Omega

mondodec
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Good Points...

Yes, Erich, your points reflect my personal view of collecting and maintaining vintage watches.

This is especially the case with Constellations, where, in quite a few instances, I have seen jobs come back from Bienne that have basically destroyed the collectibility of the watch.

Like you Erich, I strongly recommend using a local expert rather than sending to Bienne.  While parts are no longer supplied to independent watchmakers, there are still some big Omega suppliers out there, and of course if one chooses a watchmaker who has worked with Omegas over the years the chances of him having plenty of parts watches on standby are fairly good.

With Constellations, supplies of correct bumper rotors and correct mid-500 series rotor bridges have dried up at Omega and so the nearest parts are used.  I've also seen instances of Omega insisting that a dial is refinished (otherwise they would send the watch back) where the dial itself has no spot or damage but the lacquer is powdering a tad. Rather than bring in a specialist to remove the rivets, remove the lacquer and re-rivet, Omega insists on redialling.

I think it's all about service ethos. Omega doesn't appear to make any distinction between a vintage and a contemporary watch. It's fine for a contemporary model to come back from service looking brand spanking new, but to take the same attitude with valuable vintage watches misses the point and in some ways damages the reputation of the brand in my opinion.  

The other thing is that there are a heap of enthusiasts on other fora who delight in sending their tool watches to the "Spa in Bienne" and strongly advocate other vintage owners do the same, and so for a new collector like skinnyguy it's difficult to ascertain what the preferred practice is amongst seasoned collectors .  

I guess, Skinnyguy, the point for you to consider is whether you wish to acquire collectible specimens or whether you simply want to have the pleasure of wearing a nicely refurbished (save the lettering on the Seamaster) vintage model that will, with servicing every five years, tick on for decades.  If you go the way of the serious collector then you can consider the option of keeping the watch as close to original as possible.

I wrote a couple of essays on the various options click here and click here and hope it's a useful aid in your deciding where you stand on this matter.

Regards

Desmond

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