r/VintageWatches

My wife just gave me this for my birthday. I’m overjoyed! Anyone else have a copy?

It took a long time of research and searching for the right one. This is my GS batwing, not a bad-looking watch for a 57-year-old. The best part is that works really well!

Omega from 1950s with a unique, evenly spread gold patina. It's hard to imagine that this sunburst dial was originally white. Paired with a sterling silver mesh bracelet.
Robust manual winding movement cal. 266
ref. 2639-14

Just as the title says. I am relatively new to the watch world but was pretty pumped to pick this piece up for the price. Seems to have the Valjoux 7730 movement. The crystal is chipped and seems that there’s been some dirt and grime that got onto the dial. When I popped the back, the movement seemed relatively clean and runs to a certain extent.

My question is, is the damage on the dial too much for someone to restore? I assume the watch would need a full overhaul. What price range am I looking at here? Can the watch as a whole be salvaged, or is it too beat up?

Thanks in advance!

Baseball glove strap is from Mott Straps

Sent out for repairs just about two months ago. Case polished, new band, new Crystal and the date wheel had to be replaced as well as the stem. Any tips or things I should look out for to keep it running another 50+ years? It was his retirement gift after 25 years at Sealtest foods and is engraved 1974 on the back.

family watch original thought I would share before getting it serviced

Looking for some advice and thoughts on a listing for a vintage Omega Constellation posted on Ottuhr. In the process of selling a True North pastel and will have some extra cash. The reference is 168.029.

- Anyone have recent experience with Ottuhr? Have seen a couple mentions but nothing super recent.
- Is this $2,300 a reasonable price? Seems $300 or so too high based on other results online and on Chrono24. Thinking of starting at $1,900.
- How much would a normal service run me years down the road? Is there a big risk it just stops working completely? Have seen issues with the day/date but not overall 751 movement.

Any thought or comments for a novice collector are greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share a special piece from my grandfather’s collection. He was an avid watch collector, and he bought this 14k gold-capped Omega Constellation C-Shape (Ref. 168.017) as a treat to himself to wear while traveling the world.

Before he passed, he told my mom that he wanted his watches passed along to the kids/grandkids to help out whenever times got tight. That time has come for me, so I’m looking to do a private sale soon, but I wanted to get the community's perspective first.

It’s fully operational and sitting on what I believe is its original matching gold-capped brick-style bracelet. I took these photos before doing any detailed prep, so there's some light natural patina and tarnish on the exterior links that I plan to clean up carefully.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this reference! Also, if anyone has recent experience with C-Shape values on the matching bracelet, what do you think it's worth?

To be clear, I am not trying to sell this watch on this subreddit in accordance with this community's rules.

Thanks for looking!

Hi everyone,
I’m currently debating with a guy on Marketplace about my Girard-Perregaux Gyromatic (photo attached).
He claims that “Swiss T” on the dial means the watch must have had tritium lume, and since my dial has none at all, it has to be a refinished/repainted dial with a mistake.
I told him that during the tritium era, manufacturers often printed “Swiss T” as part of the standard dial production, and applying the lume was a separate later step — so non-lumed dials could still leave the factory with the T marking.
What do you think?
Is “Swiss T” strictly reserved only for dials that actually received tritium, or was it commonly printed even on non-lumed configurations?
Any insight or similar examples would be really appreciated. Thanks! Here is a similar watch with the same text

Does anyone recognize this lion logo or hallmark? I’m trying to figure out whether the watch case is gold-filled, gold-plated, or solid gold. I’ve attached a close-up of the logo

Hello all - this is my first post so I hope I’m in the right spot. I stumbled across this piece in a vintage watch and clock repair shop in Italy. The man spoke no English, but through Google Translate he shared the following:

• Believed to be from the 1950s
• The person who brought it in suggested it was a gift for Air Force officers after illustrious careers (unclear which country’s Air Force)
• Valjoux 69 movement
• Chronograph and time-keeping work perfectly well
• Everything appears to be original

I sent images to Baume et Mercier and they were unable to identify this particular watch, which they said is common for pieces this old. I have no information on this, can’t find anything that looks like it online, and would LOVE any help learning anything I can about this watch. Thank you!