Info on Watch and Repair please

Pique

Hi,

I have my grandfathers (he died in early 60s) Omega pocketwatch, with a face printed with Hopkins & Hopkins.

The back cover has an ornate 'K' inscribed (family surname) and there are markings on the inside rear cover.

The watch used to work when I was a kid, 20-30 years ago, but now does not. I thought it was 'overwound' but talking to a jeweller casually one day, he told me there is no such thing, but that he could not fix it, and to go to some place in Belfast.
Also, the rear cover is indented (almost concave now, instead of slightly convex) from being in an old man's pocket, so I would like that rectified too.

So, 2 questions. Is this watch anything special, and how much would it cost to repair, from the little info given above? I realise that might be a 'how long is a piece of string?' question, so apologies if I sound like a complete idiot. Fact is, when it comes to things like this, I am!

btw, I know it's grubby, it's not been used in donkeys and I didn't just wanna take Silvo to it !

Photos here if they help.
https://imgur.com/a/j7PKd

Thanks all for any info.

Menas

Hi Pique,

Hard to tell if it is anything special. Omega are a good brand so there will be a decent movement in there.
Good movement increases your chances of getting it fixed.

If you are lucky all it may need is a good service - expect to pay about €120-150 for that. But if the watch movement is broken and parts are needed then the price starts going up rapidly. Of course it may not be fixable.

A restore job could also help get it looking in pristine condition. That will bring the case back to its former glory and will also involve a good clean of the watch face and glass. I dont know how much that would cost though.

You should get the watch to a specialist in these old watches and get a quote. The questions is 'who' is a specialist in these?
I dont know any directly (my local watch shop does, but you are dealing with 3rd party there) but there are some around. You may need to do a bit of internet searching for that unless anyone else in here has any recommendations.

TomCo

Can you post a pic of the internals?
Obviously only if it has a hinged back and no dust cover. Don't go prising anything!

CarltonBrowne

My eyes aren't what they used to be so a slightly higher res picture of the inside of the case would also be useful. Does the 5273606 number feature on the movement as well? This will help give a rough date which could be between 1916 and 1923 according to Chronomaddox
http://chronomaddox.com/omega_serial_numbers.html
In truth the silver hallmarks will probably give a more accurate date.

I can't give a steer on Irish repairers (I understand that watchrepairs.ie don't do vintage) but you could consider sending it to the UK. Bear in mind that a proper case repair would probably not come under a €120-150 service and this might be a more specialist job - personally I'd probably live with it as patina but your mileage may vary. I can't see an Omega pocket watch movement being particularly exotic - it's definitely worth doing.

Pique

Hey guys, thanks a million for all the help so far.

More detailed pics uploaded to Imgur now.

The movement serial # is 4480318, which puts it between 1912 and 1916, and probably close to 1914! If that's right, this thing is 100 years old :eek:

The 5273606 is stamped on the inside of the outer rear cover, and also on the inside of the inner rear cover, whatever that's called.

It's very hard to get a proper focussed macro shot of the case (It also looks like the jeweller wrote some notes of some kind on the inside rear cover), but I've included the best I have, so far, plus close ups of the movement and face.

https://imgur.com/a/PIQR4

Wibbs

The hallmarks show silver, London(the U in a cross) and a date of 1914(t) so bang on a century old.

The dial and hands are in great condition. These enamel dials stay looking new pretty much forever. What affects them is shock(and watchmakers overtightening the dail feet screws) that causes hairline cracks, which yours doesn't have. The addition of the Dublin maker would add some interest for Omega collectors.

The movement looks very clean with the gilding intact. Quality wise it's good, workmanlike, but at 7 jewels about average(15-17 would be better). The regulator is sat smack bang in the middle that suggests when it was last running it was running pretty well. It doesn't look like it's had many services in its century of life. The "jeweler notes" scratched into the back are made my watchmakers at services(today they tend to use a fine marker pen). I count 4 services, 3 by the same guy. Not a lot in 100 years. this can be a better bet than it first appears. Every service adds something to the wear of a watch, so it can be better if a watch ends up in a drawer when it stops and or fashions change, compared to a watch that has been in near constant use for the same amount of time.

The balance and hairspring look in good nick too. That's the circle thing with the screws around the circumference with a coil spring in the middle. If you gently shake the watch and that balance wheel turns then it's likely the balance is OK. That's usually what breaks in a watch of this type if it's dropped(no shock protection at that stage of the game). If the balance is OK I suspect a basic service will easily have it running again. It might need a new/old stock mainspring but they're fairly easy to find.

Where would I send it? This chap http://www.michaelswift.co.uk/priceguide.php Very reasonable prices and he really knows his stuff. He could do one of these in his sleep. Even if the balance is broken I reckon he'd be the man to sort that(though that will add to your costs).

As for the concave case, it may well be wear and tear in the pocket and silver is a soft metal, but the metal turning on the case looks pretty crisp and if the wear was enough to bend the case that wouldn't be so crisp. I've seen cases like yours where the concavity was original and part of the original design. Indeed I've seen nickel and slightly later steel cases - which are a lot harder - that were concave. I dunno if I'd change it myself, even if it's not its original design, it is part of its history with your grandfather. Very cool watch to have.

Pique

That's frickin awesome. Thank you so much!

I'll definitely look to have it serviced and get a nice case for it. It's been in a little microfibre pouch with me for the last 15 years, in various drawers. Time to get it something more fitting!

Thanks again guys.

blindsider

Pique - lovely watch. Well worth getting someone like M Swift to have a look at it.

Hope it brings you and your family many years of happiness - a real family heirloom!

ArseBurger

I've used http://dawsonjewellers.ie/ for watch repairs for years now. Wouldn't trust my Omegas with anyone else in Ireland.

893bet

I think (not 100 percent sure as have never used them) these guys do a lot of vintage work.


http://j-j-kenneally-and-sons.jewellers.shopping.limerick.tel/

(Posted this post in a zombie thread on another forum by mistake when I was getting the spelling of the jewellers....oooops)