so I’m new to the watch game and I’m absolutely loving it. I started 2 years ago and have bought 4 up until now. I started with a Casio gshock, then bought a vintage Hamilton electric Ventura. My third was a datejust Rolex and finally my last purchase was a vintage omega seamaster Seville automatic day date. I have to say my favorite one has to be the omega. I bought it used for $600. At the time it wasn’t working and it needed to be serviced. Fair enough I thought it’s only normal because it is a very old watch. Looking around I think $600 seemed reasonable enough because others were triple that. I took it to an omega store we have here in Atlanta Georgia. They were saying since it was vintage it needed to be sent to Switzerland and serviced there at an omega facility. Mind you I’m not wealthy but I’m not lower middle class either, but the prices they were talking about were absolutely ridiculous. They told me it would cost $3000. Yes 3k! I looked at them like they lost their mind. Why would I even consider paying that to get it restored? I know these watches aren’t cheap to be worked on but that was ridiculous. I could buy a brand new seamaster with that money. I told them I would think about it (NOT!). I was finally able to find a small watch shop with an omega certified horologist. He apparently had the pleasure of meeting George Daniels first hand and learned a few things from him. He gave me an estimate of $900 usd. That would include replacing the crown because it was far gone. The hour hand and minute hand. Replacing the crystal and polishing the watch in and out. Also the luminous marks on each hour mark were repainted and the watch was fully serviced because it wasn’t keeping time Correctly. The watch basically went a full blown restoration. I have to say for the price and quality of his work I was very impressed. This watch now keeps better time than my Rolex!! Well that’s my rap about my omega and what I have done to it. Basically I have $1500 invested in it. Now my question is does anyone have any idea how much it is currently worth? I’m not interested in ever selling it because I love it that much. I do want to know what it’s value is though. Here are some pictures of the watch. The lume on the hour marks is one of my favorite things about the watch. I never knew a vintage watch could glow so brightly. Maybe it was the paint he used but as you can see my horologist did an amazing job. Let me know what you fine people think of my watch and how much it could possibly be worth at this point.
Thanks,
Giovanni

 

Darn auto correct! I meant to put omega seamaster Deville! Not Seville. I didn’t notice until after I posted it. So excuse my typos

 

Sorry to say but I would have thought in that condition it’s worth a little over half your initial investment.

 

I'd say it's worth about a third of what you have into it, given its condition. Who cares? You love it so wear it.

 

Well I’m glad to hear your opinions and I like how you fellows didn’t sugarcoat it. Straight to the point. I thought it would probably be worth close to $1000, but since I have no intention of ever selling it. I honestly prefer it to my Rolex just because of the day and date feature which I think is ingenious. Well I’m not too disappointed in it’s value. Would the case being gold add to the value? I forget to mention that but I think it’s gold plated. I have a better picture right here maybe the ones up top made it look a little more run down than what it really looks like. What do you guys think of the lume? Is that what it would look like brand new when it first released decades ago? Also any idea what year model it could be? I didn’t get the chance to ask my horologist.

 

It's a nice, attractive daily wearer and good that you've had it serviced.

Unfortunately on a watch like this, although reluming the hour markers, polishing the case and replacing the hands may improve it for daily wear it reduces the value. On a vintage watch, originality is key, so polishing and resuming have a negative effect on value.

Nevertheless, it's a nice looking watch and should last you for years to come. That's all that matters really.

 

Thanks for your input DavidT. Any idea what year this watch is? Turns out the minute hand and hour hand weren’t ever replaced they are original to the watch. Only thing that was replaced was the crown and the crystal with an actual omega certified crystal. If you pay attention you can see the omega sign right in the middle of the watch. Oh and the hour markers and hands were relumed so other than that everything is original. My horologist used all same internals to do the service because everything was in great condition. The main problem was the crown was so worn out it wasn’t letting the watch keep time correctly. Also the polishing was another service. Also if anyone can help me with finding out if the case is gold that would be fantastic. The year of the watch too as I mentioned firstly. View attachment 694822

 

By the way this is the watch on my horologist bench when it was being serviced so I’m glad he showed me everything. Not many of them do that.

 

That's a nice watch, wear it daily in good health

 

The case back inscription should give you a rough idea. To get closer you will need the movement no.

 

A Norman Morris production - my guess would be mid to late 1970's. That's a barely educated guess based on owning an apparently identical one (since new).

 

Can you please elaborate? Norman Morris production? Sorry but I’m new to omegas. I was dying for a new omega but they’re are so expensive I couldn’t even consider it. Like a wise man once told me there’s no such thing as stupid questions. In his words “you ask a question it makes you look stupid for 5 minutes, but if you don't ask, you stay stupid for fifty years, so always ask questions in your life". Im not in a big hurry to find out the year of the watch or if it’s a gold case but it would be neat to know more about it. All I know is that I wear it and get compliments everywhere on the vintage look. Heck even my girlfriend told me she likes the fact the watch isn’t bulky and told me “you wear classy watches unlike the new generation with those big bulky watches” I love your guys insight on my watch. Thanks for not making me look stupid. I’m just new to omegas and this is the first forum I’ve joined to learn more about them. Lastly thanks for making me feel welcome and not bashing me

 

Thanks I’m glad you think so! You know my horologist told me that even though these watches were advertised as water resistant they aren’t really good at resisting water period. He told me to not even look at water when I have this watch on haha is this rumor true? He said basically because of the age of the watch to be careful. Sorry for the off topic question. I’ve read a couple of threads on here where people swear they’re very water resistant others say you shouldn’t even try and submerge it in water because if it’s age. Might just start a new thread for that question

 

Tot:
I'm new here too.

Try Googling Norman Morris Omega. He was the importer of Omega in the USA from 1933 to 1980. He would specify the watches sold in the USA, receiving the internal workings and putting them in their cases sourced from US case makers. This was done to skirt tariffs on precious metals. He also was pretty clear about configurations and names that would sell well into the US market (like the cultural associations with the name "De Ville").

Your watch is identical overall to mine, which as of this moment remains my sole Omega watch - that seems likely to change the more I hang out here on this forum.... These are small, somewhat plain (not flashy) elegant pieces - my kind of style. Enjoy the quiet pleasure. I surely do.

 

LSP:
I will certainly google him shortly thanks for the input. You learn something new everyday. Wow cheaping out I see is what that guy was doing lol. Was there a big difference in the quality of a Swiss case and an American watch case? I feel the same way as you! Seeing all these cool omegas makes me want to grab another one too and keep the collection going. I agree the omega seamaster De Ville like ours is not too flashy but certainly elegant in my opinion. Simple watch that I think goes with any type of outfit. I’m certainly enjoying the watch! It’s my everyday watch. I just love the day date feature. I also have a two tone Rolex datejust, but I only wear that on special occasions. The Omega is surely my favorite. I would love to see some pics of your watch if you don’t mind? You can either inbox me or post it on this thread whatever you feel comfortable doing.