I recently bought an 2531.80.00 from goveberg. When it arrived serial was polished off. Govberg told me it's not uncommon to see.. thoughts..?
I don't really know much but looking at photos, the numbers are etched quite deep. It must have been polished really hard. How does your watch look like now?
I will get pics tomorrow. It is at jeweler. They are gonna open. Yeah govberg said any problems send it back.
15 to 20 years ago, gray market dealers would polish that serial number off the back of the lug near 7 in an effort to mask the identity of the AD where they had sourced the watch. The theory was that with the serial number, Omega could tell which AD had dumped the watch on the gray market and could jerk their dealership. Also, not only did the watch not have an OEM warranty, but Omega would not even service the watch for a paying customer. I do not know if that policy is still in force. But, I'm fairly sure that Govberg can get any necessary parts for repair. Like the others, I'd send it back. In the future, not having those numbers is likely to be far more trouble than it's worth.
They told me they would service it. They said they can order anything I need for it. I am just waffling. I got a real good deal. I did take it to have it opened and verified. And resealed. It's hard to find a clean 2531.80.00. I appreciate all of your input.
I think govberg would have the right to refuse the return if you have it opened. I think that is policy at most places
If you got a good deal, and plan on wearing/keeping it for a while then I wouldn't worry too much about it. The story above makes logical sense and is pretty interesting, but I'm not sure if that's what happened. You state Govberg will service it, that's reassuring for the future. My only concern would be if Omega would not service it, it'd be a bummer knowing that it wasn't at least an option to send it to them.
Wouldn't suspicion also surface that the watch might have been stolen at one time? If a person can't document that this was a dealer action, the next logical conclusion could be that someone is obscuring a hot merchandise.
There's not a single good reason for anyone to deliberately polish/remove serial numbers from any article - personally, I'd stay away from this and if not stated clearly before prior the sale, I'd return.
I'd love to see a picture of the actual watch. Curious to see how polished it had to be to get the serial number off. I don't know if I'd personally pony up for a watch someone took the serial number off unless I was planning to keep it forever and never sell it. Even then I'd probably feel like I was wearing something stolen. Just my personal feeling, not one to judge your decision on it. I imagine selling it would be difficult down the road if you tired of it or found a better example. As long as you keep all your paperwork from buying it though I guess that might aleviate someone else's hesitation.
That was never the policy. If the watch still has the serial number on the movement, and the one on the case has been removed, they will have zero issues servicing it.
OP wouldn't know of this problem unless he opened the watch and govberg already said they'd take it back - presumably knowing OP opened it... I would say it's no longer a collector's piece... Part of the value associated with Omega watches is that the movement can be traced back to which piece it was originally installed. This is why a full chrono seamaster with a 321 will often sell for less than just the movement of a 321 from a speedy.