OMG! My first barn find watch story!

Hello forum!

So I’ve read stories of how some guy bought a vintage Rolex submariner for $20 at a swapmeet and it was the real deal and blah blah blah

I’ve visited many a thrift store looking for the same deal and never found it

This weekend, my fiancé and I were at an estate sale.

As usual, the expensive items were behind glass, and the cheaper items outside the glass. Behind the glass, the only watch was a Seiko kinetic something, but it wasn't that attractive to me.

I spotted what looked like a tiny lady Rolex Datejust, outside the glass, with the cheap items. I picked it up, and it was a Seiko quartz watch. Then they had a bulova quartz watch outside the case as well and one more watch.

I picked up the last watch, one tiny tiny little gold watch.

To my surprise, the dial read Omega. I checked the price and it said $22 USD.

I wondered if it could be a mistake, or if the watch was flat out fake. For starters, the watch didn't have a second hand, so I didn't know if it worked or not.

I asked the sales lady if the watch was battery powered and she said she had no idea.

I then tried to wind the crown and heard the familiar click of a movement being wound.

I am no watch expert and I couldn't see the tiny details on the dial, bracelet or caseback very well, so I asked my fiancé to read what it said right under the 6 o'clock marker.

She said she couldn't see it either lol

The saleslady then lent me a loupe.

Under the 6 o'clock marker, the dial read "SWISS MADE"

I then tried inspecting the bracelet which said 14k gold filled, had an Omega logo on the clasp, and I also noticed that the crown was also signed Omega.

I asked the lady what the price was to be sure, and she said "$22, but $11 today because Sundays everything is half off."

I said "Awesome, I'll take this little guy."

Fiance and I hop in the car, and I am a little excited, but not too too excited because for all I know, I bought a fake.

I wind the watch, set the time, and tell her to wear it.

The watch keeps good time!

Then I figure, for $11, a mechanical watch that my fiancé likes and wants to wear, totally worth it, even if it's fake.

Today, I opened up the caseback and I don't know guys and gals!

I think it's the real deal!

Inside I found a Omega Cal 485.

Inside the caseback, I see watchmaker markings.

So I am hoping that it is indeed the real deal, even though at this point, since it works, and was $11, even if it is a fake, I would be happy with it.

I am going to bring it to my watchmaker soon, and promise to update you all!

Thanks for reading.

Here is a picture of the watch:

That's a fun story! If it were me I'd get home and find that it says "Omego" and the gold starts rubbing off.

Find another and make cuffs links out of them

I don’t have any movement pics because I put it back together

I’ll post more pics of everything else here in a bit!

Exactly! So far, she isn’t really into watches

Both of us though, are super into buying used things and kinda bringing them back to everyday life

So she is excited about me having bought it at an estate sale and she is excited that it is old

Hahaha

Im waiting for the final word from my watchmaker though 😀

I know right! This thing is tiny.

And it was cheap!

win win

haha

This Omega logo font style looks mid or late-1970s to me. I forget when they changed to that logo. Anyway, cheers, nice haul!

Thanks!

Im going to try to find the exact same watch online

Inspiring!

Schoolboy, always like to hear stories like this... it's a nice looking watch. $11.00 dollars... $11.00 dollars... half off Sundays😀.

This reminds me of the time my eldest sister attended the estate sale of Mrs. Sandra West, the woman who was buried in her Ferrari.
My sister found a box of books for sale sitting on the floor prior to the auction. The books were nothing special, a bunch of art books.
She decided to go thru the books and found a Salvador Dali Art book. When she opened the book the two blank pages before the title page had an ink drawing of the apocalypse that was addressed to Madame West and signed by Salvador Dali. She put the book back near the bottom where she had found it and when the box of books came up in auction she was the only bidder.... $200.00. Granted this was back in the late 70s, but, today, the Dali has been appraised at over 40K.

Here's hoping the watch is the real deal... I think it is.

Link: https://www.cultofweird.com/death/sandra-west-buried-ferrari/

Oh my gosh, what a find!

I love estate sales, mostly just for the hunt.

thanks!