A Story of Impatience with a Happy Ending: My 1st (and 2nd) Omega.
A couple weeks ago, I was sipping my coffee and scrolling through eBay when I noticed something peculiar. I was winning an auction with only hours remaining and my starting bid (placed almost 6 full days before) had not been challenged. The bid was sort of a throwaway, “i won’t win this but I’ll throw my hat in the ring” type of thing, but upon my deeper inspection of the listing, the pictures were iffy and it wasn’t my favorite reference...”why would I bid on something I don’t really love?!” I thought to myself. A strange mixture of anxiety and excitement crept over me. Although the watch wasn’t out of my budget, I had not done the insane level of due diligence I normally do before purchasing a watch, especially a model I care so much for. After a few hours of trying to focus on work and periodically checking my phone, I was the owner of a gold 168.017 Omega Constellation. I was the only bidder.
A few anxious days of waiting later and a box arrived containing my 1st Omega. My first impressions were ok. It needed a crystal but I knew that when I bid and the price reflected that, however the case was not in great shape and I found myself unhappy with my purchase after a few hours. I was kicking myself for bidding so irresponsibly and not holding out and spending more money on a watch in better shape. To add insult to injury, the minute hand was slightly bent upward which led to the second hand sticking on it at certain parts of the dial. Luckily for me, this justified a return.
After a somber trip to the post office, gold Constellation in hand, I found myself anxious to replace it with a better condition model. After a few days of fruitless searching, I decided to check out Chrono24 one night before bed. To my suprise, a beautiful 168.027 (my favorite reference) was the first search result and at a very reasonable price. After 2 days of back and forth with the seller (very nice gentleman in Switzerland with quite the vintage collection) we were able to strike a deal. Finally, my 2nd Omega has arrived and I couldn’t be happier. Due diligence, patience, and a little bit of extra cash really do you a long way in terms of satisfaction with a vintage piece. Next step: find a 1040 bracelet for it 😉.
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i've had mixed results with eBay so i don't do that ANYMORE! love chrono24 though.
i've had mixed results with eBay so i don't do that ANYMORE! love chrono24 though.
I’ve scored a lot of great deals on there so I don’t think I’ll completely eliminate it from my browsing but when it comes to pieces over a few hundred bucks, I think I’ll go straight to Chrono24 next time.
Pretty much all my major purchases have been on eBay! Latest was a broken Omega Mariner 1 that's been shipped off to Scotland for repair/restoration. 😂
Pretty much all my major purchases have been on eBay! Latest was a broken Omega Mariner 1 that's been shipped off to Scotland for repair/restoration. 😂
Hopefully it was advertised as broken and that wasn’t a suprise discovery!
Great story...At least your purchase was a watch that you could send back..I was playing on a Bring a trailer website and all of a sudden..I had to tell my wife I had just purchased a 47k car...As you can imagine it wasnt a happy day around here. But all is well now..I kept the car but my wife said "if you ever do that again, it had better come with a house!!" LOL she doesnt seem to care about my watches..thank goodness...enjoy the hobby
Great story...At least your purchase was a watch that you could send back..I was playing on a Bring a trailer website and all of a sudden..I had to tell my wife I had just purchased a 47k car...As you can imagine it wasnt a happy day around here. But all is well now..I kept the car but my wife said "if you ever do that again, it had better come with a house!!" LOL she doesnt seem to care about my watches..thank goodness...enjoy the hobby
There were definitely some scary moments as the listing was marked “No Returns Accepted”. Luckily the seller was very understanding with my frustration over the seconds hand issue. I’ll never know if they would’ve taken a return otherwise, but I feel like that issue sort of bailed me out.
Hopefully it was advertised as broken and that wasn’t a suprise discovery!
Yes, I knew what I was getting into - it was too cheap to resist 😂👍🏻
Yes, I knew what I was getting into - it was too cheap to resist 😂👍🏻
Fair enough! Hope the repairs go well. I’m sure we’ll see pics when it makes its way back to you!
Fair enough! Hope the repairs go well. I’m sure we’ll see pics when it makes its way back to you!
Yes,I'll be posting a review as it's quite uncommon. Hopefully I'll get it back in the next couple of weeks. Cheers mate 👍🏻
Great story and great find…
I was looking at that very same watch on Chrono24 for a few days, then saw it sold. I was wondering who would be that lucky guy? What a small world.
My fellow WC… Congrats!
🤝🥂
Great story and great find…
I was looking at that very same watch on Chrono24 for a few days, then saw it sold. I was wondering who would be that lucky guy? What a small world.
My fellow WC… Congrats!
🤝🥂
Small world! I had a feeling there would be some interest so I tried to snap it up quickly. Happy hunting, friend!
Small world! I had a feeling there would be some interest so I tried to snap it up quickly. Happy hunting, friend!
It was the nicest I had seen with that bezel and for a great price.
Thank you!
It was the nicest I had seen with that bezel and for a great price.
Thank you!
I think a lot of these old Connie’s were loved and worn A LOT by their owners. It’s definitely a struggle to find a good middle ground of condition and price. Luckily there do seem to be lots of them out there, just a matter of waiting for the right one.
Very nice! I've been really happy with a vintage Omega from Omega Addict in Phoenix. The owner, Tim, also services Omegas and has a great reputation. I just noticed he's selling a 168 017 right now.
Very nice! I've been really happy with a vintage Omega from Omega Addict in Phoenix. The owner, Tim, also services Omegas and has a great reputation. I just noticed he's selling a 168 017 right now.
It’s such a fun brand for Vintage. I’ll have to look up Omega Addict.
I've always found bourbon and bidding were very expensive when combined
Very nice! I've been really happy with a vintage Omega from Omega Addict in Phoenix. The owner, Tim, also services Omegas and has a great reputation. I just noticed he's selling a 168 017 right now.
I bought a watch from him. Very knowledgeable & helpful guy. Serious about his product. Great experience.
I've always found bourbon and bidding were very expensive when combined
I’m partial to rye myself, but definitely can relate to that.