Hello,
I've been passed down my grandfather's old Omega watch.
From a bit of googling of the numbers on the back (6B/159) it looks like these were RAF issued watches in the 40's or 50's. He was in the RAF in WWII so this adds up but is long dead (RIP) and we know nothing about it other than the fact he was "very proud of it". We don't know what he did in the RAF but wasn't a pilot.

I've attached images of the watch and have a couple of questions if people would be so kind to help point me in the right direction:
1. How do I find out the history of the watch?
2. Is there somewhere trustworthy I can get it repaired? I'm in London, UK.

Many thanks

 

Very cool watch! Interesting that it says importe de Swiss. Nice heirloom. Try to get some better pictures of the face of the watch. Local help is on the way!

 

I am sorry to say a quick google search will show you that not much of your watch looks like a 6B/159. These watches were from the 1940's and had sweep second hands rather than the sub dial yours have. Also dial and hands are definitely not correct and the lugs were fixed.

 

Regardless, I like it... very much.
Send it to http://www.simonfreesewatchmakers.com/ for a sympathetic service if your wish it to get it in good shape and back on the wrist.

 

Thanks everyone for the tips. I'll provide an update on whether I can get it fixed and if I learn more about the history.

 

I’ve got a bunch of 6B/159 projects. This is what they should look like.

Well, not as knackered as these but you get the idea .

 

Hi, just to wrap this up, I had the watch serviced and restored by Chris Nicholas (https://cjnwatch.co.uk) as recommended by people on this forum. The experience was fantastic and I would recommend him. He dated the watch at 1939-1941.

 

Pics or it didn't happen!

 

Ive owned a 6B and HS8 in the past. I really like that dial but nothing about that watch looks like its from a 6B. Even the caseback looks odd.

 

Hi there,

This watch looks lovely and is priceless as a keepsake from your grand father.

as others have pointed out, it does not comport with the very strict specifications of RAF watches, and from a collector’s standpoint it’s a bit of an oddball.

The dial is a nice civilian dial — the movement is definitely not RAF as stated above. The markings are intriguing even though again not in keeping with Royal Air Force standards.

I would suggest you post it on the Military Watch Ressource Forum and see what the guys there have to say about it.

All of the above again just for the sake of discussion, because again it is a nice watch and a family heirloom.

It may well be that the watch was assembled from loose ends from the time your grand father was in the military and may have held sentimental value for him regardless of what collectors have to say about it.

 

Maybe the movement inside came from an original RAF watch and its been recased/redialed by your relative when it was decommissioned. If you get the serial number from the movement you could always get an extract from the omega archives and if it was supplied to the RAF it should say. I think the serial number should be somewhere in the 9 millions if i remember correctly so if you open it up and check that might suggest if going down that route is worthwhile.

 

This movement cannot have come from an RAF watch- this is a subseconds movement, the RAF watches are equiped with the 30T2SC- where SC means « seconde centrale » (ie center seconds hand).

 

Yes, thats a good point I totally forgot!