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Thread: Looking for some help with identification of an old Omega

  1. #1
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    Looking for some help with identification of an old Omega

    Hi! It's my first post here so I'll try and keep it nice and concise.

    Basically, around a year ago I was given a watch as a 21st present, it's an old watch that my Dad was given by his Great-Granddad. I'm just wondering if anyone can tell me a little more about it.

    All I know is it's an Omega De Ville in yellow gold and has to be wound up once a day to work. I've attached an imgur link with some photos of it.

    I'm just wondering if anyone can tell me a rough date of manufacture and the like. I've done googling but I can't find this specific watch with this specific clasp on it.

    https://imgur.com/a/YbDab

    Thanks in advance!

  2. #2
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    Get a strong magnifier and read the hallmark, there'll be one somewhere on it but it might be too worn to read. By interpreting the symbols in the hallmark the date can be determined.....Google is your friend.

    The alternative is to get the caseback off and note the serial number on the movement, but don`t mess with it if you don`t know what you're doing.

    Judging from the style I`d say it's late 1960s, around 1967-70.

    Paul

  3. #3
    Master alfat33's Avatar
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    I embedded one image in case it helps:



    Sorry I can’t help with the identification.

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    Master aldfort's Avatar
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    Probably dates from late 50's to early 60's. Is it manual wind?

  5. #5
    Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by aldfort View Post
    Probably dates from late 50's to early 60's. Is it manual wind?
    I think the style's too late for the 50s, integral Milanese bracelets were a mid-late 60s thing. Can`t remember the movement on these, I`ve seen the style before, it's a hand-wound and it's quite a small one from memory.

    I like this, very much a design that's 'of its time', and that's why I`m convinced it's late 60s. The major drawback is getting the bracelet altered to fit, have to admit I don`t know how this would be done but I know it's a job for a goldsmith/working jeweller. These bracelets are prone to breakage adjacent to the lugs, particularly when worn on a smaller wrist and twisted through a tighter radius.

    Given the family connection it's worth getting this one sorted and adjusted (if required to fit).......but it'll probably need altering again in years to come if/when the owner's wrists get fatter!

    Paul

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    Quote Originally Posted by walkerwek1958 View Post
    I think the style's too late for the 50s, integral Milanese bracelets were a mid-late 60s thing. Can`t remember the movement on these, I`ve seen the style before, it's a hand-wound and it's quite a small one from memory.

    I like this, very much a design that's 'of its time', and that's why I`m convinced it's late 60s. The major drawback is getting the bracelet altered to fit, have to admit I don`t know how this would be done but I know it's a job for a goldsmith/working jeweller. These bracelets are prone to breakage adjacent to the lugs, particularly when worn on a smaller wrist and twisted through a tighter radius.

    Given the family connection it's worth getting this one sorted and adjusted (if required to fit).......but it'll probably need altering again in years to come if/when the owner's wrists get fatter!

    Paul
    Thanks for the reply! Yes it's a hand-wind watch, and yes, the wind is tiny on the outside. Doesn't take much winding to get it tight enough to last over 24 hours. Luckily for me I have kind of small wrists so the band fits me really well; I think that's why my Dad didn't wear it.

    Where would the hallmark be out of interest? I can see a tiny tiny numbering/lettering under the clasp but it's so hard to work out what it says.

    It has what looks like a 4 digit number/letter combination which is underlined. It looks like it says DSAS but I could be completely wrong. This is followed by a 5 letter word that I assume is Omega.

  7. #7
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    I've taken a couple of photos of the potential hallmark. One with flash, and the other without.

    https://imgur.com/f3eEyEA
    https://imgur.com/ITt5Tzu

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by twofatslugs View Post
    I've taken a couple of photos of the potential hallmark. One with flash, and the other without.

    https://imgur.com/f3eEyEA
    https://imgur.com/ITt5Tzu
    DS&S?

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    Quote Originally Posted by mr.chef View Post
    DS&S?
    It must be that. I've done some googling and I'm not really sure what it is. It seems like the makers mark for the watch band?

    Another question, I'm unsure of the carat weight of the gold, some watches are 9, others 18. Is there anyway of finding out?

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by twofatslugs View Post
    It must be that. I've done some googling and I'm not really sure what it is. It seems like the makers mark for the watch band?

    Another question, I'm unsure of the carat weight of the gold, some watches are 9, others 18. Is there anyway of finding out?
    Does it say 375 or 750?

  11. #11
    Grand Master PickleB's Avatar
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    DS&S = David Shackman & Sons of Chesham, Buckinghamshire (link). "Shackman was an independent case making concern that supplied its products to most of the major Swiss houses for use on their watches that were to be sold in the UK."

    Looks like a '9' to me, so the next bit should be '.375' followed by stamps for the assay office and year. Unfortunately they are not legible in the photos.
    Last edited by PickleB; 13th March 2018 at 22:31.

  12. #12
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    With a magnifier it should be possible to work out which assay office mark is on the clasp and date the watch. I very rarely bother doing this, I’m invariably taking them to bits so I work with the serial number and date them that way.

    375 denotes 9ct gold, which is 37.5% gold by weight, 750 is 18ct and that’s 75%.......14 ct has a 585 marking.

    All this is fine for British hallmarks, foreign gold is usually 14 or 18ct and has a 585 or 750 stamping but no hallmark as such.

    if the watch fits the OP’s lucky! Altering these is a tricky job.

    Paul

  13. #13
    Master alfat33's Avatar
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    If you look at the people pictures in the Imgur app they are a bit sharper. I’m does read 9 375 so 9ct.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by walkerwek1958 View Post
    With a magnifier it should be possible to work out which assay office mark is on the clasp and date the watch. I very rarely bother doing this, I’m invariably taking them to bits so I work with the serial number and date them that way.

    375 denotes 9ct gold, which is 37.5% gold by weight, 750 is 18ct and that’s 75%.......14 ct has a 585 marking.

    All this is fine for British hallmarks, foreign gold is usually 14 or 18ct and has a 585 or 750 stamping but no hallmark as such.

    if the watch fits the OP’s lucky! Altering these is a tricky job.

    Paul
    Looks to me like its 375 too. Nice to know some more information about it! Do they make the casing too or just the clasp/strap? Ill have to buy a magnifying glass and try and make out the other information!

    Many thanks everyone!

  15. #15
    Grand Master PickleB's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by twofatslugs View Post
    Looks to me like its 375 too. Nice to know some more information about it! Do they make the casing too or just the clasp/strap? Ill have to buy a magnifying glass and try and make out the other information!

    Many thanks everyone!
    I believe that DS&S will have made both as an integrated unit. There will be another hallmark on the inside of the caseback, where you can expect to find the model number that will identify the watch more fully. Once the back is off you can identify the movement and should also find its serial number.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by PickleB View Post
    I believe that DS&S will have made both as an integrated unit. There will be another hallmark on the inside of the caseback, where you can expect to find the model number that will identify the watch more fully. Once the back is off you can identify the movement and should also find its serial number.
    Okay! I think I'll leave taking the back off for now. I have no idea what I'm doing and it'd be a crime to break it. I have no idea how someone would get the watch strap adjusted seeing as it looks welded to the casing. That'll have to be a problem for my future child when they get it! I'll have a look at the word/numbers below the DS&S in more detail today and see what they say!

  17. #17
    Grand Master Carlton-Browne's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PickleB View Post
    DS&S = David Shackman & Sons of Chesham, Buckinghamshire (link). "Shackman was an independent case making concern that supplied its products to most of the major Swiss houses for use on their watches that were to be sold in the UK."

    Looks like a '9' to me, so the next bit should be '.375' followed by stamps for the assay office and year. Unfortunately they are not legible in the photos.
    Excellent sleuthing. My first instinct, given the relative youth of the watch, was that it would be a Swiss-made case/bracelet and therefore you'd get no year information as their hallmarking system isn't so precise. I had no idea that the likes of Omega were casing up watches in the UK so late.

    If the OP has a magnifying glass he might be able to work out more by checking out the guides to British hallmarks in David Boettcher's excellent site.

    http://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/casemarks.php
    In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.

  18. #18
    Grand Master snowman's Avatar
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    I'd say it looks like something from the '70s (although reading back I see Paul says "Late '60s", so we're close enough to be in agreement and he's far more likely to be right than me!).

    This automatic is quite similar

    https://www.watchcentre.com/product/...istwatch/10191

    and is listed as a 1980s model, so you'll probably need the movement serial number to be really sure.

    M
    Last edited by snowman; 16th March 2018 at 11:44.

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