Hi! Just bought this piece from an antique dealer (who seems fairly respectable), but I'm not quite sure if it's the real deal. Being a complete novice when it comes to watches, I'm an extremely easy prey… I started looking through all the photos I could find on the internet just trying to establish around what year the watch could have been manufactured, but I couldn't find an exact match for it, which made me a bit curious. Not wanting to break open the watch to check for the serial number, I wonder if it’s possible to reach a "verdict" from the externally visible data: Text on the watch face: Omega Automatic Seamaster Swiss Made Casing: steel Face: grey-silverish colour with a nacre touch to it Dial: double bars on 3, 6, 9, 12, single bar on the others Crown: Omega logo Movement: the hand showing the seconds seems to be making about 4 stops/second I found pictures of some similar watches, but either the text doesn't match or the hands are more pointed, there's a calendar function, the lugs are thicker and have a different angle, the casing is golden, the dial is white, the bars on the dial is more pointed and so on… I would be very grateful for some expert advice! Is it real, fake or perhaps put together out of surplus parts? I really like the watch, but if it’s not a genuine piece I should perhaps go back to the dealer for a serious discount…
It's real. It's an early to mid 60's front loading (meaning the dial and movement come out the front after the crystal and bezel are removed) watch. Probably a reference 166.020 or similar with a 55x caliber inside.
Looks real and quite nice to me. Had one similar, "precurser" to the De ville with large Seamonster logo in 18k before, loved it.
Looks good to me, a lot of these style Seamasters around. Not sure what the case reference or caliber would be without the date, I know my date model that is very similar has a case reference 14770-2 and caliber 560, and is from 1961. These watches typically sell for around $350 - $500, depending upon condition.
Thank you so much for your help everyone! Then I'll stop worrying right now... Nice to know when it's from also. For a ~50 year old watch it's in amazing condition, must have been worne on special occasions only and then tucked away deep in some drawer. The price I paid was a bit higher compared to the estimated price tag as stated above, so I guess it wasn't exactly a bargain, but then again, the dealer probably needs to make a living as well... Once again, thanks for your help!
Should slightly qualify the comments, this is all assuming it is the correct movement inside and that it is also in good shape, but based on the outside I would guess it is okay. Did the dealer say if it's been serviced recently? That can help the value due to the average cost of servicing. Is there a return policy? If you paid significantly more than $500, and it hadn't been serviced, you can find a similar watch in very good condition for less...
It was just above $500, more or less within the error margin of the conversion rate (Swedish crowns)... The dealer said it had been serviced and checked (hard to verify, but at least it runs nicely at the moment), and they left me a 3-month warranty. And since I bought it just around the corner from where I live, I can easily return it, should there be any problem. So I'll cross my fingers and hope it's 100% authentic on the inside as well and just enjoy this beautiful piece of swiss engineering! Thank you very much for your tips!