Need Help! Wife Shopping for Vintage Omega for Spouse

Hi everyone,

I posted this on Reddit, but a kind person suggested you guys would be better suited to help me. I am trying to buy my partner a wedding present. They are non-binary. Female-bodied but have a more masculine presentation. Please don't be a jerk. It's Pride Month. I just mention this fact because they are not going to like a watch that might look a little feminine, and I know a lot of vintage Omegas are unisex. Also, I understand that these questions reflect a lack of true knowledge of Omega's history, and my budget is really limited. Honestly, I am underwater with grad school finals, and I recently experienced a significant loss in my family, so if I could rely on your expertise for quick info, this would be a great gift to me. You would get so much good karma!

I know they like the look of vintage Omega watches, but I am having trouble figuring out which watch might be best, given a limited budget. My partner is NOT a fancy-watch collector, and they are not going to be judgmental or critical of my purchase over small details/non-original elements, etc. Not worried about resale value. For 40 years, they have worn a plastic black Casio watch.

My top-end budget is around $2k, but I would really prefer to spend $1.5k or less. Also, my best friend lives in Japan, and I know he could buy something for me on a Japanese auction site and bring it to me when he visits in July. I have used Buyee/From Japan/JPAuctions and found some items a few hundred dollars cheaper.

Getting them the "nicer version" of the watch within my limited budget is about me loving them. They will only care that it says "Omega" and looks nice (parameters below).

Larger case. At least 35mm or 36mm +, rare for vintage watches, I know
Gold case, but gold-plated is fine, and open to pale gold, silver, or white face.
Must have a date and a second hand.
Darker leather strap and wants to be able to change the strap. Aftermarket fine.
Based on one limited stop at a vintage store in Thailand, I * think * they like the look of Automatic De Villes, Seamaster De Ville, and a Constellation. I definitely know that a De Ville was the one they liked best at that store.
Doesn't like "fussy" designs with sparkly diamonds or tons of detail. Prefers classic looks.

Here are my questions:

What kind of watch am I looking for in your opinion? Are there specific lines that better fit my parameters? Specific decades?

Should I definitely use my expat friend in Japan to help me get one of these, because I will end up getting a better deal no matter what? If so, any advice? Friend said that as long as I find the item and tell him what to do, he will buy it and bring it home to me in July, but he does not want to have to shop for it himself or go physically shop for me (understandable)

If 3 watches were in near mint condition with aftermarket straps and none were solid gold (not in the budget), the Automatic De Ville, the Seamaster De Ville, and the Constellation, what is the general order of value there? Constellation > Seamaster De Ville > De Ville? What about the watches that are labeled "quartz"? Does the presence of quartz make the watch nicer or less nice?

If I buy a watch that is mostly really nice-looking but has a few imperfections in the gold plating or filling on the outside, can that be fixed easily/relatively cheaply with gold plating?

1. Alternatively, and maybe this is crazy sacrilegious, but if the watch has a gold case but silver lugs (I know they don't like two-toned because even that is a bit fussy), can just the lugs be plated? We saw one like https://ebay.io/m/lW3f4V, and they loved it, but hated the silver lugs.
2. Given the parameters outlined, any general advice?
   
   
   
   
   

Thank you SO much for this feedback. Honestly, this was seriously helpful.I am going to look for a gold gapped Seamaster from the year range you mentioned. This was really kind and fast. Thank you!

Whatever you choose, run it past us first. I know originality isn’t the end all but you don’t want something very obviously wrong with it.

Yup, what @TIMElyBehaviour just said.

Whilst your partner may not care too much about originality (and that's fair, I get that), there are a lot of duff Omegas out there for sale.
Collectors refer to them as Frankenwatches. Sellers cobble together bits from several worn out non runners to create something that photographs well, sells well, and, well that's all they care about.

The buyer is then lumbered with a watch that runs, but probably keeps terrible time. Sorting it out can cost many times the purchase price as multiple bits need replacing.

Added to that, whilst it may say Omega on the dial and it may look alright, most of them aren't a patch on a watch in factory original condition.

A good original watch should be well within your budget. Personally I would suggest perusing the for sale forum here. You won't get a bargain, but you won't get ripped off either.
If you do wish to go free range with your purchase, PLEASE ask for advice here before you buy.

Lastly, I suspect you already know this if you've been trying vintage Omegas, vintage watches are smaller than modern ones. It was fairly typical for a vintage gents watch to be 34mm in diameter about the size of a modern ladies watch. A modern gents watch could be 38 to 42mm.

Personally (I'm a bloke with 7 1/4" wrists) I think 42mm is stupidly large, unless you're a rugby playing gorilla.


EDIT: Almost all the vintage Omegas on Yahoo Auctions Japan (or whatever they've renamed it to) have very heavily polished cases. It's a shame as cosmetically a lot of them appear to be in otherwise decent nick.