I have to confess that this, the latest watch to join the rapidly growing assembly at Smith Towers, never left the Omega factory. Well, the individual parts did, but not all at once. Yes, it is a complete Franken, but was not sold with any intention to deceive and I knew exactly what it was when I purchased it. It’s a bit like the Watchco Specials really, but was put together by a UK seller from his personal stash of Omega parts. So it is not a vintage watch, and does not form part of my 1950s collection, but is just a rugged daily wearer that I don’t have to be too precious about or worry over every little scratch. It’s my Gardening Watch. The core of any watch is the movement, and in this case it’s a rugged old manual-wind calibre 284 from 1958. As you can see the cosmetics aren’t too great, but it has been cleaned, lubricated and a new mainspring fitted. Despite its age and looks, it is keeping time to within 5 secs in 24 hours. Coupled up with the 284 is a NOS Omega service dial and dauphine hands. The dial has a set of very nice applied gold hour batons, sixties style, and as you can see the gold hands are a perfect colour match. The dial also has a brushed starburst finish which is rather classy and catches the light in all sorts of interesting ways. The movement and dial are housed in a NOS steel case reference 2938. This case is an education in itself, I had not realised just how crisp the facets were on the originals until now. Dennis would love it, you can cut paper with the tips of the lugs . . . and each surface is literally mirror finished. I have a feeling that this case, like the dial, is also a service issue. Here inside the back you can see that there is just the reference 2938, with no hyphen number and no ‘SC’. All the usual stuff about fitting the washer in the back is also missing. There are just a few light marks on the outside of the back where it has been in storage. The crystal is a brand new genuine Omega item. So there we are, an Omega which could have existed but never did until now, John’s Franken and Garden Watch –seen here in my garden.
As long as there is no intention to deceive anyone, particularly if you're selling it, then there's absolutely nothing wrong with a watch like that. Makes sense to use it for daily wear too - just like you would with any modern watch bought for the same purpose (like, say, a Hamilton or Tissot). I like it too.
The case is quite large, at 35.5mm (excluding the crown). It's about as big a watch as I want to wear, anyway.
Suits well on your wrist. I´m waiting for my own franken to have the last adjustments on the movement, and created it with the same purpose as you; not really gardening, but as a daily wearer.
Very nice, a piece as nice deserves to be used in a supervisory role in the garden or perhaps sitting in a deckchair. Enjoy.
I like it John, kind of an Omega tool watch, suitable for gardening, shopping, and taking the dog for a walk...Seriously though, it looks great on the wrist! Enjoy!
Mirror finish and no worries around the brush?!?!? You've got a nerve of steel John! It's really a lovely assemblage, regardless of its origin. Enjoy!
I don't have a problem with it as long as it doesn't claim to be something that it aint, and it don't, so I'm happy. Saving a nice movement, probably from a train wreck of a case and using genuine Omega parts to come up with something that reflects Omega DNA results in what you have there. I like it <edit> A Lot!
Congrats on the fine outcome. I always want to have 'project' watch but not yet have the courage to pull until now.
Thanks for all your feedback, folks. I'm glad that you liked the write-up. These sorts of projects do raise ethical questions, which to be honest I don't really have an answer to. There are quite a few of these NOS cases and dials around out there, and quite a lot of movements too, so in many ways it seems a pity not to use them to create a "new" watch rather than re-case an existing one. The problem arises when these recreations get back into the supply chain in the future, if they are then offered as a genuine vintage Omega. In this particular instance nobody who knew what they were doing would be fooled for long, though - the 2938 was a Seamaster and this is obviously the wrong dial, although the 284 movement (and date) is correct. And the simple '2938' inscription inside of the case back would ring alarm bells too. What I hadn't really appreciated is just how much our beloved vintage watches have softened and mellowed with time (which of course is a desirable thing, and part of the reason why we love them). When you see a brand spanking new case, dial and hands like these you realise just how crisp and indeed spectacular 1950s and 60s Omegas must have been when new. So this project has been very educational, but I don't think I'd want more than one example like this.
A very nice watch!! Here is my self made franken. Nos case (36mm 2890) nos movement 269 nos dial r The hands are painted black.