Hello everyone! This is my first time posting on a forum and I am looking to steal some of your expertise! I have only been browsing the forum for an hour or so but can already tell everyone is very knowledgeable and friendly.

My boyfriend recently had this watch passed down to him and we were hoping to gather some information on it. I have always loved watches but never considered collecting anything vintage until I saw this one... I think this is the beginning of a very expensive hobby...

I think this watch is late 1950s but am not sure... Also, if you have any advice on how to take care of this watch I would really appreciate it (total omega newbie).

Thanks!

 

Welcome!
Your boyfriend has scored himself a solid gold watch! My first pIece of advice is DONT WEAR IT OR WIND IT until it has been serviced. Wearing/winding it now could do serious damage to the gears as the lubricating oil will have completely gummed up. Where do you live? We might be able to recommend someone


@dsio or @kyle L might be worth moving this thread to vintage advice?

 

Looks dodgy to me, I´d go as far to say a fake. I´m concerned that the case is not the solid 18kt gold that it purports to be either. Observatory is completely wrong and it looks like a bit of wear through on the back of the lugs. Can you open it up for some pictures of the movement and inside case back just to be sure?

 

We would need photos of the inside to give detailed info.

 

x2, but im gunna go so far as to say its a fake, or at the very least a very poor redial with mismatched caseback. not nearly as much of a pro as the lot of you here, but the typeface for "omega" doesn't look right at all (or the rest of the print for that matter), omega logo doesnt look right, caseback looks as if it was carved by hand, and i'm not sure but, did piepans come with a cyclops over the date? date wheel looks off too (font looks too thick)- that could be the cyclops though. hour markers don't look genuine either

 

Hello CanberraOmega, cristos 71, and travisrock!

Thank you for the reply! It was given to him by his grandfather, and he originally got it off someone that owed him money a long time ago! I think in the 70s?

I am not sure how to open up the back and have been too scared to try... if someone could provide instructions I would really appreciate it

I'm very sad to hear that the majority of you believe it to be fake - it has a lot of sentimental value since it is from his grandfather so the news is disappointing to say the least! As soon as I figure out how to open the back I will post pictures.

Thanks

 

if you don't know how to open the back- i advise you to take it to take it to a local watchmaker/jeweler and have them do it. If it is in fact a genuine piepan- you wanna make sure its safe

And no matter the authenticity- it's still near and dear to your heart. that's what matters more than the authenticity.

 

also- welcome! this is one of the most knowledgeable groups of watch folks ive met on the web. Great information and people here!

 

I completely agree! It will continue to be a very sentimental piece regardless!

 

If it is real, no doubt it is a redial. The cyclops may not have come out of the factory, but it could be a generic aftermarket. There are some sea masters that came with original omega cyclops.



@theturtles01 can you take more photos of the date window? That is one of the key tells of a fake

 

that's what i was thinking- maybe it was an OEM omega crystal replacement, just incorrect(?) crystal.

 

For info on fake constellations see. Here
http://omega-constellation-collectors.blogspot.com.au/2006/09/which-dial-is-fake.html?m=1

 

Must admit I am leaning more towards fake. I have spent 3 hrs at a whisky tasting session though!

Thank goodness for auto correct

 

It unfortunately looks a total fake to me. The medallion stars look to me as if they have been taken from a mould of a genuine Constellation. The dial with the missing dotted i and the appalling rendition of the applied Omega lettering together with arrowhead markers is a known fake and I'm willing to wager the whole ensemble is fake. Note the lugs and how they jut out too far from the case. While arrowhead markers are known on case 14902, they are very uncommon. I suspect that when you open the case back up the inner case marks will prove the watch to be a fake, the case made not out of gold but pinchbeck.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Cheers

Desmond

 

T - SWISS MADE - T ????

The arrowheads might be worth salvaging, but I suspect they are also made of Unobtanium

 

I didn't even notice the constellation star until you mentioned that!

And someone also linked- the crosshair dial as well. I'd say 99% it's a fake

 

There's no doubt the watch is non-genuine with every external part that can been seen in those pictures. I'm pretty sure who think it's genuine are not well informed about it. I'm also reasonably sure this watch wasn't made in the 70s either.

As an aside, I want to address the crystal with date magnifier. There have been two crystal options for a long time for those Omegas (Constellation and otherwise) with date feature: one with date magnifier and one without. I say long time because I've had and seen those with the older style and tiny Omega logo in the middle. The two options are still available as new at present for those older watch models too, albeit with the new style, bigger and clearer logo.

 

Hi everyone! First off, I'd like the thank you all for contributing to this thread. So here's a little update on the watch.

As suggested we took the watch to a few local watch makers in an attempt to check out the internal components. Three of the four guys who looked at it swore it was authentic, despite our attempts to explain that it had been ousted here on the forums. The last guy determined that it was fake in about 30 seconds, then did a thorough examination. He told us that the "movement" was 100% authentic and from an original watch. Now, why someone would take an original movement out of a watch is beyond me. What did they do with the original casing that went along with it? Maybe you can answer that question here. He also said that although the back plate is fake, it is made out of real gold. He was unsure whether the face of the watch was gold or not. We'd be interested in getting your opinions on his thoughts. Here are a few photos that were taken in his shop. We apologize for the poor picture quality, these were taken "in the field" hahaha.

 

OOOps

 

Movement is definitely genuine.what happened to the original case? Melted for gold? Smashed? Scratched so badly it was unusable? Etc etc. there are hundreds of genuine movements on eBay all the time. Pick up a cheap movement, whack it in a fake case, quadruple your money if you get away with it.