New old stock or as I like to call them.. New old school. is it wrong? Is it that terrible to get a watchco piece? You can make an argument that they are worth less than a vintage piece because of the lack of papers... but can you also make an argument that they might be worth as much because they have original parts that are brand new and surely to require maintenance a lot later in life than an original piece? Let me hear it from the wis people!
IMHO is depends on numerous factors. Are you buying the watch as an investment? Are you buying it to wear? Are you buying it because you like it?
Two different things here. New old stock in my mind is a watch made by the original manufacturer that has languished unworn in a shop or safe for years and has just seen the light of day. Pristine as it just left the factory. Watchco (or similar) recreates the look of a factory fresh watch by replacing worn parts (or even all parts!) with spares from the original manufacturer. They’re not the same. I’d go for NOS in a heartbeat, the other not so much.
I love NOS, I hate NOS. Love to find rare NOS pieces, but since I hate to wear them, most of the NOS watches I sell after a year Nico
So what do you call the watchco pieces? Watchco was a supplier for omega... so it’s not like they’re fake...
I call them....WatchCo Serously, they are a bit of an own niche. Not NOS, cause the parts are new new and not old new Not Franken, cause the parts are correct. Not New, because the heart is old. Everyone here knows what you are talking about when you say "watchCo" @1jansen : Just Wow! My heard would bleed to to sell this beauty! I still have my Bullhead, but its time for her to go... Nico
The erteranal dilemma with these watches is always about wearing them or not. Personally I wear mine, it's only the first ding you have to worry about. I would not pay a premium for one though because as soon as you get a ding it's value has disappeared. A watchco is a good idea for a vintage daily wearer but it is not a NOS watch in the way most collectors would define a NOS watch. Here are three of mine
WatchCo are not NOS, they are service parts with a correct calibre movement inside. The movement in a WatchCo SM300 in all likelihood came from a dress watch. WatchCo 300's may have a value but I wouldn't call them collectable, just a watch for wearing if you like the look of the original but don't want to pay the price of a vintage piece, or don't want the 'hassle' that goes with vintage, ie water resistance/damage/servicing issues
I have one NOS watch, which is not a particularly collectable model from the 70s. I never wear it, but enjoy looking at it in my watch box. I wouldn't say a WatchCo watch is NOS.
I have a couple of NOS Heuers. Trouble with them, well:at least for me, is that you can not wear them...
I like NOS watches. I have purchased many NOS watches Speaking for myself the watches do not stay NOS for long I wear them. I'm not into collecting as an investment. I figure life is too short and wear the watches.
I used to have a similar NOS De Ville with a different dial with curtain-like pattern. But I wear it and it becomes a close to NOS condition. Not too bad.
Another NOS Omega watch is a Geneve Dynamic in orginal price tag, blue filmed back with serialed sticker. I never wear it and it is maintaiend in NOS condition.
I love looking for new old stock. Biggest problem I have is with so many sellers not appropriately listing watches. If you wore it even once for a day, it's not NOS. If it was recently serviced, it's not NOS. If you franken a bunch of old new parts to an original case, it's not NOS...
Watchco is a term like xerox. It’s a “brand name” that became synonymous with a product. They made some watches from NOS service parts and old donor movements from vintage pieces. Now almost all watches esp SM300’s built from donor movements and NOS parts are called that.
I have purchased a WatchCo Seamaster 300 recently and I am wondering if Omega would actually service the watch. Anyone has any experience in the matter?
