Hi, I've had a few Omega watches over the years, but decided to buy a gift for my son, of a vintage military watch. Been thinking of either 30T2 circa 1944 or Pilot RAF 6B/159 or similar. What would be the merits of either? Would it be more sensible to buy the younger and possible more robust etc.? I would be grateful for any advice. regards, Gerard
Do you have a specific watch in mind when you're referring to 30T2 from 1944? If so, it would be easier for people to opine if you could post pictures of what you have in mind. If the case is stainless steel and the balance has shock protection, why not. I would not recommend the pilot RAF 6B /159. It's 30T2SC movement that's not shock protected, complete balances have become hard to find and expensive, and the vast majority of those watches are in relatively fragile alloy cases. The long lugs are notorious for breakage and getting damaged, and I've known at least one military watch collector who ended up selling his because he liked to wear it and was afraid to break the lugs. If, on the other hand, you have somehow located one of the rare and more desirable stainless steel variants, it's another matter but will obviously be more expensive. And possible shocks to the balance will still be a risk. One final note, a 6B/159 that's been recased in 1956 would be sturdier as the cases are stainless steel but again your budget would need to be higher, especially considering those cases are larger at 35mm vs. 32mm for the original ones. Does the watch have to be Omega or British issued? Have you thought of Hamilton or CWC W10? Longines Marine Nationale? They would be more moderately priced, and the Longines is good quality at 34mm.
thanks! this site is fantastic. I've looked at many, and avoiding many. Some are probably okay (still avoiding them). Sorry for my ignorance, but how would you tell if the case is stainless steel and the balance has shock protection What do you look for and ask? Sometimes the seller doesn't know. Below are a few I've gone close to.... What do you think? Cheers, or
The first one's a complete fake. The second one I'm not sure as it's not a pilot watch; it's purporting to be a WWW watch which are watches I don't know so well. The last one I can't look at right now. But what's clear is you should buy nothing right now because in order to do so you need to know what you're doing. This stuff is not for the faint hearted.
Yes, I do understand a little of the "rebirthing" of the 6B/159 RAF Pilot. It seems there is a certain market for this type of watch... The next watch below is described as Omega world war 2 military issue, dating from 1944. W.W.W case, reference: Y3756 1066319 It is being offered by a very reputable vintage watch shop/outlet. Any thoughts??
Hi Again, Okay, I've gone away from the Frankenstein's... the last one I'm looking at (again form a dealer) is described below: The dial and hands are a NOS service-replacement The crystal needs replacing The case needs to be ultrasonically cleaned Could this watch be legitimate?
If you want to buy a WWW, then by far your best option is to register on the MWR forum and buy one from their for sale board (called the Post Exchange). The sellers are generally very fair and knowledgable, and other members will always call out faults or frankens within a few hours of anything being listed. Good luck ! http://www.mwrforum.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?2-Main-Forum
thanks! great advice. I have also been looking at the series of articles by Thomas Koenig and Adrian van der Meijden Absolutely amazing history and detail...
Another great resource... http://www.time514.com Unfortunately a lot of the image content has been removed by the owner (for entirely understanable reasons), but there's still a lot of good information to be found there.