Mindful of a recent post telling "newbies" to do a bit of work I am however asking for some input on this watch.

Am I closer to my quest for a gold cased watch or should I be running away from this one?

I've checked the caliber info (cal 552) seems quite popular as 316,000 made from 1958 and the dial looks genuine with flattened A's in automatic. The case is described as rare with overlay bezel - this is where I fall down as I've read that rare can mean non-standard or even made up from odd parts.

case back inside has hallmark for 9ct gold; stamped letters ALD; Made in England with Omega branding and stamped numbers 165003 and 303327- what do these refer to?

Price seemingly more reasonable than many of this kind and condition - £850gbp; most I see are over £1000 for seamaster auto
Pics for appraisal - many thanks in advance











inner case hallmarked numbered 165003 and 303327

 

Hi there. the 165003 number is generally part of the Omega case reference. See screen shot below. I can’t see the full movement reference before the zero. Assuming is starts 20 this dates the movement around 1963. See additional screen shot

 

is it a redial

 

Thanks for this information. I see what you mean by the movement number - it would be safe to assume it is a 2 that is hidden based on the chart , otherwise it's from 1946 or 1977 neither of which are likely(??) unless I really have misunderstood!

 

The cal 550 came into use in 1959 as far as I’m aware and the 552 is a variant of that movement so that is why I think the 2 is more likely if everything is genuine but might be worth checking with seller

 

Just 1 correction to your comment if it was 3 it could be 1969ish as 30 falls between 28 (1969) and 32 (1970). The numbers run sequentially through so presumably a lot of movements went out in that era. Hope you understand what I mean. Still thinks it’s more likely to be a 2 though

 

ALD means this is a locally made case, in this case by AL Dennison of Handsworth Birmingham. Most Dennison cased Omegas have no Omega model number but interestingly this one does, perhaps because it is later than most. 303327 is likely the Dennison case number. The hallmark is from Birmingham for July 1964-June 1965, hence the 'Made in England' stamp.

 

Given the movement number that makes sense. It is very nearly 21M so much closer to 1964 than 63 and than given the time for the movement to then be sent out and cased etc. 64/65 corrolates well

 

The model number is actually 165.5003. This 5XXX format tallies with other UK made gold cased Omegas, such as the 198.5001 F300 model made by Shackman

 

So the 1655003 refers to the omega model number for the watch; just did a quick google on the number and hey presto! several references to this. Thank you for the assistance in understanding this.

Regarding price - is the £850 a reasonable price for 9ct gold cased seamaster? I have seen non-gold for more but they tend to be from top end retailers.

 

It isn’t a silly price, probably about right, or on the low side even. Just bear in mind that it may need servicing which will add another £150-250 straight away depending on who you use.

 

Thanks for the advice.