Opinion on a Omega 30T2 military watch

Kevin9191 · May 26, 2026

Hello everyone,

I am a young watch enthusiast.

I have been collecting vintage watches as my Hobby.

I love it as I feel like a humanoid collecting curios that measure the advancement of time.

Now, coming to the point. I got a watch from my friend. He needs to check if this is a frankenwatch or the genuine model.

I feel it is a frankenwatch but would like your expert opinion.

Would appreciate any feedback.

Thank you

TexOmega · May 26, 2026

Fantasy dial, and I've never seen a Omega case designed like this.

Mark020 · May 26, 2026

And military is really the most commonly misused word in vintage watches

Kevin9191 · May 26, 2026

TexOmega
Fantasy dial, and I've never seen a Omega case designed like this.

Thank you for the comment. I have scourged online for how it would look and everything points to the fact that the dial is fake. However, no one confirms it. I believe the movement is original though not sure.

Kevin9191 · May 26, 2026

Mark020
And military is really the most commonly misused word in vintage watches

Thank you for the commment and yes indeed.

JimInOz · May 26, 2026

Kevin9191
I believe the movement is original though not sure.

The movement is original, but not a 30T2. Probably a 23.4SC.
The 23.4SC was the first Omega caliber with centre seconds and was released in 1936. The serial nmber of the movement dates to about 1945/1946.

Caseback reference 2176-1 indicates that this was at one time, an Omega "Medicus".

As stated above, the dial has been horrendously re-finished

And what's going on with this case, what is behind it?

Kevin9191 · May 27, 2026

JimInOz
The movement is original, but not a 30T2. Probably a 23.4SC.
The 23.4SC was the first Omega caliber with centre seconds and was released in 1936. The serial nmber of the movement dates to about 1945/1946.

Caseback reference 2176-1 indicates that this was at one time, an Omega "Medicus".

As stated above, the dial has been horrendously re-finished

And what's going on with this case, what is behind it?

Thank you so much for you valuable reply. As you said, the watch has been tampered with a lot especially the casing and the dial.

Is there a way I can slavage the watch by getting a dial and the case ?

I do apologise if I am asking the wrong questions as I am new to the world of Vintage watches.

My idea is to get parts for the watch ( case and dial) and then get them together.

I don't know if that is even possible but as a boy from a small village, having an actual Omega watch can be a dream come true.

I appreciate your reply. Thank you.

TexOmega · May 27, 2026

Budget $2000+ USD and 5-10 years of your time.

Good luck

Kevin9191 · May 27, 2026

TexOmega
Budget $2000+ USD and 5-10 years of your time.

Good luck

Just when I thought I got a break in life. God does test me a lot nowadays.

Thank you and I shall stare into the Omega Abyss till I go insane or get it right.

Hopefully it's the latter.

JimInOz · May 27, 2026

Even if you could get it right, the time and effort, not to mention the cost to obtain a period correct dial and hands make this a fool's errand.
Many of the required parts are "unobtanium".

Some of us have made similar blunders with vintage Omegas, so my advice is to wear the watch as is, and everytime you look at the time, your brain will say to you "Don't do that again".

Davidt · Thurs. 1:16am

Basically a good dial is the hardest thing to find. They very rarely come us as spare parts, so when people have a case/movement and want to find a dial to match, it’s almost always a bad idea as you’re usually talking years worth of searching to find one. When one does come up you’re often one of many people trying to buy it, so a good dial sells quick.

It’s almost always better to just sell a watch with a shitty dial and try and find a good, complete watch. Much more time and cost effective unless you already have contacts in the trade or collector circles.

TIMElyBehaviour · Thurs. 2:12am

Mate I feel for you. I got this cal 26.5t3 back in the day with the hopes of restoration. Finding a great dial, new balance etc. what an uphill battle it is.

I found a balance complete which I needed to grab a whole movement to harvest it from. The dial on that one was smaller so no good. I thought I got all my parts in one bundle.

So now I have made the most of this crappy dial and am waiting in the line with the rest of you for a dial that may pop up one day…….. maybe.

Kevin9191 · Thurs. 8:48pm

JimInOz
Even if you could get it right, the time and effort, not to mention the cost to obtain a period correct dial and hands make this a fool's errand.
Many of the required parts are "unobtanium".

Some of us have made similar blunders with vintage Omegas, so my advice is to wear the watch as is, and everytime you look at the time, your brain will say to you "Don't do that again".

Yes sir. Thank you for the advise. I have learned my lesson from here.

Kevin9191 · Thurs. 8:51pm

Davidt
Basically a good dial is the hardest thing to find. They very rarely come us as spare parts, so when people have a case/movement and want to find a dial to match, it’s almost always a bad idea as you’re usually talking years worth of searching to find one. When one does come up you’re often one of many people trying to buy it, so a good dial sells quick.

It’s almost always better to just sell a watch with a shitty dial and try and find a good, complete watch. Much more time and cost effective unless you already have contacts in the trade or collector circles.

This makes sense. I don't have contacts. I started the journey of vintage watch collection sometime back. I believe I would sell it if possible after studying am Omega dial for my education. I don't know if people would buy it but I will check if it's possible. Thank you for the reply

Kevin9191 · Thurs. 8:54pm

TIMElyBehaviour
Mate I feel for you. I got this cal 26.5t3 back in the day with the hopes of restoration. Finding a great dial, new balance etc. what an uphill battle it is.

I found a balance complete which I needed to grab a whole movement to harvest it from. The dial on that one was smaller so no good. I thought I got all my parts in one bundle.

So now I have made the most of this crappy dial and am waiting in the line with the rest of you for a dial that may pop up one day…….. maybe.

My brother you atleast have a decent looking dial you can pass of for te time being. My dial looks like the kind of watches you get for a Mcdonalds Happy Meal.

We get stung by the fact that " What if you could" in terms of restoration. I hope you do find one though. I will pray that you do. Thank you for replying.

ghce · Thurs. 9:51pm

Unfortunately with vintage watches of a more desirable nature there are a prefusion of bad redials and even more half decent ones which makes the lessons learned with newbie taxes an ongoing lesson that is extremely difficult to negotiate and that's why this forum is absolute gold in helping you make correct buying decisions.

JimInOz · Thurs. 11:01pm

Kevin9191
after studying am Omega dial for my education.

For your education, this is an excellent place to start.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/learn-how-to-fish.52603/

Thread 'Learn How To Fish' ·

I have had a few newer members asking me for advice on how to spot a good vintage watch and what they should be on guard for. I've decided to post a little primer on how to assess vintage watches...

ConElPueblo · Feb 3, 2017

Kevin9191 · Fri. 1:33am

ghce
Unfortunately with vintage watches of a more desirable nature there are a prefusion of bad redials and even more half decent ones which makes the lessons learned with newbie taxes an ongoing lesson that is extremely difficult to negotiate and that's why this forum is absolute gold in helping you make correct buying decisions.

This forum has helped me so much in my journey. It has engineered the way I approach watches abd how to go about buying one.

Every single reply is a good nugget and I eagerly await a reply hoping to learn more.

Kevin9191 · Fri. 1:33am

JimInOz
For your education, this is an excellent place to start.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/learn-how-to-fish.52603/

Thread 'Learn How To Fish' ·
I have had a few newer members asking me for advice on how to spot a good vintage watch and what they should be on guard for. I've decided to post a little primer on how to assess vintage watches...

ConElPueblo · Feb 3, 2017

Thank you sir. I will go through this

sheepdoll · Fri. 3:08am

Finally got around to taking this photo.

might as well post it here as anywhere. (should go in the addiction thread.)

I got the PC balance bridge. Do not know if it will work since it has shock jewel, and the non PC plate has no shock protection. I grabbed the bridge within an hour of it being listed. If nothing else it makes the movement look more complete.

Have not really looked much at the dial. It looks passable.

Still no midcase. So this is really an art project. Do enjoy looking at it. I really like these movements. I think there is another listed for about the same in a more complete state. So I could have waited. I do not think that has sold yet.

I think this is a FOMO watch as there have been a number of threads like this. So I jumped on it when I could. I have a case for a 26.5 T3, which one is listed at twice the price. Yet I went for this one as the cheaper option.

Should know better after 35 years. I did go cold turkey for 18 of them while collecting pipe organs.

So I can say no -- at least temporally or so I keep telling myself.

Opinion on a Omega 30T2 military watch

Kevin9191

TexOmega

Mark020

Kevin9191

Kevin9191

JimInOz

Kevin9191

TexOmega

Kevin9191

JimInOz

Davidt

TIMElyBehaviour

Kevin9191

Kevin9191

Kevin9191

ghce

JimInOz

Kevin9191

Kevin9191

sheepdoll

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