Hello again dearest OF members, as the search for my first ever vintage watch continues, I came across this watch. Asking price is 350 eur. Any opinions, negatives, advice ect.? Many many thanks Ruben
I think you can do a lot better than this. For a start, the dial is marked, and from the photos, so are the hands. The case is tarnished and the crown looks to be a replacement. Personally, I tend to avoid these late 70s movements - mainly because they look much less attractive than the earlier 50s/60s movements and models. Set your budget around €500/600 and look at automatics in the 5** series movements or, if you want a handwinder, 601 or 613 movement.
It’s a dog. The dial is knackered and the case is terrible (the gold plate has worn through in several places). I wouldn’t buy it for €100.
How much "watch" do you think I can get for increasing my budget from max 400 to max 500/600? I'm mainly currently looking for a dress watch which I'll wear once or twice a month (on formal occasions, when suiting up,...), not for everyday wear. For an everyday watch, my dream is a Speedmaster Reduced, but that won't be for quite soon
It's a serious "meh" for the money. I saw gold plated Geneves like this going for 150-175 euros all the time about 2 years ago. They are very common and not really anything to get excited about. I also agree with comments about the movement. Perhaps it's just me , but I've had more trouble keeping the 1xxx movements running than all my other vintage Omegas. I'm a big fan of the 565 and 601 movements . Have a look at the mid to late 60's models and see if anything there takes your fancy. For 350 Euros you might just get a reasonable Dynamic or perhaps a cool 601 handwinder. Cosmics are on the up lately and still under appreciated.
For €500/600 and a bit of research and patience you should be able to get a nice 1950's or early 60's Seamaster Automatic with either a bumper or full rotor movement. This will be an EBay or private sale, expect to pay more from a dealer. Your best bet will be to stake out the Sales Forum here.
[/QUOTE] I'd go looking for a Seamaster with a BOR (Beads of Rice ) bracelet. Here is my Seamaster 30 on a linen dial. Hands are incorrect, but I just love it this way...
I too share your mistrust and downright dislike for the 1XXX series which look like they were put together by puritans who were watching the pennies. Al says there is some good engineering in places with them, they are pretty thin vs what came before I believe but I am not a fan and wouldn't go near one, even in something otherwise interesting like a Ploprof.
Each of these were bought in the last 12-18 months. I probably paid a little over the odds for one or two that I really liked. All cost between £325 and £575. I could have haggled a bit more on some but chose not to. All well within your budget - and all wearable up or down, whatever the occasion.
Oh, that longines looks very nice as well! I was really conviced that getting a new watch would be a quick and easy process. LOL
Dear Spruce, I really enjoyed seeing your watches. Thank you for taking the time to respond to these threads. I was wondering, where does one get such watches from? All from Ebay and this Forum?
Until you gain sufficient experience, you really ought to avoid eBay. While there are deals to be found, there are also a lot of dogs, frankens, redials and outright frauds. Fairly priced vintage Omegas from reputable sellers come up all the time on the private watch sales forum on OF. Stick to those listings and you'll eventually find something that you can be proud to wear.
Look everywhere, if you’re in the UK, here and eBay are interesting. You’ll also find smaller dealers such as Antiques Atlas but, wherever you look, you have to do your research. If it looks to good to be true, it probably is. But you’re consolation is that with a Genève, there’s not a lot of point in faking or redialling it because you might just as well work on a Seamaster for which you can get twice the price. So, stick to the lower priced Genèves and you’ll find a better one. Once you know a bit more you can dip your toe in Seamaster waters.