Omega Geneve solid gold

V Void

Is British mainstream gold really only 9k? If that’s the case, it should be called copper with some traces of gold 😉

Horologist

Congratulations on your purchase!!! This Geneve' model is no ordinary Geneve' model. From the gold hallmarks, it is made and cased in Switzerland in14k, possibly for the U.S markets.. Most of the Geneve' models of this vintage that have come through my hands in the past 35 years were cased in the country of where they were sold. For example, in the UK I found most Geneve models that came through had Dennison Hallmarks and "Made in England": stamped in the case back with ).0.375 meaning 9K for British mainstream gold. When I resided in Australia, I came across to the same model with no hallmarks apart from the 0.375 with 9K and the Handley stamp ( which was a case made in Melbourne) . They were also used as 25th anniversary presentation watches by some companies to their employees and I had one exactly the same with the last being 1973.
My understanding from this was that the movements were imported and cased in the country of import for obvious reasons of import duties.

Most Geneve' models were good value for money as they had the same great movements used in other omega lines, but in economy cases making them great value for money. The name "Geneve" was discontinued possibly in the mid 1970's which in my opinion was a nice name line to Omega. It sort of makes it feel like Patek Phillipe Geneve.

Some plated models were absolute crap as the plating was so thin that there was erosion and corrosion of the brass near the crown and the opposite side where you could just about see the case threads and most of the dust and moisture would creep in. Enough venting from me!
Great find and enjoy in good health!! Thanks for sharing

Horologist

When I was living in London and in parts of Australia, I found that most of the gold jewelry sold was 9k gold whether they were rings, chains, earrings or watches. It was harder wearing and more of a tool than jewelry. We might be heading a little off topic from Omega watch discussions with this.

I am not entirely sure why this was the situation apart from the usual discussions that the UK had always been a class society where the distinction between upper middle class and the rest of common society was evident from their assets. Perhaps the higher gold content assets were more common to the upper class than most commoners ? !! My understanding goes back to the early days of when banks world wide were backed by gold before fiat currency became the norm banking security Before this gold backing, the UK was instead backed by Sterling silver where one pound of sterling silver was traded with the "I owe you" document being the banknote when silver was deposited to central bank, hence the ONE POUND STERLING banknote!

Yes, I agree that 9K gold is really more copper and silver than gold being just under 38% gold in it's alloy. I myself avoid it for this reason as you are sometimes paying an over inflated price like as if it were 14k or even 18k, purely from the ignorance of consumers thinking that it is stronger when in fact it isn't really close to pure gold. Having said this, I would always opt for a 9k solid watch over a gold plated one as it preserves the consistency in the density during the wearing of the case as opposed to the unsightly wear through the plating at its most vulnerable areas such as near the winding crown and lug hole pins.
Just my opinion!!!

jimmyd13

There's a feint rub mark on the inside of the caseback. This could have happened at any time during the life of the watch but indicates that the weight was loose at some point. Check with your seller if it was corrected at service and, if not, have it serviced in the near future.

Ridman

The watch was at an authorized Omega watchmaker, the watch has been serviced.