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UK vintage seller

Sambuca
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All, it's my first post on here, so please go easy on me, but I wanted to check the authenticity of a dealer in the UK that has a number of watches that I'm interested in. The website is https://omega-independent.co.uk/ which is also the Ebay account name (omegaindependant) His feedback looks great and he has a website and YouTube channel as well.
Hopefully, I'm not breaching any rules, just looking for a safe place to start my vintage collection! (and I'm a cautious dude)
Any general views on this sellers watches would be appreciated.
Cheers
 
Davidt
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I’ve never dealt with them but their prices seem to be around 50-100% above what I’d expect to see in the private sales section here. Even for the UK. Then again, they’re a dealer and apparently service and warranty their watches so you’re paying for that. I would say they have some redials that aren’t disclosed as such which is disappointing.

I think my biggest issue with them though is their selection of watches for sale. Most of them are very ‘meh’. Either non desirable models, or very average quality. It almost seems like they just get whatever watches they can get cheaply and easily with no real effort made to find great examples, then charge a premium for servicing them.

I’d rather source a great example of a watch I’m looking for myself then get it serviced.
 
paddymoran
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Hi, welcome to the forum. Everyone has to pay the bills but a cursory look through the items for sale on that website would suggest that they’re very highly priced. If you’re interested in acquiring a vintage Omega I’d suggest you keep an eye on the following thread - it will give you a good sense of what to look for and also the value that’s available.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/recommended-vintage-omega-watches-only-on-ebay-not-for-inquiries.1790/ MSNWatch
Thread 'Recommended Vintage OMEGA WATCHES (only) On EBAY (NOT for Inquiries)' ·
We have lots of threads from members asking opinions on watches listed on ebay. How about we turn things around - let's talk about watches on ebay that are worth purchasing. My disclaimer is...
MSNWatch ·
 
Sambuca
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Davidt Davidt
I’ve never dealt with them but their prices seem to be around 50-100% above what I’d expect to see in the private sales section here. Even for the UK. Then again, they’re a dealer and apparently service and warranty their watches so you’re paying for that. I would say they have some redials that aren’t disclosed as such which is disappointing.

I think my biggest issue with them though is their selection of watches for sale. Most of them are very ‘meh’. Either non desirable models, or very average quality. It almost seems like they just get whatever watches they can get cheaply and easily with no real effort made to find great examples, then charge a premium for servicing them.

I’d rather source a great example of a watch I’m looking for myself then get it serviced.
Thanks for the feedback, I did think something similar about the range, redials not so good....
 
Sambuca
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paddymoran paddymoran
Hi, welcome to the forum. Everyone has to pay the bills but a cursory look through the items for sale on that website would suggest that they’re very highly priced. If you’re interested in acquiring a vintage Omega I’d suggest you keep an eye on the following thread - it will give you a good sense of what to look for and also the value that’s available.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/recommended-vintage-omega-watches-only-on-ebay-not-for-inquiries.1790/ MSNWatch
Thread 'Recommended Vintage OMEGA WATCHES (only) On EBAY (NOT for Inquiries)' ·
We have lots of threads from members asking opinions on watches listed on ebay. How about we turn things around - let's talk about watches on ebay that are worth purchasing. My disclaimer is...
MSNWatch ·
Thanks, I'll keep my eyes peeled, cheers
 
Franco
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I have collected Omega since the 1990s , and live in the UK from the 80s. Never heard of them and is impossible from the website to get a name and address. They cannot spell “Gallery” and seem grossly overpriced.
 
Peemacgee
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Franco Franco
I have collected Omega since the 1990s , and live in the UK from the 80s. Never heard of them and is impossible from the website to get a name and address. They cannot spell “Gallery” and seem grossly overpriced.

This is the second time these guys have come up recently. (a coincidence or just like London buses?)
I hadn't heard of them either, so I looked them up.
They appear to be Wakefield based, run by a Mr Karol Kozlowski.

I get the feeling from their website that the origins are that of a watchmaker turned dealer.

I'll only speak for the Constellations:
they all seem to be genuine but they are average watches, massively over polished (someone really should tell Karol to stop doing this) and very heavily overpriced for what they are offering.
 
Sambuca
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Peemacgee Peemacgee
This is the second time these guys have come up recently. (a coincidence or just like London buses?)
I hadn't heard of them either, so I looked them up.
They appear to be Wakefield based, run by a Mr Karol Kozlowski.

I get the feeling from their website that the origins are that of a watchmaker turned dealer.

I'll only speak for the Constellations:
they all seem to be genuine but they are average watches, massively over polished (someone really should tell Karol to stop doing this) and very heavily overpriced for what they are offering.
Yes, that's the guy.
 
Sambuca
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Franco Franco
I have collected Omega since the 1990s , and live in the UK from the 80s. Never heard of them and is impossible from the website to get a name and address. They cannot spell “Gallery” and seem grossly overpriced.
Thanks Franco. Apart from in this forum, do you have any recommendations of places where I can view more of a range (and maybe even try a few) that are not dealers charging the earth and are genuine? I hate being a newbie, as I know these questions will have been asked before...(sorry!)
 
Peemacgee
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@Sambuca - couple of things
This is a global forum and you don't say where you are based (assume the UK but can't be certain and if so where?)

Unfortunately, brick and mortar dealers are few and far between and they will, by necessity charge significantly more than a private deal.
Seeing a vintage Omega in the flesh is a good idea because, unless you have seen one previously, they are likely to be much smaller than you are expecting after having seen them 'up-close' in on-line pictures.
You will get better feedback if you could express an idea of a preference for the watches that interest you - a scatter gun approach is difficult to advise on.
 
Davidt
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I’m in the UK but can’t think of a single bricks and mortar shop that is known for the quality of the watches and reasonable prices. Frankly, it’s hard enough to find UK dealers with a shop who have good quality stock and charge a premium as the vast majority are now online.
 
Sambuca
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Peemacgee Peemacgee
@Sambuca - couple of things
This is a global forum and you don't say where you are based (assume the UK but can't be certain and if so where?)

Unfortunately, brick and mortar dealers are few and far between and they will, by necessity charge significantly more than a private deal.
Seeing a vintage Omega in the flesh is a good idea because, unless you have seen one previously, they are likely to be much smaller than you are expecting after having seen them 'up-close' in on-line pictures.
You will get better feedback if you could express an idea of a preference for the watches that interest you - a scatter gun approach is difficult to advise on.
Apologies, yes UK. I am mad watch collector with far too many modern Omegas, so in general not a newbie! I have dipped into vintage with some nice King and Grans Seikos (35mm) and a steel Geneve, but I wanted to get a few vintage full gold Omegas as well. Specifically, I like the mid 50s' early 60s' stuff Constelations and Seamasters, particularly with dagger/arrow type markers.

Thanks for the reply
 
Peemacgee
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Its good that you know the feel of a 35mm watch on your wrist but you are certainly starting at the top if you are looking for an 18k arrowhead Constellation - and you will be into fairly serious cash if you want a good one, plus quite a bit of competition.

The pitfalls of buying a vintage gold watch are readily shown in the 18k watches on the website you posted above - gold watches are soft and few of them have retained their original lines and facets, plus many of them have been polished in the past.

It would be worth immersing yourself in the Constellation threads here on OF, as well as reading Desmond's Constellation blog, just to get an idea of what a good Constellation should look like.

Sign up to auction websites, like the salesroom and watchrecon - that way you can receive alerts for watches that come up at auction and you can always post them here for comment ( they often represent the best deals - but don't expect any good watches to fly under the radar as there are eyes from Australia to California [and everywhere in between] on this forum alone watching out for good watches -so they won't go unnoticed)
 
Dan S
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Davidt Davidt
I’m in the UK but can’t think of a single bricks and mortar shop that is known for the quality of the watches and reasonable prices. Frankly, it’s hard enough to find UK dealers with a shop who have good quality stock and charge a premium as the vast majority are now online.
I am not in the UK, but I think I recall hearing good things on the forum about Kibble Watches.
 
Davidt
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Dan S Dan S
I am not in the UK, but I think I recall hearing good things on the forum about Kibble Watches.

I’ve no personal experience but I feel like I’ve heard the same. I’m not sure they have a huge selection of vintage but certainly worth the op checking out
 
Dan S
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Peemacgee Peemacgee
Its good that you know the feel of a 35mm watch on your wrist but you are certainly starting at the top if you are looking for an 18k arrowhead Constellation - and you will be into fairly serious cash if you want a good one, plus quite a bit of competition.

The pitfalls of buying a vintage gold watch are readily shown in the 18k watches on the website you posted above - gold watches are soft and few of them have retained their original lines and facets, plus many of them have been polished in the past.

It would be worth immersing yourself in the Constellation threads here on OF, as well as reading Desmond's Constellation blog, just to get an idea of what a good Constellation should look like.

Sign up to auction websites, like the salesroom and watchrecon - that way you can receive alerts for watches that come up at auction and you can always post them here for comment ( they often represent the best deals - but don't expect any good watches to fly under the radar as there are eyes from Australia to California [and everywhere in between] on this forum alone watching out for good watches -so they won't go unnoticed)
Nice gold Constellations are definitely not flying under the radar these days. In an overall soft vintage market, they seem to be doing very well.

If this is what the OP really wants, he should probably consider making a sizable investment into one good one, instead of loading up with "a few vintage full gold Omegas."

If most of us could go back in time, we would probably start our collections by putting our money into a small number of great watches, instead of bottom-fishing and ending up with mediocre watches that we later want to consolidate.
 
bgrisso
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Sambuca Sambuca
Apologies, yes UK. I am mad watch collector with far too many modern Omegas, so in general not a newbie! I have dipped into vintage with some nice King and Grans Seikos (35mm) and a steel Geneve, but I wanted to get a few vintage full gold Omegas as well. Specifically, I like the mid 50s' early 60s' stuff Constelations and Seamasters, particularly with dagger/arrow type markers.

Thanks for the reply
Have you seen the really nice one for sale by ash right now?

https://omegaforums.net/posts/2423766/ dsio
dsio ·
Reduced again to $5400, shoot me a PM if you’re interested and make me an offer, also willing to do payment over a few months.
 
paddymoran
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I had a very pleasant experience buying in person from Belmont Jewellers close to Hatton Garden in London. They don’t have an extensive selection but worth checking out online. There’s a number of other small jewellers selling watches in that area. If in London I’d recommend a visit to the area and it will provide an opportunity to view a selection in person.
 
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