Hi, New to the forum and looking for a little guidance on my vintage Omega watch. This watch was owned by my Uncle who passed away about 25 years ago and made it’s way to me about 10 years ago. It is currently not working and I attempted to have it repaired about 5 years ago but the watchmaker who did the work failed in getting it into working order again. At that time I asked the repairman how old he thought the watch was and he guessed at 60 years old. I have no idea if he was correct but I would love to know what model it is and how old it is. I would also like to take another stab at getting it repaired, not in order to sell it but in order to wear it as it has sentimental value from a beloved Uncle. I live one south of Los Angeles in Orange County so if anybody has any watch repair recommendations that would be greatly appreciated. I read the posting guidelines and know photos are king here but the photos that I am posting here are the best that I can do as I don’t feel competent enough to get the back of the case off. So, my questions are: 1. What model watch do I have and approximately how old is it? 2. Where is a good place (locally or not) to get it back in working order? Thanks much. Rob
Hi Rob, Welcome to the best forum in the world. We can give you a much better idea of your watch if we see the insides, the marks on the inside of the caseback and on the movement will provide some great information. If you are remotely technically capable, you should be able to remove the caseback yourself, if you think you're a clutz at stuff like that a watchmaker is the preferred option to open the watch for pictures. At the moment I can't see too much Omega DNA in the watch so more detective work on your behalf is required.
Welcome robw Do you have pics of the inside of the watch? The dail is a very crude redail, but the inside of the watch might be of any interst. All in all it looks like a very tired watch Edit: crossed posting with jiminoz
looks much like an old bumper omega in today's WRUW thread: https://omegaforums.net/threads/wruw-today.567/page-2185
Actually, it does not. OP's bezel is different (missing?), lugs are different, dail might have the same build-up (non-central seconds), but hourmarkers are different, the minute markers are different, dail as such is -as stated, a crude redial. Hands are different too. Well....... Only thing alike is the color of the metal of the case. I am afraid the comparison ends there... And without pics of the inside, it is guessing what is inside. M2Cnts
Sometimes old parts are not readily available for uncommon movements and they may not have the time or interest in searching for your X for months on end. Some parts can be made from scratch as well, but again, many don't have the time, or skills to offer that service. If a movement is really a mess, you may need a replacement that could exceed the value of the watch. That's one advantage of the commonly used movements. They've been around for decades, are easier to service, and parts are readily available. We will see going forward how all these new in house movements from Panerai, etc. hold up 20 or 40 years from now when your kids want to service your now antique watch.
If it's a fake the parts are probably not available and not worth trying to source anyway. If it's real, some bumper calibers are hard to find parts for, or maybe this watchmaker didn't have an account that could provide them. Without seeing the internals it's all speculation. Exactly.
Here are some more pictures. Interestingly enough, it briefly started running when the woman at the watchmaker popped the back off.
Yike! Serial and case numbers have been scratched out. That is never a good sign. Looks like the lack of case screws has caused the ratchet and transmission wheel to rub the inside of the case back and the balance appears broken.
Somebody has gone to great lengths to remove the serial number of the movement and of the case. That suggests....screams, really...that this watch was not separated from its rightful owner by honest means.
Conjecture - although the caseback serial has been scratched off, it looks as though that movement serial is in the 15 million range. That would date the watch to around 1956. Caliber could be either a 261, 262, 266, 268 or 269 as you have the sub-second dial. A tricky proposition should you wish to get it serviced (due to sentimental reasons.)