Vintage Omega service
Discussion
The following watch belong to my grand father. He stoped using it some 30 years ago as he preferred automatic and ultimately quartz (as when he was old he was not moving enough to power the automatic).
As far as i know it hasn't been serviced and it is still working though not really want to use it before it gets some proper look out.
Where should i take it for a service that makes sense i.e. is reasonably affordable as this has more sentimental than market value but decent quality, it seems to have survived half century and want to make sure it continues to do so.
As far as i know it hasn't been serviced and it is still working though not really want to use it before it gets some proper look out.
Where should i take it for a service that makes sense i.e. is reasonably affordable as this has more sentimental than market value but decent quality, it seems to have survived half century and want to make sure it continues to do so.
www.swisstimeservices.co.uk have always done fantastic work on my Omegas - totally recommend!
Mishima said:
Quote was for cleaning up the existing dial, the brown stuff being caused by condensation and dust over the years.
I'm sorry to tell you that the dial fitted has been repainted, not cleaned.In fact, it's not even the same dial.The original had flat topped numerals. The replacement dial's numerals are far more rounded.
The crown has been replaced and the case has been fairly heavily polished.
It's a shame, from a collectors viewpoint this is vandalism.
AJB88 said:
Looking at the numerals are you sure its not just that they look different as they dont have a load of crud stuck around them now. If you look closely I reckon they are the same.
I did wonder about that myself, as the numerals especially look more rounded (yet the other indices look the same as before). I suspect it is the same dial but the photo and clean-up makes it look a little different.Almost certainly what has happened here is that the dial has been cleaned by removing the stained varnish.
The dial colour we’re seeing now is likely very similar to the original factory-fresh colour, but with the aged, yellowed varnish (once clear) above it removed.
I’ve seen that done quite easily, but whilst it leaves the dial paint untouched, one risk you run in doing so is it can remove dial printing, which slews off with the varnish in the solution.
In this case, the removed ‘OMEGA’ and hash marks around the edge have been repainted again slightly differently than before.
It’s this after-cleaning re-application that makes me think it’s probably the same dial, but reprinted.
I’m not a fan of dial printing being re-applied by hand, but overall I think most people (i.e. non watch geeks) would view this watch as now being much more presentable/wearable than before. If the crown has been replaced – and I’m not certain it has – at least they’ve chosen a suitably sized version, as too often I see inappropriately bulky crowns fitted to these classy watches.
I fully understand why a purist might balk at the steps taken, but at the end of the day it’s a common piece worth only a few hundred quid, and I think on balance it’s better that it’s been refurbished & worn regularly as the lovely, classy, understated piece it now is, rather than languishing unloved in a drawer perhaps due to its prior condition.
Prompted by this thread to get confirmation from the repairer; it's the original dial 'stripped and painted with original colour to Omega specification' and it's emerged just as I wanted it. The request was to return it to its original appearance and not to retain any patination.
It's the style of it that I particularly like and the intention is to get it back into use.
It was passed to me by a family member and I have the papers from when it was bought in Cyprus in 1957 so there's a bit of history to it although I don't think it has much financial value. Just had it done on something of a whim and happy so far.
It's the style of it that I particularly like and the intention is to get it back into use.
It was passed to me by a family member and I have the papers from when it was bought in Cyprus in 1957 so there's a bit of history to it although I don't think it has much financial value. Just had it done on something of a whim and happy so far.
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