I’m looking at buying a watch for a relative for her 18th; she doesn’t wear a watch, but would like one, and I’d like to try and get something a bit more interesting that a £200 Tissot (as nice as those are). I think vintage Omegas represent great value for money, and for a max budget of £250 I’d like to get her a simple watch; can be either mechanical or quartz. I’m thinking late 60s Seamasters, de Villes perhaps?

Is this a realistic proposition, or would I simply be spending too little to get a nice example?

 

I think the problem will be budget. Anything you buy as a gift will need a service so that she doesn’t get stuck footing the bill. Even if you can pickup a nice watch for $250 you’re looking at another $2-400 on service depending on what it might need.

 

How about a MoonSwatch?

 

At that price, make sure the seller says it runs (even better if runs well) and that you get a photo of the movement.

If you get one within budget, don’t bother about getting it serviced - just wear it and you can start saving for a service - if you like the watch.

 

I would be looking for a good Eterna for that price range

 

Unless your relative has expressed an interest in vintage watches, I would recommend getting her a modern quartz watch — otherwise she is likely to just put it in a drawer when it stops and not mess with winding it. You mentioned Tissot, and I actually think that is a great option. The new quartz Seastar in 36mm is a nice looking watch — my wife just picked one up for her fun summer watch.

 

Very iffy buying a vintage watch for a young person who has never been exposed to any kind of mechanical watch. Recipe for disappointment and disenchantment. Buy her something new with a bit of style.

 

I'd consider a 70s or 80s ladies quartz Conestellation.

 

That is the very bottom of the market for any vintage Omega that I would consider decent. You would have to be patient and a bit lucky IMO. One possibility would be to look for something on the smaller side, like 32-33mm, since that would probably be fine for a woman. Keep an eye on the budget eBay thread where @dsio posts his finds.

 

This is almost exactly what I was going to say. It's tricky to give a vintage watch to a lady, especially a young lady. My wife is not young, but I know she would be happier if I give her a brand new Citizen quartz than a "2nd hand or 3rd hand, used" Lady-Datejust as a birthday gift.

 

From my perspective as a relatively young person, I’d say it should either be quartz or automatic. For simplicity reasons a brand new quartz watch would be an easy entry. But an automatic would be more impressive as many “younger” people these days don’t realize what an automatic is and that can be a good wow factor.

And what about style? Does she want something more dressy? Or should it be something a little more casual that she could wear on any given day? Most importantly how much time do you have before her birthday?

 

At first I didn't take note of the OP's identity, but now I recall that he is fairly new to vintage watches himself, IIRC. I think that makes this a much more difficult prospect. Most of us could just pull a nice serviced watch from our collection and give it as a gift, something I've done many times. But for a newbie to find a gift-worthy watch at a bargain-basement price, with a short timeline, and then get it serviced ... that's not a simple or fast project. You can't give a scratched up watch with a damaged dial as a gift, it needs to be really attractive. And obviously it needs to be serviced, and hopefully reasonably water-resistant. I can't see being able to get all that done for the OP's budget.

When buying a birth-year watch for my brother's 50th birthday, I started looking about 8 months in advance, and barely got it to him in time. And I consider that I have a fair amount of experience.

 

Thanks all for your replies. It sounds like I might be better placed to stick with a more modern watch… I agree that from a servicing point of view a simple 70s or 80s quartz one would be better, but it seems from here and also what I’ve heard anecdotally that actually they’re not as good.

For reference about the sort of thing I was thinking, here’s a photo:

 

I’ve found this one, from a seller based off Instagram. What do you think?

Has a cal 625, manual wind, and has just been serviced. Cost is $375 US, so a bit over budget, but manageably so.

 

Low quality chrome-plated ladies model, and not from Omega's golden age. I think it's not a particularly desirable or collectible watch, which would seem to defeat the purpose of buying vintage. The price may reflect the cost of a service, but is far above the actual value of the watch.

BTW, you've been around for a while now, so you know that OF prefers images over links. Nobody is really fully comfortable clicking on links, and photos create a lasting archive.

 

Apologies - edited to include images.

 

In the UK you’re going to really struggle to get anything 60’s all in for £250 or under. If you’re considering ladies models you may get lucky but if you’re looking at men’s references the Devilles are out - even unserviced dogs sell for more than that.
Same with any 6xx or 5xx Seamaster. Occasionally you may get lucky but anything listed at that price will be snapped up quick.
The best bet is a manual 601 Geneve but even these are typically more in the £280+ range, even when unserviced.
Perhaps one of the smaller 31/32mm models or a later 70’s/80’s model?

 

What makes you say ‘low quality’? It’s still a mechanical Swiss watch, even if it’s plated and quite simple. I know it’s not ‘collectible’, but in my eyes it’s more original than a modern quartz piece for the same price.

 

If you like it, buy it. No need to ask for opinions. In time, you will probably understand where I'm coming from.