Greetings forum

i'm new to posting here but I'll try to be as precise as possible, this watch come to my possession through an ex girlfriend from my youth, her family was quite wealthy, once while staying at her late grandfathers winter estate I came upon this drawer full of wrist watches and she told me to pick one, at the time I couldn't tell a casio from a rolex so I went for the one I found more aesthetically pleasing to me, all the while thinking in the back of my mind that certainly they were all either cheap or frankly disposable.

In the following years I wore the watch in several occasions and put it through all sorts of abuse, mind you I never imagined the potential value or artistic worth of the piece, eventually I went for a swim with it (apologies) thus destroying it. I was probably 18 at the time.

After that I threw it in a drawer and there it stayed for the last 9 years or so until two days ago, holding it brought me back to my youth and a better time in my life and it made me remember how much I liked this watch.

I'm writing to you mostly in hopes that you can tell me that this is indeed a fake and that I don't have to worry about destroying such a nice watch.

(Albeit it already had a patina and some scratches when it came to me).

Hope i wasn't too dreary with the backstory and thank you for your time.

P.S. The original owner was Portuguese, "Qua" means quarte-feira which is wednesday in Portuguese I believe.

And apologies for the poor quality photos.

Thank you again.
Lawrence

 

It looks like a legitimate mid-1970s day-date Omega Geneve automatic to me
These would have been among the entry-level mechanical watches of their day, competing with new-fangled quartz and electronic watches for your attention. If I recall correctly, the dials came in some bright colors such as red, blue and green to better catch your eye.
I think your example has been relumed for nighttime visibility at some point in its past, as the hour markets are covered with a white powdery substance that I don't think should be there. The hour hand may also have been painted. Your watch also has a Portugal customs hallmark on the lug that indicates the case has gold content.
A sympathetic service by a vintage watchmaker will provide you with a reliable watch for decades to come. If you decide to do this, your watchmaker will find a reference number on the inside caseback as well as caliber number and serial number on the watch movement. This will tell you a little bit more about your watch.
Welcome to the forum!

 

Thank you for your reply and expertise, after years of mistreatment I'll work on finding a good shop here in London to service this old boy to top shape, and get it up and running again if possible.

I've tried opening the back with household items to no avail and further force would certainly result in scarring of the back.

Cheers

 

I wouldn't try to open it or mess with it. If it has been a years its probably very hard to open. Wait for the watchmaker to do this job. There is a chance that you will damage the back.

 

In perfect condition this gold plated watch is not valuable. Odds are the movement is a too far gone. Restoring it will cost more then it’s value and the dial will never be attractive again.

 

Thank you for your input.

The concept of value changes from individual to individual, it may hold no monetary value to the world but that is not the only factor in such judgement, sentimentality plays a big part in this little discovery and as I said before this object holds other forms of value to me in the form of memories and times well spent.

Worth is not always measured in currency

 

Hence I never said don’t do it or that it’s junk.

Just giving you background on value and service costs which will exceed $300.

 

Totally aside from value or cost, I'm concerned that it stopped working after it was immersed in water, and then it was put away for a long time.

 

Happy to recommend Chealwatch for my vintage Omegas

 

That would be a great place to start, thank you for your input.

 

OMG. Are you serious? There is a very long and damning thread about C Heal on another forum where he has been dubbed the Butcher of Rye. I would read up on the guy before sending him anything. Mods if it is out of line to link elsewhere then please delete or edit as appropriate but I didn't want my comment to be unsubstantiated. There is enough evidence to suggest sending there is not a good idea.

http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.php?228547-Chealwatch-quot-The-Butcher-of-Rye-quot&highlight=cheal

 

Thanks for the fair warning, do you know or would recommend any other shops in the UK or preferably around central London.

 

Google WatchGuy and Mitka watches. Both in U.K. both good.

 

Not so much London but the following are all reasonably priced independents who don't have horrific reputations like CH:

Genesis
Thewatchbloke
Watchguy
https://mitka.co.uk (former apprentice to the above)
Simon Freese (former head of STS workshop - not the cheapest but among the best)

Also cheaper still but worth considering esp for a cheaper piece like this, but remember you get what you pay for:

Essex Clock and Watch
Ryte Time

 

Interesting post #Padders but I generally prefer to 'take as I find', and trust my own experiences.

I can only say that I wouldn’t have recommended this or any other specialist watch repairer unless I had used them myself and been entirely satisfied with them; as is the case with my earlier recommendation.

 

Absolutely and to be clear I have never used ChealW but the overwhelmingly weight of negative reviews is a worry. That and the video of him trying and failing to remove a SMP bezel with a butter knife and mangling the case. On this occasion I'll listen to the experiences of others.

 

Wavering from the op’s post and not out to fan the fire, mods feel free to delete.
My wife’s constellation cal 672 was freshly serviced by chealwatch when purchased, paperwork to prove.
The watch failed within a month and cheal were not interested in helping. I could not be bothered to fight so I bit the bullet, coughed up and had it serviced by my regular watch maker in Gloucestershire.
He was not impressed with the state of the movement having been recently serviced.
I have not bashed cheal in any way and put it down to bad luck but couldn’t let this go after my experience.
Op if interested I can give you the details of my watchmaker in Gloucestershire.

 

Well for what it's worth, I think the story is worth more than the watch. More than enough reason to get it sorted.

Please let us know what you decide and post pictures of the refurb/finished article if you get it fixed.

Thanks for sharing.