Dear Forum,

I am planning to buy my first vintage watch and want it to be a Omega dress watch in massive-gold. After weeks and weeks of research and countless hours on scrolling through eBay, this 1949 Omega Trésor came to my attention. It has the Cal. 351, Ref. 2643 and is made from 18k gold.

What I particularly like is the relatively big diameter of the watch (36mm). To me the condition of the timepiece looks very good, however, I am new to the world of Vintage watches and might be missing something huge.

Unfortunately, there is no paperwork regarding this watch whatsoever.

I'd love to hear your recommendations and comments on this watch, maybe even a 'ballpark valuation' -- thank you so much.

The watch is priced at €850 on eBay.

Best regards,

Jonas

 

A few things spring to mind, firstly I don't think that is the original dial, in fact I am sure that isn't. Secondly the serial is for 1951-52, its not a 1949 example. Next be aware that much of the weight of the watch is in the brass movement spacer. That said, if it were all original the price would be fair, a little cheap even, as a redial not so sure. I would look for something more original personally.

 

Nice specimen at a fair price provided you don't mind the redial.

 

It is not a redial, but a service dial.

 

Thank you for your comments. Just for clarification: Is this dial serviced i.e. cleaned but still original or has it been swapped at some point?

 

Original dial --> Same dial as it came out of factory, without any later man-made modification. Of course it may be patined, damaged, dirty, etc...
Redial --> The original dial after being modified by man (painted, "refurbished", "refinished", etc)
Service dial --> A new (at time of servicing), originally Omega dial replacing the original one. Not necessarily identical to original dial.

That's how I understand it, not necessarily how it is.

 

Right, that makes a lot of sense to me. What would be your recommendation regarding this timepiece? Would it be suitable to start an Omega collection?

Best Regards

Jonas

 

Non-original parts make a watch much less desirable to collectors. I would think of this watch as an attractive watch to wear, not so much a collectible watch.

 

An absolute purist will tell you run fast and don't look back, as dial isn't original. I am not an absolute purist and I like your watch, if it is a service dial I would buy it myself for a suitable price, not if it is a redial. Others don't mind redials (minority here but not out there)

Every collector has his own criteria for his collection, you must find and fix yours.

 

Main problem here is that they left the original hands, they don’t fit with the dial. They are too short and don’t have lume, IMHO.

 

Current dial has no lume either, so that's a match. If hands are original, which they look, original dial had no lume either.

 

Regardless of dial/service dial etc. I think it costs too much and if you stay patient better/more collectible options will be had.

 

Would it be a fair deal at 700-750€?