I have an old watch of my mother’s that, as best as I can tell with my flimsy knowledge of watches and some help from the internet, can be described as a vintage Omega ladies cocktail watch, 14k gold band, rectangular face, two small diamonds on the top and bottom of the watch face. (It’s broken, FWTW.)
I would like a pair of diamond stud earrings but don’t want to spend the money. An obvious solution would be to cannibalize the watch, which I would never wear in a million years, even if I went through the trouble of fixing it.
I just want to make sure that this is not a barbaric act. Vintage Omega watches on e-bay sell from anything from a couple hundred bucks to several thousand, so I have no clue if the watch itself is somehow a work of art that I should leave intact, rather than use for parts.
I suspect it’s not, and that the watch doesn’t have any great value, other than for the actual gold and diamonds. Any Dopers with knowledge of this area who care to weigh in?
Some notes: I live in Indonesia except when I’m on the island of Hawaii - so I don’t have access to a trustworthy appraiser. I do own a couple of high-quality loupes, (10x and 12.5x) so can inspect the watch very closely, if that would produce useful info.
Without specific pictures of the watch ----- if the band is actually 14k and not plated or filled that is where the real value is both in terms of melt or as a possible replacement piece. There also could be gold value to the main frame of the watch; the case. Odd internal parts - maybe. Not having access to a local appraiser you can trust, I would consider seeing if I could get some clear pictures and e-mail around some of the listed dealers on the internet.
For 95% of the Omega watches out there I would say rip the diamonds out and make earrings out of them if it gives you something you will enjoy while still having some personal attachment to her and her memory. But there is that other 5% where even broken examples can bring close to $1000US. And that much could buy a heck of a pair of studs. So I’m a little torn.
But I wouldn’t even come close to calling it a barbaric act. Keeping the remaining parts just laying around where they could get lost or be thrown away by someone not recognizing their value? Well maybe more stupid than barbaric. But that could just be me.
If you can give the wording of anything on the back or any other markings, I could maybe find out more for you.
I love watches, especially vintage ones, but do what gives you the greatest satisfaction out of it. The only caveat I would give is to do a cursory search on that specific model to make sure you don’t have something very rare and valuable. You probably don’t especially in non-working condition but it is best to make sure to the best of your ability. Otherwise, make something you actually want out of it.
Now you got me curious ---- do a Google image search on -------- vintage omega ladies watches --------- and let us know which picture looks closest to your watch if you would.
Strangely, nothing I can find via GIS looks much like it. But here is a photo:
(I hope that works. I haven’t touched my flickr account in ages, and I also have a brand-new camera I have literally just opened. I just spent a very painful half hour or so trying to figure out everything. Me not understand technology.)
This just in: my husband has suggested the watch is counterfeit (which would certainly mean that the “diamonds” are). He thinks the word “Swiss” on the watch face is suspicious.
Could be - as I said, I don’t see any images on the internet that look similar.
Hm, well I would say if the diamonds are 1/2 carat apiece or bigger go ahead and cannibalize it. If not, the gold in the watchband is probably worth more. If the diamonds are smaller, you could probably sell the watch and get better diamonds for your earrings with the proceeds. Vintage watch on eBay, looks like a classic.
Also note that with quality earrings, their value is not solely related to the value of the diamonds. A good setting is not going to be cheap. If you have a bad setting, your diamonds are (a) not going to look as good as they could and (b) they’ll fall out. For example, I once sold someone a $900 pair with half-carat cubic zirconia. The $900 was definitely not for the stone although the stones looked fine. A one carat CZ costs about $20.
The point here is that you’ll have to spend some money either way.
Hard to believe the diamonds are fake if the watch is really an Omega, no? Of course, the watch itself might be fake, in which case, as I noted above, the “diamonds” certainly are.
On the appearance of the word “Swiss” as suggestive of a counterfeit product: that was just my husband’s WAG. He said he couldn’t find any Omega watch photos that were similar. Of course, my Googlefu is better than his, so I immediately found one.
I seem to recall my mother owning this watch for decades - I vaguely recall her wearing it way back when I was a girl. If that’s the case, I really doubt it is fake. Had they acquired it later, I’d know it was fake. My dad had a “Rolex” with the days of the week in Spanish that I assume he picked up in Guadalajara. As soon as I saw it I was sure it was counterfeit. The only question is whether my dad knew he had a fake Rolex, or thought it was real.
From all of the examples I can find, it just looks as though Omega just didn’t put the word ‘Swiss’ on the dial - maybe just an aesthetic choice for the real thing (they would say “Swiss made” on the back of the case). Fakes have to try harder to convince you they’re the real thing - and sometimes, that means they make claims that the original didn’t need to - for example, ‘genuine’, when it appears on a product, may often indicate the exact opposite.
Excellent find, Mangetout - thank you. That pic looks quite similar to my watch - not precisely the same, of course, but rather it has the same “flavor” in some sense.
[QUOTE=Bad News Baboon]
They could be real, but very atypical for a watch. Most watches have stones this size or smaller:
I should have included a ruler in my picture. The “diamonds” are actually rather petite. If I do make earrings, I’ll most likely want to keep them in the current gold setting.
I’m now becoming quite intrigued as to the genuineness of this watch. While I’d love to have an easy option for diamond earrings, other than that I am not particularly invested in the authenticity of the watch. It would actually be hilarious if it is definitively declared a fake.
I’m now thinking that I should take the watch to someone who can pry off the back; then I can look at the model numbers inside, if any. That could go a long way toward determining whether the watch is real or fake.
I’d love it if that statement were correct, because it would help resolve matters. However, doing a GIS on “vintage Omega ladies watches” shows plenty of examples with numerals.
I’d say probably the simplest way forward with this watch is to get the diamonds tested by someone who offers money for scrap jewellery (these individuals should have a handheld diamond tester). You don’t need to find a trustworthy one if you follow this plan (and don’t let the thing out of your sight):
[ol]
[li]If they say the diamonds are real, and offer you a reasonable price for the piece, then the watch is probably genuine and the diamonds too (why would even an untrustworthy buyer lie in that context?). You don’t have to sell, of course.[/li][li]If they say the diamonds and/or the watch is fake, but seem interested in buying it, it may be real. Don’t sell.[/li][li]If they say the diamonds and/or the watch is fake, but are not interested in buying it, then it may be fake, but you still have the option to get it appraised again somewhere else. Just watch out that this scenario doesn’t end with a ridiculously low “Oh, go on then” offer as you walk away - if that happens, see scenario 2.[/li][/ol]
This would only be a ‘filter’ that offers a chance of confirming that it’s real, if it is real, but it might be worth a try.
Interesting approach - on the Big Island, I’d have to go to a pawn shop. Might be a hoot. I promise to report back in this thread if I do it (I’ll be on island next week.)
The watch is real. The body and the band(assuming it is gold) would scrap out for $100-300, at least in our store.
Cannibalizing the watch isn’t barbaric. Ladies small-faced rectangular wrist watches from the 1940s and later do NOT resell well. If this were a man’s Omega, then you could sell it for more than the gold content.
I’d suggest using the money from scrapping the watch and buy a pair of stud earrings. Go to a coin dealer if you can. Generally they pay more than pawn shops
Note that the ones with numbers are not dressy (the type to be worn with fine attire as opposed to a daily wear). The type with stones mainly have ticks.
I’m going along with Sam; there are enough Omegas I know that are real I don’t see in a quick search and I did spot a couple “one offs” (ones I could only find a single example of in images) that are real close in design but a more round or oval face. I would be 90% sure just from your single image that its real.
Now, that being said, ovals are more popular in ladies watches than squares and the ovals in that “two stones on band/face” working are retailing around $500-$800 tops. And when you figure wholesale and scrap, scrap is about the best you are going to get for it. So I think you can safely go ahead with the project if you want to.
Funnily enough, I’ve just put my great-grandfather’s Omega pocket-watch in for examination and servicing. The movement dates from c1890 and was his everyday watch, so it’s not likely to be of much value, but it has family history.
