New to Vintage Omega: Thoughts

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shaiht

·Aug 10, 2021

Hey OF,

I’ve recently gotten into vintage Omega watches, and have spotted a model in my local vintage watch store. He is asking ~$3500 USD for it: being a 1963 Omega Seamaster in 18K rose gold that has recently been serviced and is running +/- 10 seconds/day.

Couple of questions:
- Is it worth the asking price ? If not why
- How good are rose gold vintage Omegas in terms of durability, and would this be suitable to wear on a daily basis
- Is this a redial or Frankenwatch ? I’m somewhat certain it’s a redial given it’s pristine condition, regardless how good of a redial is it ?
- What sort of accuracy is acceptable with recently serviced vintage movements such as the 552?

Any other tips and advice on what to look out for would be greatly appreciated. Apologies for the lack of knowledge, slowly beginning the journey into vintage Omega!

 

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Passover

·Aug 10, 2021

Hi and welcome here!

For me the dial looks original, so not a redial even it looks so good

No indication for a frankenwatch but only an extract from the archive could give a definate answer

Serial number dates the watch to around 1963 which is coherent.


Case looks quite soft due to polishing

Movement looks clean and in good shape, 10 seconds per day is OK IMO

I'm not familiar with this reference but 3500 $ seems too much

Hope that helps

 

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Spruce

·Aug 10, 2021·Sunburst dial fan

552 movements are generally regarded as rock solid, easy and inexpensive to service and easy to get parts for if needed. The same can be said for the date version, cal 565.

The price seems high, particularly for a well polished case but then, I tend to go for steel or gold capped models in the $500-1,000 range.

 

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mrbreen

·Aug 10, 2021

Gonna agree with the sentiments above. Looks all original and the lugs have been quite polished (which would be a deal breaker for me). These 18k rose gold cases aren’t exactly super common, but that’s quite a premium to pay when similar watches in SS and GF can be had at a fraction of that price.

As to your question on this being a daily wearer? I suppose that’s a matter of taste, but speaking for myself, this is a very dressy watch, and one that was meant to be worn for such occasions.

 

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Edward53

·Aug 10, 2021

You have to ask yourself what this model in similar condition in SS would cost, then add on the scrap value of the gold. Subtracting an estimated 20g for the movement and dial, I can't see there being more than 40g of gold. I am sure others will chip in if I'm out. That gives about $1670 worth of gold. For me (I'm in the UK so our prices may be a bit different) that watch is overpriced by a thousand dollars.

 

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nicks

·Aug 10, 2021

These are not common and that is a very good example.

Not long ago, there was an exceptionally good yellow gold/black dial Seamaster, similar vintage, for sale here in Canada. The asking price was around $2200 USD, and it sold for less.

I thought the buyer of that one did very well. This one is beautiful, but the price is a stretch. Try an offer.

 

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efauser

·Aug 10, 2021

I would offer $1800 usd and see what the seller says.

 

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TexOmega

·Aug 10, 2021

Can yellow gold and rose gold co-exist as original ?

Asking for a friend.

 

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MtV

·Aug 10, 2021

TexOmega

Can yellow gold and rose gold co-exist as original ?

Asking for a friend.

I was just gonna ask the same. Looks like YG hands - and if they’re incorrect, finding correct RG ones is gonna be hard. Very hard.

Either way, the price is absurd. Polished, dealer-prepared watch for a hefty premium - I’d pass.

Regarding every-day wearability: The movement is great and there’s no reason to not wear it regularly, but I’d avoid water, including rain.

 

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Walrus

·Aug 10, 2021

Edward53

You have to ask yourself what this model in similar condition in SS would cost, then add on the scrap value of the gold. Subtracting an estimated 20g for the movement and dial, I can't see there being more than 40g of gold. I am sure others will chip in if I'm out. That gives about $1670 worth of gold. For me (I'm in the UK so our prices may be a bit different) that watch is overpriced by a thousand dollars.

You think that has 40 grams? That would be about 1,730usd but that sounds kind of heavy. Could very well be I have no idea about gold weight and cases unless there is a place to look that info up. I just know the dummy who melted the case on a IWC I’m hoping to bring back in a different (non gold) case got around 400 for the case, could have been smaller and 14k though who knows

 

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khangct

·Aug 10, 2021

This watch is stunning, but I think $3500 is too much. $2000 seem more reasonable.

 

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Dan S

·Aug 10, 2021

For a collector it's a silly price. But if it's a one-off purchase for you, you intend to keep it forever, you don't mind some obscure condition issues, and you really don't care about a thousand dollars here or there, then it seems like a perfectly fine watch. Retail stores need to pay their employees and their rent after all.

Most members here wouldn't pay that price for that watch. But when we are looking for a good watch at a fair price, we are generally willing to do an outrageous amount of research, and then spend hours each day hunting, possibly for months.

Edited: Aug 10, 2021

 

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Shabbaz

·Aug 11, 2021

Sometimes I dont want to wait for several months and I just pay 0,5 to 1k more then marketvalue. I did that recently. I still dont regret it. Dealers are'nt cheap!

 

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Shabbaz

·Aug 11, 2021

Oh yeah. I overpaid for this one as well!

 

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Edward53

·Aug 11, 2021

Walrus

You think that has 40 grams? That would be about 1,730usd but that sounds kind of heavy. Could very well be I have no idea about gold weight and cases unless there is a place to look that info up. I just know the dummy who melted the case on a IWC I’m hoping to bring back in a different (non gold) case got around 400 for the case, could have been smaller and 14k though who knows

At most. I did say "not more than" and 40g is a generous estimate. I don't know why our gold prices are so different but the end result is still much the same.

Shabbaz

Sometimes I dont want to wait for several months and I just pay 0,5 to 1k more then marketvalue. I did that recently. I still dont regret it. Dealers are'nt cheap!

I've done that too and it's fine as long as you know you're doing it. OP can make his choice now that he's been suitably informed.