Hi Omega Forum. This is my first post as I was recently thrust into the watch world with a pretty special estate sale find. I bought this watch with no information other than I could feel the quality in my hands. I will not discuss how much I paid for it because I do not want to be responsible for any heart attacks I cause. At the moment I am not sure what I am going to do with it. I really enjoy old well made mechanical things so it gives me joy just holding and admiring it. On the other hand I work in the woods and my lifestyle would not give me many opportunities to wear it.

I have done some research on the watch and I did take it to a local shop to have it looked at. He was familiar with wakmann but not the exact model. We were able to determine that all the functions are working and that it is in very good condition. Imperfections I noticed would include light scratching on the crystal and a very slight bend in the red second chronograph hand that makes it rest very slightly off center.

I have a few questions for the forum if anybody would be so kind as to share their knowledge.

It has a serial number of 73.1307.70. What does this tell you about the watch such as year made, movement type, etc?

I have not opened the back of the case yet. Any tool recommendations or precautions?

What would a fair asking price be if I did decide to sell it? I know this is a tricky question that probably needs more information, but a ballpark or range would still be helpful.

If I did sell it, how do you do so in a safe manner where both parties feel safe?

Thanks for any info you have!

 

Most likely valjoux 723 movement. Dial is ok but not great. Case is nice. Hands relumed/repainted. Loose piece of lume at 8. So: no recent service and some work to do. Values/asking prices for these are all over the place. They are not rare in this configuration. After a service to get the issues fixed say USD 2500. As is: 2k.

 

Thank you for your good insight. That is just what I am looking for, someone with a good eye for these watches giving me a better idea of what I have on my hand. I guess I better downgrade my initial assessment of very good condition to just good condition. It looked so good on the wrist I got a little excited, but the devil is in the details.

 

I would agree with all of this, except that 2k is a bit optimistic. The re-lume/repaint on the hands is pretty sloppy, unfortunately, though the case and dial seem in good condition otherwise. The lume on the indices (those white stripes between the pieces of metal at the hours) also looks new. I would think, as is, $1500-1800, largely b/c the Valjoux movement is much sought-after and this particular watch is an increasingly hot commodity (Wakmanns are quickly going up in value across the board, and this is one of the flagships). Much depends on the state of the movement as well.

 

Thanks for the input. It is interesting to hear what goes into watch valuations