Omega - Extact from the Archives

[youngsyr]

Hi all, I imagine this is quite a niche interest area, but some people might be interested all the same.

Omega offer a service (for £50!) where they will send you a certificate of the manufacturer details of your watch, if it was made pre-2001.

As I was just bought a second hand Omega Speedy as a present, I thought I'd ask for a family member to buy the extract as an Xmas present so that I could get to the bottom of when it was made (the Bond Street dealer I bought it from said it was 2004, but it had a much earlier bracelet and the date on the warranty card had faded so you couldn't see the year).

Anyway, it arrived today and it's actually quite impressive. The folder it comes in is very nice quality with a nice embossed logo and best of all, it has a very attractive Omega Wax Seal on it.

The certificate in comparison is reasonably plain, but it is hand signed by the keeper of the Archives in Bienne, Switzerland. It also has all the details of when (to the day) it was made and where it was exported to etc.

Here's a pic of the folder:

[Podie]

Looking at this for one of mine. Care to photo any of the inside?

[youngsyr]

Podie said:

Looking at this for one of mine. Care to photo any of the inside?

Will do, but I'm a bit busy today and tomorrow so it may be a couple of days. If I haven't posted by Monday, bump this thread to remind me.

[Podie]

Cool, will do.

Got a pre-2001 Seamaster and a Dynamic.

[Podie]

youngsyr said:

If I haven't posted by Monday, bump this thread to remind me.

Bump...

[youngsyr]

Thanks for the reminder, I'd completely forgotten about it!

Here are some more pics, if you need any more info, just ask:

Edited by youngsyr on Thursday 12th January 12:47

Edited by youngsyr on Thursday 12th January 12:49

[Podie]

Cool, thanks.

[Pugster]

So the upshot is that the Bond street dealer didn't have a clue where it came from!

[youngsyr]

Pugster said:

So the upshot is that the Bond street dealer didn't have a clue where it came from!

Not so much where it came from, but how old it was. The warranty card had the last digit of the year missing (it had been printed off of the end of the little strip where the printing is supposed to go), so it could have been bought at any point between 2000 and 2009.

The dealer advertised it as a 2004 watch, God knows why, presumably because that's what the previous owner told him? However, I knew they stopped making this version in 2002 and that no Speedmaster Pro had the tapering bracelet after that date, so it had either sat in a shop for at least two years prior to it being bought or it was an older watch.

Neither of which bothered me as it was the difference between a 9 year old watch and possibly as much as a 12 year old one and I was buying on condition rather than age (I would actually have preferred it to be older rather than younger). Once I owned it though, I thought it would be nice to get the age pinned down once and for all.

[Miguel Alvarez]

Silly question. Do you send them the watch or do you just give them details over the phone/email?

[LukeBird]

Miguel Alvarez said:

Silly question. Do you send them the watch or do you just give them details over the phone/email?

You just provide them with the details.

[Shaw Tarse]

LukeBird said:

Miguel Alvarez said:

Silly question. Do you send them the watch or do you just give them details over the phone/email?

You just provide them with the details.

Silly question #2 where do I find the details?

[Miguel Alvarez]

LukeBird said:

Miguel Alvarez said:

Silly question. Do you send them the watch or do you just give them details over the phone/email?

You just provide them with the details.

Cheers. I've an old Chronostop I'd like to know a bit more about. i'll dig it out and see what details are on the back of it.

[youngsyr]

Shaw Tarse said:

Silly question #2 where do I find the details?

Warranty card for most, but you need to know the movement number, so you may need to take the back off of the watch. I'm fortunate as my watch has a crystal display back so you can see the movement number anyway.

[Shaw Tarse]

youngsyr said:

Shaw Tarse said:

Silly question #2 where do I find the details?

Warranty card for most, but you need to know the movement number, so you may need to take the back off of the watch. I'm fortunate as my watch has a crystal display back so you can see the movement number anyway.

Thanks, warranty card long gone, watch was inherited from dad's dad, might be nice to find some history about it.

[youngsyr]

Shaw Tarse said:

Thanks, warranty card long gone, watch was inherited from dad's dad, might be nice to find some history about it.

In that case, take it into an Omega store and see if they can identify the model reference and other details, they may even offer to get all the info needed and apply for the extract there and then, but I wouldn't place any money on it!

Failing that, try posting some pics on a specialist watch forum. You may still need to take the back off of the watch to find the movement number though.