i would like a simple omega. I have a liking for the 1980ish style e.g. Sea master Cherbourg. Day/date watch. Quartz or fansyier. All fine by shallow me. I just want a genuine cheap omega. This guy is selling a couple. What are the groups opinions please? Any comments welcome.

 

Looks genuine, looks nice.

 

Why did they make the crowns so small on some quartz pieces ?

 

Don't buy a quartz watch..don't buy a quartz watch...

 

Unless you are looking for a specific model (like the f300hz Seamaster The Cone), I wouldn't buy a quartz model if I were you.

 

I'm not really fussed about the movement. But interested as to why you dont recommend quartz. I'm pretty shallow. I just want a watch that works and has an omega symbol on it. I also like the look of this one, very simple and date. Thanks for advice guys.

 

What about this one

 

9 times out of 10, the service costs outstrip the value of the watch, and an awful lot of the older quartz Omega watches, whilst available for under £200, will cost £400-£600 to fix when they stop working.

Unless you have a burning desire to set a few hundred quid on fire, just to get a greek symbol on your wrist, I would heavily advocate slowing down, and then:

1 - Work out how much you want to spend.
2 - Find a few models of watches within that budget that appeal to you.
3 - Do some research to understand what a good/bad one of those watches looks like.
4 - Find a watch you actually want to buy.
5 - Discover that your tastes have changed and start all over again.

Or just buy whatever piece of crap you find on eBay for £200 and then come back in two months time when it's died, asking us for watchmaker recommendations, and then two weeks after that, come back to complain about how expensive they are.

You pays your money, you takes your choice.

Good luck.

 

What @tyrantlizardrex said, is wisdom.

 

Thanks. Some passionate advise indeed! I better have a good think. I assumed the guts would also be cheap on a battery watch. Lots to learn.

 

Tuning fork != quartz

 

I know, that's precisely why I said "unless you are looking for a specific model". I don't like quartz watches but nevertheless I have The Cone. For me, it is an iconic 1970s watch. Omega has not released a watch with the same (or similar) design/shape with mechanical/automatic movement. No other option then.




With respect to the watch selected by Tobyhorne, it is easy to find a watch with a similar design/shape with mechanical movement.

 

@peire06 i think @ac106 point was that an F300 is not a quartz watch.

 

While they are different, I put them in the same box.

 

Yes, well you shouldn’t.

 

If nothing else, from a “people who can repair them” perspective, they’re a different kettle of fish.

 

True, but like a quartz watch, when the battery is dead you need to change it or the watch no longer works.

Also, like with a vintage quartz watch, it is sometimes very hard to find parts for these tuning fork watches and it can cost an arm and a leg to have them fixed.

 

Right just like a vintage car. Needs a battery to work and parts are hard to find and expensive. Same exact thing.

 

For sure, they run on the same type of power source, but internally the mechanics are very different.

And there are quite a few people around the world who can repair (and get parts) for tuning fork watches - not so much for the old quartz models.

Equally in Omega's old product line, the f300s were often range topping models, I don't think that regular quartz ever was (I'm excluding megaquartz/electroquartz models here).

One of those things where similar up to a point, but not the same.

 

I think I'll stop being so shallow, get a Seiko and save up for an omega that is both automatic and 100m water resistant. I'll be back in 10 years to ask your advise. Thanks for the help. It's been interesting.