My wife received this watch from her father on Thanksgiving. As best as he can remember he purchased the watch in 1964. Can anyone comment on this watch? Also, the watch is running. But it has probably not been serviced in a long time. Would it be worth spending the $$$ to send it to Omega for an 'official' service? I believe the watch was originally gold plated. The plating is rubbed off the clasp, crown, and case back. What do folks usually do about this? Replate? Or keep it original? Opinions welcome!
I believe your watch is gold capped http://users.tpg.com.au/mondodec//GoldCap.pdf this is why you are seeing a stainless steel case back. The lugs are capped and the bezel is solid (14k) gold. The bracelet is gold plated which I imagine you could get re-plated if you wish.
You'll pay in excess of the watch value for a job any independent watchmaker used to working with real watches (that is vintage) can do for a fraction of the money and the time.
As Rochete stated plus, Omega wants the watch to look and perform like a new watch that just left the factory which means original parts will be replaced. If that's what you want, sell this watch as is, and buy a new one.
Find a local watchmaker who is sympathetic to vintage watches, tell him/her to service the watch but wherever possible retain the original parts. If parts are replaced ask for them to be returned so you can pass on if you ever decide to sell. Also no polishing as this destroys the original edges..... and don’t let them touch that original dial! Oh and retain that original crown (regardless of plate loss) as they are now obsolete.
But it does need to be serviced. A watchmaker specialising in vintage can do that for you. Make sure you ask for all parts to be kept original and no polishing done unless to remove scratches from the crystal. If that watch were mine I'd leave the bracelet as is. Replating isn't cheap if you have it done properly, the wear won't show when the watch is worn and anyway it adds character. Either that or you could put it on a nice tan leather Hirsch strap. ETA: Beaten to it!
Just don't send to Omega! I once asked the local Swatch service center, and they told me that, for vintage pieces, Omega will send it back to Switzerland, and go ahead with servicing if the cost is less than 3000 dollars, without quoting you the price before that. Sounds pretty damn costly and risky to me.
I echo what all of my esteemed and learned brothers have said. BUT! Get rid of that damn wart on the crystal and get an Ω crystal when you get it serviced. I'll be much happier if you do that, and so shall you.
My opinions if I may have: 1. You do not send it to Omega for any purposes, for the reasons other members have listed above. 2. You should have it serviced by a skilled local watchmaker to restore normal operation that facilitate daily wear. And that's is! Other age-, incidents-, events-related marks/blemishes/wears can just be left as are since this is an original history witness, and moreover a family heritage passed down.