Hey guys I recently inherited a vintage omega, I don't know much about where it came from or about watches in general so any advice is greatly appreciated. I'm looking for the year, calibre, ref number and a ballpark of it's worth.

 

Will need photos of the back of the watch and both sides of the bracelet clasp.

 

I'm sure the experts will chime in, but looks like a 168.005 case reference. Case looks like it's in pretty good condition and the first pic is blurry but it looks like the dial is original, which is very good

Do you have pictures of the back medallion? Good pictures of the inside of the caseback and movement would help in giving more information / evaluation. You could take it to a competent jeweler and have them open it up so you can take pictures.

Adam

 

It's an early to mid 60's pie pan Constellation. It has either a caliber 561 or 564 depending on when it was made. The later models were 168.005 with caliber 564's inside. The earlier models (I forget the 5 digit reference - 14.xxx) had 561's inside. The middle of this range, around 1963/64, could be either the 561 or 564. Omega's 5 digit codes switched to 6 digits around 1962-ish.

Value is really tied to the gold content. If it's gold capped (thick plating) it could sell anywhere from $800 - $1200 depending on condition. If it's solid gold, obviously it would sell for a lot higher price. 14ct examples go for $2100 - $2700, 18ct specimens can fetch $2500 - $3100.

That's just the watch head, not including the bracelet.

 

Ok I had my wife send me some pictures of the watch. Hope this helps.

 

Gold capped on stainless. Kind of hard to tell in the picture, but looks like the medallion may have been polished / worn down a little bit (looks like a couple of the stars aren't crisp). Using macro mode on the camera for pictures of the dial and case is always a good idea.

Again, pictures of inside the case back and of the movement would be very helpful.

Is this a sentimental piece? Otherwise, I'm sure there are some of us that might be interested once those pictures come through...

 

No I'm looking to sell the piece despite how much I'd love to wear it around for a bit. xP

I'll try and take it to a jeweler asap to have them open up the case for me so I can get some pictures of the inside.

 

Yes, this is the sort of watch I've been buying but with a polished medallion like that I'd either need a movement shot or for it to be really cheap for me to go for it. A movement/caseback shot would be your friend here....

 

Just had it taken to a jeweler This is the information given to me as well as the photographs taken. Sorry for the poor quality the only camera we have is an iphone 5


18k gold band

serial number 23896596

24 jewels

cal. 561

adjusted 5 position

 

18k solid gold band? I'm not sure what others would say, but personally I would sell the band separately for scrap since it's not an original Omega or anything, that way you know you get full value for the gold content. Then just sell the watch on its own...

 

Oh, and serial number dates it to approximately 1966 I believe.

 

How much do you think the watch alone is worth?

 

This is where I'll let the real experts chime in... But the strap only adds the value of the gold (if it were an original Omega strap, that would be a different story). Most people will purchase a new strap to put on a watch anyway, as it's a personal style preference.

 

Also, I'm assuming you don't know whether it has been recently serviced? Servicing can run $200 - $400 (or more if done by Omega), and would probably be necessary.

 

I believe it hasn't been recently serviced. The jeweler offered 1,100 for it subtracting the 200 dollars for servicing.

 

Including the solid gold bracelet? I would imagine there is several hundred dollars worth of gold in that bracelet. I'm assuming Dennis' earlier $800 - $1200 estimate was not taking into account the bracelet, so $1,100 for the package would be too low imho.

I would assume a jeweler should pay the spot price of gold for the bracelet?

A jeweler is not going to give you a "retail" price for the watch itself, like you would get here or on eBay...

 

Yeah we realized he was just trying to flip the watch for a profit but at least we know that it is somewhat valuable. also the gold in the watch is 18k as well I don't know if I mentioned that.

 

It's gold capped, so it's a relatively think layer of gold (relative to gold plated or gold filled) on top of stainless steel. The value given is already taking into account the gold cap.

I'm not sure if an expert could now refine the $800-$1200 range for the watch sans strap.