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  1. padders Oooo subtitles! Mar 15, 2019

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    A good pal of mine who is a watch collector, but not an Omega buff has asked me for help with this on the basis I have more Omega experience than him but I have come up short so thought I would throw it open to the collective and ask for your thoughts.

    I apologise in advance for the poor photos, he has the watch in hand but is at work and unable to send me better shots until later. Anyhow as can be seen, this is a solid 18K 3 register model with the 321 movement on a 12.97m serial (so presumably dates to around 1951-2) with an OXG mark suggesting some US connection. I believe it is around 37.5mm diameter. The caseback inscription has puzzled me. The markings look like those for a factory case but the number which look like (1) 2568 (1) doesn't get any hits as a case number. There is a 2468 model which is very similar from this era but has rather wider tapering lugs. Can anyone help to confirm or otherwise that this is indeed a legit model based on these poor pics. I wondered if the number could just be a case serial but those aren't AFAIK normally in this format and in any case the similarity with the 2468 model suggests a link.

    ps I realise the hands are probably wrong since I can't see any lume on the dial.

    All help gratefully received:

    IMG_2881.jpg IMG_2879.jpg IMG_2882.jpg IMG_2880.jpg
     
  2. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Mar 15, 2019

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    Can confirm that 2568 does not appear to be a valid case number, nor is 125681.
     
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  3. Gav1967 Tend not to fret too much Mar 15, 2019

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    Nor sure this is helpful or not but it does have a passing resemblance to this one in AJTT (pg 541)
    DSC_0047.JPG
     
  4. Gav1967 Tend not to fret too much Mar 15, 2019

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    Or maybe this case. Read description ref 2468 with Cal 321 edit. Just re-read your post and you mention this case already... Doh::facepalm1::
    DSC_0049.JPG
     
  5. rcs914 Mar 15, 2019

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    Maybe the case back was being done at 4:45pm on a Friday and someone picked up the 6 instead of the zero?
     
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  6. padders Oooo subtitles! Mar 15, 2019

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    Haha some good suggestions above! Good work guys!

    It is a big worry that the number isn't recognised, it is possible that photo is screwy and I have read it wrong, or as noted above, Hans or Pierre was eager to get home to the fondue on a Vendredi apres midi. I'll check when he sends better pics. I suppose it could be some kind of local case or even a fake but it sure looks nice.

    Many thanks to Al @Archer who has been helpful as ever with a definitive answer on the legitimacy of (what I think is) the number.
     
  7. OMEGuy Mar 15, 2019

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    My humble thoughts on this are that this watch is a victim of earlier modifications:

    I think it's basically a ref. 2468 and the lugs have been modified for whatever reason, maybe because the previous owner liked them better this way.

    The caseback is wrong, it was swapped.

    The dial is a redial.

    Sweep second and hour counter are maybe still correct, while the other hands are wrong.
     
  8. padders Oooo subtitles! Mar 15, 2019

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    It did cross my mind that the lugs had been altered, there are 2468s with wider curved fluted lugs. My pal says that there is no obvious evidence of this but it remains to be seen. A caseback swap is interesting but surely would only make sense if the new caseback was from another recognisable model, it seems not to be, unless a new fake one has been fabricated but if so why not fake it right?

    I don't think it is a good idea to be too judgemental about the dial until we have better photos, even at that resolution there seem to be concentric circles in the subdials which is a good sign and hard for redialers to redo. What do you see which makes you say that? To be fair, you have been wrong before!

    I agree the hands are not right for that dial.
     
    Edited Mar 15, 2019
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  9. Gav1967 Tend not to fret too much Mar 15, 2019

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    There are similar dauphine hour and minute hands on a similar dial in the left corner of the second photo I posted above. The difference though was the spike hour markers have radium dots and doesn’t appear yours has
     
  10. padders Oooo subtitles! Mar 15, 2019

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    Yes agreed. I work on the basis it is all or nothing with Omega, lume on both hands and dial or neither, lume on one only generally means hands or dial has been swapped or altered. Or possibly both of course!
     
  11. OMEGuy Mar 15, 2019

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    I posted under the headline that these are just my humble thoughts. So I thought it's not necessary to repeat this in every following line and I didn't want to be judgemental about anything. Sorry if you felt that way.

    It would be nice if you told me where I've been wrong before, so that I can learn from my mistakes. There are many people here being wrong every day...

    I think that the 2468 looked like that:

    [​IMG]
    I know there were dials with arrow markers as well.

    Apart from this, I'm thinking this is a redial because the subdial design is totally unusual, makes no sense and doesn't match the period, the subdials have a significantly different colour, the fonts are generally mixed up (e.g. the shape of the '3' on subdials, dial and tachymetric scale or compare the digits on secound and hour counter etc.), the font sizes and thinnesses vary, the printing of the 'OMEGA' is uneven, the tachymetric scale should be labeled 'TACHY 60 METRE' instead of '60 TACHYMETER', the markers at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock are missing...
     
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  12. padders Oooo subtitles! Mar 15, 2019

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    Some good points there, and some I am not so sure about. Not sure I agree with the points about the 3,6,9 markers and I don't really understand what you mean about 'Tachy 60 metre' but I do see a lot to ponder on your observation about the different fonts for the 3 markers, troubling perhaps. Also shouldn't Tachymeter be Tachymetre maybe? If you want me to find the thread I referred to I will look but you were called out by several others on crying redial a little too soon a couple of weeks ago so wanted to hear your reasoning on this. You were good enough to elaborate and I am grateful that you did.

    ps on the watch you linked to, there are no 3,6,9 markers and the script at the top is 'Tachymetre 60' so I think I may have understood some of your points. Or you did.
     
  13. OMEGuy Mar 15, 2019

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    Sorry, here is the arrow marker version:

    [​IMG]

    Correct, 'TACHYMETER' should be 'TACHYMETRE' here. But look at the picture of the watch you posted...;)
     
  14. padders Oooo subtitles! Mar 15, 2019

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    I did which is why I said it.
     
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  15. padders Oooo subtitles! Mar 16, 2019

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    Some better pics. Since the number makes no sense, it could well be a put together (unless it is some sort of case serial) with a redone dial but if so they did a pretty good job. Its certainly attractive! Normally the concentric circles are lost on repainted dials but they look good here. The spelling of Tachymetre and the 3 fonts are a concern though as noted above. Anyone else seen anything similar? In the absence of anything further I guess the obvious conclusion is that it is a Franken or redial. it may be worth trying for an extract just in case!

    IMG_2887.jpg IMG_2888.jpg IMG_2889.jpg IMG_2890.jpg IMG_2891.jpg
     
    Edited Mar 16, 2019
  16. OMEGuy Mar 16, 2019

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    I believe you are correct with your analysis.

    And in addition to mention is that there's definitely no 'SWISS MADE' on the dial.
     
    Edited Mar 16, 2019
  17. padders Oooo subtitles! Mar 16, 2019

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    There is none visible but I wouldn’t want to say definitely until the dial is out the case. It’s not unusual for the text to be hidden by the rehaut.
     
  18. OMEGuy Mar 16, 2019

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    Rehaut?

    [​IMG]
     
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  19. padders Oooo subtitles! Mar 16, 2019

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    The flange round the dial. Here is an example from 1957. Swiss Made is there, you just can’t see it.

    394E3F2E-86B9-4CBE-BC6B-4214B19D5F70.jpeg
     
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