Pre-Owned Spotlight: Watches For All Budgets From Rolex, Omega, And COD

An oversized vintage chronograph, a classy gold dress watch, and an awesome transitional diver

March 20, 2023

comments 11

Last week, I bumped into a beautiful Rolex Sea-Dweller 16660 that I had never held in my hands before. Most “Triple Six” models I’ve come across had a glossy dial, but this one was an early 1982 model with a matte dial and a faded bezel. It simply looked stunning. So I looked up the watch and found one for sale. Another watch I came across is an Omega Seamaster De Ville. This a very different watch with a ditto price tag, but it’s definitely something of interest.

Image: Paul Duggan

Omega Seamaster De Ville in gold

Here’s a 34mm full-gold Omega Seamaster De Ville that is for sale for US$1,400. Before Omega made the De Ville a separate collection in 1967, the name was often used in the Seamaster collection for dressier watches. You can find many Seamaster De Ville watches, starting under 1,000 US dollars/euros, but it’s often about the condition. Many of them have replacement crowns without a signature, badly restored dials, and so on. In this case, Paul Duggan is offering a very nice 14K gold Seamaster De Ville with an automatic copper-colored caliber 550. And that’s a great movement!

Image: Paul Duggan

However, the thing you’ll be looking at all day is the beautiful vertically brushed dial. And isn’t that just a beauty with those fantastic hour markers at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock? If only brands would offer such rich hour markers and dials in this day and age… The watch is delivered on a dark green leather strap.

Image courtesy of Paul Duggan

Also make sure to have a look at the case back, which has the medallion in the center featuring the Omega hippocampus. Stunning! With a case diameter of 34mm, it’s the perfect dress piece for those who are craving smaller-sized watches in 2023. Click here to have a closer look at the watch.

Image: Amsterdam Vintage Watches

Rolex Sea-Dweller 16660 “Triple Six” MkI

As I wrote in the introduction of this article, last week, I came across a beautiful “Triple Six” MkI from 1982, and I started searching for one. It didn’t take me long because our friends from Amsterdam Vintage Watches have this beautiful (also) 1982 Sea-Dweller 16660 for sale. According to them, the Sea-Dweller ref. 16660 “Triple Six,” which debuted in 1978, was an important transitional model in the Rolex collection.

Image: Amsterdam Vintage Watches

Basically, it was the archetype of everything modern Rolex. It featured a new movement (caliber 3035, introduced in 1977), a sapphire crystal, a thicker case, an improved automatic helium valve, and an increased depth rating of 1,220 meters. What stayed was the matte dial with painted hour markers. The Sea-Dweller 16600 used to be my favorite reference until I came across the 16660 with a matte dial. These don’t come cheap, though, as this one has a price tag of €23,000. You can find it here.

Image: Brussels Vintage Watches

COD Landeron 51

I am sure most of you haven’t heard of this brand. I hadn’t, at least. However, my favorite place in Brussels has this two-register chronograph for sale. The Landeron 51 movement is housed in this slightly oversized 39mm gold-plated case. Normally, I am not a fan of gold-plated watches, but if you’re looking for a nice and affordable vintage chronograph with two funky Arabic numerals, this might be something for you.

Image: Brussels Vintage Watches

This COD watch with a chronograph movement is fully serviced and comes with a one-year warranty, which is not a bad deal at €650. It’s a fun watch that could very well be your entry to vintage watches. Click here for Brussels Vintage Watches’ offer.

*Featured image: Amsterdam Vintage Watches

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Pre-Owned Spotlight: Watches For All Budgets From Rolex, Omega, And COD

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MG
maciej-g says:

Mar 20, 2023 at 08:18

I have asked the question here before but didn’t get an answer… I’ll try again.

Looking at vintage online it’s not always easy to judge originality/authenticity and condition. There are two elements which are easily identifiable: signed crown (on some brands at least) and “swiss” designation on the dial. The lack of signature on the crown on Omegas, Longines, Universals, Eternas is a straight no-go, obviously. My question is: does the lack of “swiss” automatically mean the dial isn’t original?

Are there any other elements which can be judged online which can help assess the vintage value?

Thanks.

Reply
1. Robert-Jan says:
  
  Mar 20, 2023 at 15:19
  
  Hi,
  
  Well, as always, you will need to do your homework for sure. The biggest challenge is often the dial, as many have been restored or restamped. Have a look at vintage catalogs, to determine what the dials looked like at the time of introduction or production. Omega – A Journey Through Time (book) contains a lot of images from their back catalogs and archives. Omega did a lot of different dials for the same watches in those days, so it is quite a puzzle to solve sometimes. In the end, it’s also what the Museum and Archive department is for at Omega (but also Longines, for example, has a department that can help you). That, and some time spent on researching articles, catalogs, and the brand’s heritage pages, will help you to identify a restored or even fake dial. I also find the people on OmegaForums.net very friendly to help one out when there’s a question about its authenticity (as long as you don’t come up with the obvious fakes).
  
  I hope this helps.
  
  Reply
  1. MG
    maciej-g says:
    
    Mar 20, 2023 at 16:19
    
    Thank you for this, RJ.
    
    The dial is hard to assess… is a good looking dial (I’m not i to too much patina or blemishes etc, even if it indicates age… just like I’m not into dents and scratches when looking fir a vintage camera or car) a well preserved dial or re-done? Is it a well restored original dial or a well copied one… tricky, especially online.
    
    Reply
DG
GoldenYears says:

Mar 20, 2023 at 12:39

I like the Omega Seamaster De Ville. These older Omega watches exude so much charm and charisma. I can see Ryan Gosling and a number of other actors wearing this 34mm watch in a 1960’s era movie. Definitely undervalued watches. I also like the Rolex Sea Dweller. Those transition era sports Rolex watches (Sea Dweller, Submariner, GMT II, etc.) are going to be hot collectibles in the not too distant future. But this Sea Dweller seems to be priced too high in my opinion.

Reply
Tom says:

Mar 20, 2023 at 13:07

The budget for these watches is not for people in sub Sahara Africa for sure. These prizes is the yearly earnings or even more for many people from my continent… this is only for super rich ones… actually very sad….

Reply
1. Robert-Jan says:
  
  Mar 20, 2023 at 15:11
  
  I thought €650 was very budget friendly for a nice mechanical chronograph. But sure, in some countries, even 10 Euros is a lot for a watch.
  
  Reply
Warky says:

Mar 20, 2023 at 14:22

Very nice wee selection RJ. The Omega and Rolex would make a great 2 piece do it all vintage collection.

Reply
1. Robert-Jan says:
  
  Mar 20, 2023 at 15:12
  
  Very true! The 16660 with matte dial took me a bit by surprise, but it’s stunning in the flesh for sure.
  
  Reply
SB
S.M.B says:

Mar 20, 2023 at 16:28

I recently picked up a Seamaster Deville from the 60s with a cal 565 and a unique “racing” dial. Doubt it is original but it makes the watch a ton of fun.

Reply
Carlos Alberto Videira dos Santos says:

Mar 20, 2023 at 23:47

Excelentes critérios com qualidade e gosto e paixão por relogios.

Reply
Cohn A Peace Jr says:

Mar 22, 2023 at 07:04

Love Great time pieces

Reply