Ladies Omega Cal.650 18ct 1963

Omega

Since the company was founded in 1848, Omega has pioneered a huge range of innovations. Britain’s Royal Flying Corps chose Omega watches in 1917 as official timekeepers for its pilots and again in 1940, RAF Pilots watches were supplied by Omega. The 1940s also saw the first tourbillon wristwatch and the first of the famous Seamaster watches, whilst the 1950s and ’60s introduced the legendary Constellation, Speedmaster, Seamaster 300 and Railmaster. Over the years, everyone from John F. Kennedy to Elvis wore Omega watches on official duties. What’s more, in 1962, astronaut Wally Schirra took his Omega Speedmaster to space on NASA’s Mercury Sigma 7 mission, and in 1969 two Speedmasters landed on the moon, worn by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Description

A beautifully original, unrestored and untouched Calibre 650 ladies hand-wound 18ct yellow gold dress watch from 1963 on its original black leather strap. This watch is in superb condition, having only been lightly worn and therefore just requiring only a light hand-polish to return it to the almost ‘as new’ condition you see here.

The Dial

The beautiful original, unrestored and completely untouched gold dial carries the traditional Omega styling cues. Mixed gilt ‘baton’ hour indices inlaid with onyx at ‘3 – 6 – 9 – 12’, swept by the original black ‘Index’ hands. The dial is framed by a beautiful crystal effect bezel insert, which catches the light wonderfully. The dial is simply signed with the Omega brand and signature and ‘Swiss Made’ at the bottom.

This is the original dial which considering its age, is in remarkably good condition with just slight signs of fading. The overall effect is quite wonderful, with a very nice and even patina.  There is some gentle ageing across the whole of the dial, in the form of light spotting, just as many collectors like to see.

Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however, we decided in this case, due to its unique condition, to retain its originality and charm for the many collectors who prefer this. This watch has a unique dial with a very even patina, which can be seen in the photographs. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. If however, you would like to purchase this watch and you would prefer the dial restored, we are happy to do this at the price of a dial restoration for £395.

Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you see here may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.

The Movement

The high grade Omega Calibre 650, 17 jewel hand-wound, copper-plated beryllium-bronze movement is in absolute tip-top sparkling condition.

The movement has been fully overhauled by our vintage Omega specialist watchmaker. This means disassembling the watch movement down to all its component parts, careful inspection under high magnification, replacement where necessary with only genuine Omega parts, then careful reassembly and adjustment before final calibration and testing. This watch winds, sets and runs perfectly accurately and reliably within +12 seconds per day, averaged over 5 positions and this has been checked and confirmed on our electronic watch timegrapher. Please bear in mind, this performance is outstanding for any watch, particularly of this age. The movement also has a 42-hour power reserve when fully wound. We are therefore highly confident in offering 12 months’ warranty with this watch movement*.

The movement is signed ‘Omega Watch Co Swiss’ and ‘Seventeen 17 Jewels’, with the Calibre no. 650 and the reference number 20469264, which dates the watch to 1963.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.

Watch Case

The sturdy 18ct solid yellow gold case measures just 14mm in diameter, excluding the correct Omega signed crown. This is classed as a mid to small-sized ladies watch. However, the case is very robust, therefore the watch, while ‘ladies cocktail watch size’, is still suitable for everyday use.

Inside the case-back, all the markings are correct and as we would expect with The Omega Watch Co. triangle, along with Swiss 18ct hallmarks and the case reference number 292 and the case serial number 511147.

The case has been cleaned, carefully inspected and carefully hand-polished, which was all that was required to bring it back to its current tip-top condition with no scratches dings or marks of any kind visible to the naked eye.

Please note – as always, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap and Buckle

The watch is fitted with the original Omega black leather strap and Omega gold-plated buckle. However, if you have a preference for another colour or style of strap, please do let us know and we will do our best to supply and fit your preferred strap for no extra charge.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating this watch to 1963.

Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

This watch comes complete with the Omega presentation box shown in the photographs.

If you would like to pay by bank transfer we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Paying by bank transfer for a 3% saving will not affect your 12 months warranty. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and unfortunately out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges, however attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those that happen to visit the UK on occasion we are of course more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and deliver your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no quibble sale or return policy.

In Conclusion

A rather special and rare vintage gold ladies hand-wound watch from one of horology’s most famous names, which will provide an excellent financial investment as well as be something to treasure and enjoy! If treated with care it will make an excellent investment or family heirloom piece. Even though vintage gold Omega prices have risen markedly in the past 12 months, we still feel great examples such as this are still undervalued, because as each year goes by, the world market for vintage Omega watches is expanding almost exponentially, so we think prices are destined to climb ever higher in the foreseeable future.

A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring them to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post-sales care and service. This approach means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are some well-known stores in West London which are highly successful charging between two to three times the price you see here. We, therefore, consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.

Please note, we also welcome part exchanges. If you have a watch or a small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.

We will also be happy to Service your watch, Repair your watch or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.

If you have any questions please call us on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.

Please take a look at our other fine vintage gold watches.

Thank you.