precious metals, chrome...etc.).
Usually pot metal is or becomes brittle over time and cab break easily. I’ve seen a lot of ‘deco’ lamps over the years made of that and they always crack or pieces break off