What should I get done on my 1962 Omega?

[97'vintage]

Hello Omega Forums members,

This is my vintage Omega. A Reference 162.002 with a serial number dating to 1962. I love the simple design and how nice and easy it wears. In addition, the movement is just beautiful. To me, the watch is a bit sentimental: I bought it just a few days before the first corona lockdown back in march 2020 at one of these small antique shops for a bit under 200 Euros. Even if it wasn't my first watch, I didn't know all that much. I just liked the watch and it was affordable to me. That's all. But how it made me feel was unbeatable. I remeber that moment, I went grocery shopping after leaving the antiques shop, starring down at my wrist thinking: "I'm 22 and I just bought a watch like this with my own money...".

The watch was (and still is) running very accurately and I've worn it nonstop the follwing months. It got me seriously into watches and into Omega.

Over the time, I realized the following things about my watch:

a) The orange seconds hand doesn't match. It's too short. Comparable vintage Omegas got a longer, silver one.
b) The crystal is crearly not from Omega. It doesn't feature the symbol in the centre and overall sits very high over the case.
c) The "Swiss Made" script is in fact there at 6 o' clock. But it is only visible if you look at it from an angle. Maybe that has to do with the non-OEM crystal? What do you think about that?
d) There's a long scratch between 9 and 10. The minute hand is slightly bent. That doesn't impact the functionality and is only visible if you look for it. Maybe, an unschooled watchmaker once made a mistake??
e) The movement, visibly and performance-wise seems to be in great shape!
d) The case looks very sharpe. I don't think it has been polished all that often. Most scratches are from the time I wore it daily.
e) The crown seems to be the right one as it fits the case nicely. But the logo on it isn't the exact same that is on the dial.
f) If you google "Omega 162.002", the results match quite well. While there isn't the exact dial layout in the right metal, it overall seems to match. The catalogue extract I found matches my watch, too.
g) I always thought about getting an Extract from the Archives for my watch one day. But never pulled the trigger. Now I'm unfortunately too late.

I am now thinking about giving my watch to a watchmaker. Thinking about the folling things to get done:

1.) Install the right seconds hand.
2.) Install an OEM crystal, ideally to see the dial completely.
3.) Movement service??
4.) Strap - My watch has 17 mm lugs. I prefer steel bracelets to leather strap. I had the watch the whole time on pretty cheap leather straps. I love the look of the Omega "Beads of Rice" bracelets of the 60s. But to my knowledge, they all have 18 mm endlinks. I think, it wouldn't be that hard for a watchmaker to polish them down to 17 mm in order to fit my watch? Or am I commiting a sin to Omega collectors here? There is an old Catawiki listing of a 162.002 with a BoR bracelet to give you an idea of how it would look like:

https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/19026537-omega-automatic-162002-men-1960-1969

I would be really thankful if some of you guys could give me your opinion about my plans and if I caught all the "errors" of my watch! I really would appreciate different opinions in order to make my own final decision of what I will ask my watchmaker to do.

In addition, it would be great, if I could buy the parts I want to replace in advance (seconds hand, crystal, BoR bracelet) and give them to my watchmaker a set. If I do it like this, I would know exactly what I get and what I pay for. I would be really thankful if someone could tell me the name of a good parts dealer who has these things. Regular ebay doesn't help that much apart from the bracelet.

Looking foreward to your answers and a big thanks in advance.

Yours, vintage'97

Edited: Dec 30, 2023

 

[MtV]

Hi and welcome aboard. I'll try my best to answer a couple of your questions as well as possible:

97'vintage

a) The orange seconds hand doesn't match. It's too short. Comparable vintage Omegas got a longer, silver one.

Correct observation.

97'vintage

b) The crystal is crearly not from Omega. It doesn't feature the symbol in the centre and overall sits very high over the case.
c) The "Swiss Made" script is in fact there at 6 o' clock. But it is only visible if you look at it from an angle. Maybe that has to do with the non-OEM crystal? What do you think about that?

Again, correct observation. It's relatively common for the tension rings of non-OEM plexis to cover the Swiss Made, so this is exactly what's happening here.

97'vintage

d) There's a long scratch between 9 and 10. The minute hand is slightly bent. That doesn't impact the functionality and is only visible if you look for it. Maybe, an unschooled watchmaker once made a mistake??
e) The movement, visibly and performance-wise seems to be in great shape!

Most likely, or someone who wasn't even a watchmaker and installed a random second hand as he figured it's better than having none at all? Who knows. The movement does look good, and it alone will be about the value of what you paid for the whole thing.

By the way, is there a gasket somewhere that I'm just not seeing?

97'vintage

e) The crown seems to be the right one as it fits the case nicely. But the logo on it isn't the exact same that is on the dial.

That's not unusual. Might also be a service crown. Unfortunately, my list of crown part numbers doesn't include your reference so I couldn't tell you what part to look for (to compare the style).

97'vintage

I am now thinking about giving my watch to a watchmaker. Thinking about the folling things to get done:

1.) Install the right seconds hand.
2.) Install an OEM crystal, ideally to see the dial completely.
3.) Movement service??
4.) Strap - My watch has 17 mm lugs. I prefer steel bracelets to leather strap. I had the watch the whole time on pretty cheap leather straps. I love the look of the Omega "Beads of Rice" bracelets of the 60s. But to my knowledge, they all have 18 mm endlinks. I think, it wouldn't be that hard for a watchmaker to polish them down to 17 mm in order to fit my watch? Or am I commiting a sin to Omega collectors here?

All very valid points and you mention the sentimental value. However, since you asked for advise, let me state what might already be obvious to you: A movement service will cost you more than the watch is worth, more than you paid for it - possible a couple times that much. Your watch won't be worth much more afterwards, so this has to be a purely emotional decision. Financially, whatever you invest in this watch will be lost. The right second hand and the crystal might also set you back a significant amount. And lastly, the BoR is also about as much as you paid for the watch - it won't be worth that much once you've filed down the endlinks, though. The latter is possible and personally, I think it's your watch and your bracelet, do as you please. It's certainly not unheard of and shouldn't be a big task for a competent watchmaker. Make sure that the first link of the actual bracelet (NOT the endlink) isnt too wide that it gets stuck between the lugs. If it isn't, have the endlinks filed down and enjoy.

Don't let me talk you out of it though if the sentimental value prevails! I just want you to know what you're getting into. Those relatively small, no-model-name pieces, with a date window and some condition issues that won't be fixable (dial damage, most of all)... there's never going to be much value in those. Which might make it all the easier to enjoy.

Personally, I'd wear and enjoy it as is, with all those little flaws nobody really notices, but that clearly mark it as yours.

97'vintage

In addition, it would be great, if I could buy the parts I want to replace in advance (seconds hand, crystal, BoR bracelet) and give them to my watchmaker a set. If I do it like this, I would know exactly what I get and what I pay for. I would be really thankful if someone could tell me the name of a good parts dealer who has these things. Regular ebay doesn't help that much apart from the bracelet.

I'd also love to have the name of a good parts dealer... Unfortunately, they don't really exist anymore. There are a couple you could check (ofrei.com; cousinsuk.com) but your chances are slim. Also, because you have a rather uncommon reference there. This doesn't translate in value, unfortunately, only in inconveniences. For common references, finding parts is often not that difficult. Someone might have a second hand but no idea it fits your reference, for example. A watchmaker with an Omega parts account could check if the parts are still available from Omega and what their part numbers are. This won't be easy, I'm afraid.

Hope this doesn't decrease the enjoyment for a second, though. 😀

 

[SOG53]

+1 to the detailed advice above.
If it runs I would wear it as is and put money into next watch which is correct, you can post potentials here for pre purchase advice. Welcome to OF!

Follow the Recomnended EBay listings thread for vetted options
And also Private Sales forum here frequent great options that are correct and fairly priced.

 

[97'vintage]

Thank you, MtV and SOG53!

I was travelling the days around new year. And I wanted to think about the comments before I answer. So it took me until today to answer.

 

[97'vintage]

MtV

Again, correct observation. It's relatively common for the tension rings of non-OEM plexis to cover the Swiss Made, so this is exactly what's happening here.

It's great to hear that. Because I was really not sure if it's the crystal or if something else is off. I posted the question on the german Uhrforum, too, and the members there have the same opinion.

 

[97'vintage]

MtV

By the way, is there a gasket somewhere that I'm just not seeing?

I think your're right. I don't see a gasket either. I didn't catch that before! Thank you 😀

 

[97'vintage]

MtV

And lastly, the BoR is also about as much as you paid for the watch - it won't be worth that much once you've filed down the endlinks, though. The latter is possible and personally, I think it's your watch and your bracelet, do as you please. It's certainly not unheard of and shouldn't be a big task for a competent watchmaker. Make sure that the first link of the actual bracelet (NOT the endlink) isnt too wide that it gets stuck between the lugs. If it isn't, have the endlinks filed down and enjoy.

Thank you for the recommandtion about the size of the first link. I didn't think about that. It's great to hear that it's not an unheard and possible thing to re-size these bracelets, too.

 

[97'vintage]

MtV

Don't let me talk you out of it though if the sentimental value prevails! I just want you to know what you're getting into. Those relatively small, no-model-name pieces, with a date window and some condition issues that won't be fixable (dial damage, most of all)... there's never going to be much value in those. Which might make it all the easier to enjoy.

Personally, I'd wear and enjoy it as is, with all those little flaws nobody really notices, but that clearly mark it as yours.

That's a great point: Collectible vintage piece vs. good watch to wear. I've been wearing my watch daily again since christmas and I'm planning to wear it frequently again. There's definetly a lot of sentimental value in that watch - it's my Omega.

 

[97'vintage]

MtV

There are a couple you could check (ofrei.com; cousinsuk.com) but your chances are slim.

Thank you for these names. I will check them.

 

[97'vintage]

SOG53

+1 to the detailed advice above.
If it runs I would wear it as is and put money into next watch which is correct, you can post potentials here for pre purchase advice. Welcome to OF!

Follow the Recomnended EBay listings thread for vetted options
And also Private Sales forum here frequent great options that are correct and fairly priced.

Thank you. I will do that if another Omega is on my radar. But for now, I will stick to my Omega.

 

[97'vintage]

After thinking about the answers, it came clear that I do want to find the right seconds hand and crystal plus the gasket. I will check the time-graphing of the movement again, if everything still runs well. I will look at the pricing of the BOR bracelets, too. If I find one for a reasonable price, I might do it.

The members of the Uhrforum gave my the name of an Omega watchmaker that has accessability to parts and experience in vintage watches. He's not even an hour away from where I live. I will contact him in the following days.