Omega 1894 from 1994 - some questions

Chemistman · May 22, 2024

Hi folks:

One of these Rosegold limited edition 1894 turned up locally and I am interested. However the example didn’t come with box or paper. What would be the ballpark value be ( I couldn’t find many for sale elsewhere, a bit hard to gauge a fair price to pay). According to the Hodinkee article these were $500 back in 1994 lol.

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/on-greatness-in-watchmaking-and-the-omega-1894

Also in terms of authentication - would Omega dealer be able to verify this? I suppose given the rarity there probably won’t be many replicas around.

Many thanks

Annapolis · May 23, 2024

That’s a pretty rare and niche watch. The reference is 5950.32.03, and, unless the internet has misled me, it was one dial variant among a few that Omega did for the 1894/1994 centennial—this one specifically for the Japanese market. I’ve only seen one for sale in recent years—the same one Forster mentions in the article, at Crown & Caliber—and they don’t provide a historical record of their sale prices. You might be able to search concluded sales on eBay or Chrono24. To be clear, the $500 he mentioned paying in 1994 was for a real 1940s vintage gold Omega that used the caliber this special edition from the 90s was based on.

Hard to put a price on this, but other gold watches from the same limited edition (with other dials) seem to get listed in the 6 to 7k range, US. That said, if you’ve got a local seller who’s “only” looking to get way less than that, don’t get too excited thinking this will be a quick flip to make a profit. The luxury watch market has cooled significantly in recent months, and, again, this is a really niche watch—not something most people will want. People can ask whatever price they like, but I suspect you’d be hard pressed to find a buyer for this at anywhere near that number. (I personally wouldn’t touch it for more than 3k, and even for that I’d need to think.)

As for authenticating, it should have an exhibition caseback: if you post good clear pics of the dial and the movement, people here should be able to confirm it for you. Probably not the most likely candidate for forgery, but anything’s possible.

Annapolis · May 23, 2024

PS you can use this for reference:

https://vnwatchenthusiast.com/produ...entenary-1894-limited-edition-ref-5950-32-03/

Note that the watch will be small by modern watch standards (part of its vintage appeal): 35mm in diameter. That’s typical of men’s watches pre-1970s, and some of us still don’t mind that scale. But nowadays a size more typical of “women’s” watches, even as such gendered categories are beginning to get permeable.

kaplan · May 23, 2024

I don't think Hodinkee article says that, having quickread it probably a bit better, stupid article though, as the story watch doesn't seem to be photographed?

Chemistman · May 23, 2024

Thank you very much for the input, it does give a good ballpark re: the price. Currently the asking is ~$5.4K US which I think it’s too much given that it does not come with box and paper, plus the fact that 35mm watches will be hard to move on later if I change my mind.

Like you said $3k is probably right - I do like the older Omega in terms of design and case thickness.

Annapolis
That’s a pretty rare and niche watch. The reference is 5950.32.03, and, unless the internet has misled me, it was one dial variant among a few that Omega did for the 1894/1994 centennial—this one specifically for the Japanese market. I’ve only seen one for sale in recent years—the same one Forster mentions in the article, at Crown & Caliber—and they don’t provide a historical record of their sale prices. You might be able to search concluded sales on eBay or Chrono24. To be clear, the $500 he mentioned paying in 1994 was for a real 1940s vintage gold Omega that used the caliber this special edition from the 90s was based on.

Hard to put a price on this, but other gold watches from the same limited edition (with other dials) seem to get listed in the 6 to 7k range, US. That said, if you’ve got a local seller who’s “only” looking to get way less than that, don’t get too excited thinking this will be a quick flip to make a profit. The luxury watch market has cooled significantly in recent months, and, again, this is a really niche watch—not something most people will want. People can ask whatever price they like, but I suspect you’d be hard pressed to find a buyer for this at anywhere near that number. (I personally wouldn’t touch it for more than 3k, and even for that I’d need to think.)

As for authenticating, it should have an exhibition caseback: if you post good clear pics of the dial and the movement, people here should be able to confirm it for you. Probably not the most likely candidate for forgery, but anything’s possible.

Geezer · May 23, 2024

I personally really like these 1894 models and I've been looking at buying one since about 1-2 years. The only thing that has kept me from getting one is the unattractive Omega logo on the dial (compared to the vintage ones).

The market price for these sits around 5-6k USD, including box and papers. For one without the box and papers I would guess around 4.5k. I'd say 3k is below the current market price.

I have a feeling that these watches are/were more popular in Asia as I have seen quite a few for sale in south-east Asia and especially Japan.

It's true that these might not be the easiest to sell, especially in this soft market.

Chemistman · May 24, 2024

Thanks, yes this does look pretty attractive. I have a smallish wrist so ~36mm thin / dressy watch would be perfect. What I like about this model:

- Limited Edition
- History of the movement
- Relative clean / pristine dial (compared to the historical ones)

Price do have to make sense though, otherwise it will be much easier to go for the modern rosegold 3 handers.

Geezer
I personally really like these 1894 models and I've been looking at buying one since about 1-2 years. The only thing that has kept me from getting one is the unattractive Omega logo on the dial (compared to the vintage ones).

The market price for these sits around 5-6k USD, including box and papers. For one without the box and papers I would guess around 4.5k. I'd say 3k is below the current market price.

I have a feeling that these watches are/were more popular in Asia as I have seen quite a few for sale in south-east Asia and especially Japan.

It's true that these might not be the easiest to sell, especially in this soft market.

Omega 1894 from 1994 - some questions

Chemistman

Annapolis

Annapolis

kaplan

Chemistman

Geezer

Chemistman

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