Interested on your thoughts on the VINTAGE OMEGA GENEVE, CAL. 601Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network listed on ebay. It seems clean and all original(correct me if I'm wrong). Would this be worth purchasing? All your inputs will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I'll let others comment on the authenticity of the dial etc., but there are a couple of things I see in the movement shot that give me pause: The red arrow at the bottom of the photo shows where a case clamp and screw are missing - hopefully just misplaced and not a stripped thread on the main plate. The upper arrow points to the jewel in the wheel train bridge for the escape wheel. The plate seems to have been bushed and a new jewel installed. If you compare it to this Cal. 601 I serviced a while back the difference is clear: Not sure I would pop for this one....not that there is anything specifically wrong with this repair, but it's a sign the movement may have had some major repairs done, so it makes me wonder what else might have been wrong. Cheers, Al
Cheers, Al Al thanks for another great informative post. What is so bad about a worn jewel changed? Don't understand. When jewel needs changing does this mean other things were very worng or just certain jewels? And the difference in the pictures you reference- Is it the fact that the hole for the jewel is bigger now indicating the replacement with larger diameter jewel bushing? Thanks
Oh man. Looks can be deceiving but not with the keen eyes of our experts here in the forum. Appreciate your advise Archer you've been a great help! I'm planning to give it as a gift but I think i'll let this one go. I prefer authenticity than the price. Thanks again!
Okay looking at hoipolli's picture, I might reconsider my statements on the escape wheel jewel - looks like there is a variation in how that jewel is treated in the plate, with some being countersunk and some being spotfaced around the jewel. Spotfacing is a bit unusual on a watch movement, as most are countersunk. The picture from the ad is a bit blurry and it looked like the plate had a bushing installed, then a new jewel put in. There's nothing wrong with replacing a jewel - it's a pretty regular thing to have to do in a movement, but having to bush the hole is unusual, and to me would indicate that something major has gone wrong. In this case it looks like that concern is not warranted. Jewels of this era and newer (friction fit jewels, as opposed to bezel set or "rubbed in:" jewels) are very easy to change. They are simply pressed out in one direction, and to install you press it back in the other direction. If the jewel is loose in the hole in the plate, you can usually just use your Seitz jeweling tool to ream the hole out one size larger, and get a larger OD jewel, and it would look very similar. If the hole needs to be bushed this indicates the hole was really oversized. This could be from someone who is not experienced pushing a jewel out the wrong way, or some other damage happening in the area. Again it looks like this was a false alarm. Cheers, Al