Hi All,

Very glad I found this forum. My grandmother passed away in January, and we began the process of working through the remainder of her items. In a box we found quite a few of my grandfathers effects (he passed away in '95), among those being a 60's Omega Seamaster De Ville with Tiffany & Co. stamped on the face I have put an 18mm Teju Lizard band on (kept the original band which was black and in rough shape) and have been loving look class and also the comments I get on it. Could anyone help me identify it exactly, and should this be something I need to have insured if i intend to wear daily? If it turns out to be worth nothing/fake it makes no difference as I intend to wear it and pass it on to my son when he is of age. Thanks for your help!

 

I'm sorry for your loss.

Is the "Tiffany" text completely parallel to the "Omega/Automatic" text? I can't tell if it's being distorted by the crystal.

 

Thanks guys. I am dropping it off this morning to be serviced by my local time shop as we speak, leaving crown as is. I will make sure they will not polish it.

It looks straight to me, but I am no expect. If I look at the picture I see what you were pointing out, but looking at looks to be parallel in person.

 

from what I can tell it is most likely 18k gold?

 

very nice Seamaster, please post pictures after you get it serviced and with a new crystal.

 

Thanks Tex! I love it.

The crystal appears to be plastic. I am guessing that is not a good sign for authenticity :/

 

I would worry if it wasn't plastic.

 

Guess it is time for a google-a-thon at lunch to stop wasting peoples time

 

Original Omega crystals were plastic, with a "omega" symbol dead center. Tiny, but there.

Ofrie should have original crystals, so you or your watchmaker can get them.

 

Sure enough, there it is! took me about a minute to find it.

 

Great!

sometimes, they can be buffed to look like new if not cracked.

 

Sorry for your loss, and passing down this item would be a great gesture. I believe Hodinkee did an aside about how 18k smaller vintage watches are seriously undervalued right now, so selling it right now would not net the most value even though it sounds like you'll be keeping it for the long haul. And the lizard strap matches perfectly IMO. Def post pics when the (hopefully careful) service is done.

 

Hey Guys - Still have not been able to verify the date and exact model of the watch. The combination of the blank back, 18k gold stamp and "Swiss Made T" is really throwing me for a loop. I intend to have it serviced, but having taken it to two watch/clock shops in town I didn't get a good feel for their ability to service, as they both told me they thought it was going to be too difficult to find an authentic crystal and that the button cap would no doubt cause the crown to be scratched upon removal....not an option in my book.

Any ideas on the above or where I should turn to? I have no doubt it will need a new spring and authentic crown replacement. (not allowing anything to be touched.

 

I can't help you on much of anything regarding vintage watches, but I can at least tell you that the "T" in the 'Swiss T' script means that the original lume (glow-in-the-dark stuff) on the watch dial contained some amount of Tritium. I believe putting a "T" on the watch dial was a legal requirement because Tritium is a mildly energetic, radioactive substance. Don't worry though -- if the watch is 50 years old then only about 6% of the original Tritium remains in place. And even at full strength, the particle that flies off a Tritium atom when it decays doesn't have enough energy to penetrate even a single layer of dead skin cells.

 

If it says 18k gold between the lugs at 5 & 7 then it's a US made gold case, and model number can vary, some don't even appear inthe Omega database. The only way to identify the model is to take the crystal off and remove the movement to have a look inside. The serial number on the movement will also help date the watch to the specific year. Base on the dial, this watch was from around 1963-68.

I think this specific crown is still available from Omega, as definitely the crystal. They can also be obtained from suppliers like Ofrei or CousinUK. The crystal doesn't appear to be cracked so you can try to polish it if you're able to. You can also keep the crown if you can avoid being around water/moisture.

 

Where do you live? We may be able to recommend somewhere to have it serviced.

 

I have used RGM in Lancaster PA . HOWEVER you need to be specific about what you want to do and the level of restoration. INSIST ON GETTING THE OLD CRYSTAL BACK AND ANY PARTS THEY REPLACE! send photos to them and speak to them on the phone BEFORE you send it to them. They do good work and have on site watchmakers ! Check out their website !

 

Hey Guys,
Thanks for all the info above. I have a highly recc'd watchmaker in our area that a lot of the local Omega guys have used.

I am in Waunkaee (Madison) Wisconsin. I dropped the watch off for them to look at and this was their diagnosis.

Hi Phil!

The watch maker took a look at your watch, and I decided to email you since there is a lot of information.

It appears as though there is a leak in your watch, and that is what is causing the timing issues. More than likely, the leak is coming in through the crown or crystal, as the gaskets are incredibly worn.

To fix the timing issue, you would need a complete service. This has a price of $675.00. Unfortunately, the only crowns that are available for this watch are gold plated. A new stem and crown will run you an additional $120.00. If you choose to use your current crown, we would not be able to extend a warranty of any kind on the complete service, because if the leak is coming from the crown, it will more than likely happen again. Even being caught in a rainstorm could cause worry of leaking.

The watch maker would also recommend replacing the crystal for $80.00. With the gasket being really worn, your current crystal wouldn't have the same seal when it's put back together, and once again it wouldn't come with a warranty as leaking could very easily occur. The crystal would be the same as it is on your current watch, minus the scratches of course!

Assuming that all of the parts are available for the complete service, if you chose to do everything, you would be looking at $875.00 plus tax. You would also be looking at about 12 weeks for completion.

In a follow up I asked about his thoughts on value and the csot to repair:

Feel free to take your time thinking about it. We won't do any work on the watch at all until we hear back from you.

I just spoke to the watch maker about a value of the watch. It's hard to put an actual value to the watch. It is an 18kt gold case, and, for it's age, it's in pretty good condition. The watch would be considered more of a collector's item since it isn't made any more. The watch maker also said that the movement of the watch is one of the best movements that Omega made at that time. So, depending on the collector, the value of the watch could be all over the place.

He did say, though, that if it was his watch, he would definitely have the work done to it. Hope that info helps!!


Let Me know what you guys think as far as pricing. I will insist on genuine omega parts. Thanks for all of your help!

 

Don't know what the case reference number is, but I just looked up the crown and there are plenty of the same style here: http://www.ofrei.com/page_147.html#8006. Cost for both crown and two-piece stem should be about half the quote or less. Same for crystal. Service should also be half or less, depending on if you can find the right independent watchmaker with good experience.

The quoted price is at the same level or higher than directly from Omega. Too much for this simple movement, IMO.