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Omega 33.3 Chrono Advice
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budgewink
·That's a stunner, and right up my street. Would need to be babied though. I'm no expert but think it looks superb. Good luck with how it pans out.
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Vitezi
·could you advise me on what I should be looking out for and what your opinions of this watch are?
That being said, if you're seriously contemplating this watch, let's call @mac_omega who is one of our forum experts on these watches.
For the $30,000 to $40,000 that you'll drop on that watch, it should at least come to you completely serviced and well regulated, but even from the tiny photos above you should be able to tell that your watch is out of adjustment. If you're buying from a dealer and they're telling you the watch is serviced, that should be a warning (buy the seller).
You will need much better (bigger) photos to check the movement for missing or replacement parts. It is not unheard of for levers to have been replaced by bent paper clips, for screwheads to be stripped, for column wheels to have broken teeth.
As it happens, a watch similar to yours was sold last year. Looking at pictures of that watch will allow you to compare and contrast against yours. Study them carefully. For posterity, I have included them here:
Note that the movement serial of the second watch is similar to your example, which suggests the movement on your example has not been swapped and is likely original to the watch. The cases are both sharp. The dial fonts and scale colors look very similar, suggesting that the dial on your example has not been tampered with. The hands are different, but both styles are correct for chronographs of that era.
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ZigZagoon
·I'd say you're jumping right into the deep end of the pool. 😀 Even the experts get fooled by frankens and redials on these late-30s chronographs. Unscrupulous dealers will swap out movements from functioning watches with knackered dials into broken watches with great dials, and no one ever knows unless you've also kept a database of movement serial numbers and their corresponding dials and cases. And, because these watches are valuable, the redialers have become crazy good at cranking out aftermarket dials.
That being said, if you're seriously contemplating this watch, let's call @mac_omega who is one of our forum experts on these watches.
For the $30,000 to $40,000 that you'll drop on that watch, it should at least come to you completely serviced and well regulated, but even from the tiny photos above you should be able to tell that your watch is out of adjustment. If you're buying from a dealer and they're telling you the watch is serviced, that should be a warning (buy the seller).
You will need much better (bigger) photos to check the movement for missing or replacement parts. It is not unheard of for levers to have been replaced by bent paper clips, for screwheads to be stripped, for column wheels to have broken teeth.
As it happens, a watch similar to yours was sold last year. Looking at pictures of that watch will allow you to compare and contrast against yours. Study them carefully. For posterity, I have included them here:
Note that the movement serial of the second watch is similar to your example, which suggests the movement on your example has not been swapped and is likely original to the watch. The cases are both sharp. The dial fonts and scale colors look very similar, suggesting that the dial on your example has not been tampered with. The hands are different, but both styles are correct for chronographs of that era.
Thank you for your detailed analysis - it has been a great help! Out of curiosity though - how do I tell if the watch is out of adjustment? Cheers!
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ZigZagoon
·Also may I ask what you mean by it should be a warning if the dealer tells me the watch is serviced? Thanks!
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Vitezi
·how do I tell if the watch is out of adjustment?
Also may I ask what you mean by it should be a warning if the dealer tells me the watch is serviced?
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ZigZagoon
·Ah I see! Thank you! I'll be sure to take that into account
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watchyouwant
·A few things: Dial printing silver or gold? Hands white paint or gold? Hard to see.....case has a bit much metal pitting in the back. Numbers seem fine. The Dial looks ok to me from these small pictures . I do not think, this a re -paint. But have a very close look at the Rim between 12 and 2 o' clock. The black paint is damaged and it looks like it might be flaking soon. Looks like a painted dial and not one of the early anodised ones.....the movement levers are ok. The driving wheel for the running second is either dirty or used a lot and ready for a replacement. the out of kilter adjustment could be a wrong replacement Mainspring as well. Many UK watches had that problem, watchmakers did substandard service and used a stronger Mainspring to get the performance. That killed many movements over time. Borrow a Geiger and check dial and hands radiation, the Geiger should be very agitated..... All comes down to the right price. Kind regards. Achim
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VetPsychWars
·Balance spring might have broken right where it was pinned, that would cause the regulator all the way slow.
Tom
Tom
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mac_omega
·A few things: Dial printing silver or gold? Hands white paint or gold? Hard to see.....case has a bit much metal pitting in the back.
Good analysis Achim.
I want to add:
IMO hands are gold coloured, print is gold (not white) and faded copper (rose gold). I have checked it on a good calibrated EIZO monitor
Concerning pitting:
It is present not only on the inner side of the case back but also in some places on the outside of the case back - hard to see in the small photo.
But what concerns me much more is the heavy pitting on the side of the pushers and even more on the inner side all around the case rim (middle case part) - see markings - too much for my taste if I had to spend a lot of money for this watch
Furthermore I think the dial has been relumed - the numbers are far too uneven! See numbers 2, 6-8
There is a mark on top of the lower right lug:
This is not a damage but an import hallmark of Portugal. This tiny mark can help you: if you order a EoA check if the country of delivery is Portugal - if not you would have proof that it is a put together watch.
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Romega
·WOW! Beautiful watch! And the level of expertise is simply stunning! Great info and very helpful on what to look for
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ZigZagoon
·Wow the amount of detail is amazing thanks so much everyone!
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watchyouwant
·Dammit ! Missed the Portuguese Hallmark. should have gone to Specsavers....... kind regards. achim
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ConElPueblo
·To add to what @watchyouwant and @mac_omega has already said, you should decide whether or not you'd be able to live with a dial that is partially degrading in front of you; looking at the dial it looks as if there is bubbling under the paint.
...Were all of this dial variety marked "Fab. Suisse"..?
There is a mark on top of the lower right lug:
This is not a damage but an import hallmark of Portugal. This tiny mark can help you: if you order a EoA check if the country of delivery is Portugal - if not you would have proof that it is a put together watch.
...Were all of this dial variety marked "Fab. Suisse"..?
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ZigZagoon
·Thank you all for your great advice I will definitely take these into account!
