Hello everyone. I have been trolling many forums here regarding my desire to start collecting with a vintage chronograph. Does anyone have any experience/knowledge with the Venus 188 movement regarding it's performance and robustness? Would a vintage watch with this movement be a good investment? Thanks!
Welcome. You've found the right place in terms of folks who love collecting vintage chronos. The Venus 188 family of movements is quite well-regarded and were used as ebauches by many famous 'brands'. You may be interested to know that Valjoux acquired the Venus company and used the Venus 188 as the basis for the later Valjoux 7730 movement, which was itself widely used. One thing to keep in mind in collecting vintage chronographs, in general, is that some watchmakers will not work on them. Not because there's anything wrong with the chronos, but more often because they don't want to spend the time that is sometimes necessary to track down replacement parts. So it certainly helps to start a relationship with your own 'chrono specialist' and get a basic idea what the service costs will run you. Replacement parts for the Venus 188 are certainly available, but can be tricky due to the fact that some parts are compatible with both the 188 and 7730, while others are definitely not mutually compatible and they're not always labeled correctly. Here again, your chrono specialist will be able to help you sort things out. If you've spotted an example that you're thinking about buying, feel free to post pictures around the forum. You'll find a lot of knowledgeable folks who are happy to look things over for you and help out. Cheers!
That particular watch is a redial, but original & nice examples do exist - and they're owned by members of this forum. http://omegaforums.net/threads/wruw-today.567/page-533#post-117810
There is also quite a bit of plating loss on the pushers, and the movement doesn't look to be in excellent condition. Something tells me this case has been replated--not uncommon on the chrome cases that were prone to deterioration, and if done well and disclosed, may actually add value.
Looks like it's on ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-...h-Venus-188-near-NOS-solid-steel/153423461746Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network
You are right. Is it redial or original? Looks very similar to redial posted here, didn't spotted the difference without you telling me.
The numbers on the ebay watch look consistent, but some of them are less well-formed than I would expect. The script in Telemeter is shaky and the L is not the same as the L in mile. So I think this is a redial, but this is not a model I know and so I would not like to say for certain.