# Hello From A N00B...



## Wellington (Dec 28, 2009)

Morning all, been lurking on here for a short time and have decided to sign up!

I am a complete and utter n00b, know nothing about watches, and so please be prepared for some awful stupid schoolboy questions from this quarter. Please be gentle - this seems to be a "nice" forum.

So here's the collection:










First up is the Omega Geneve on the left.










I inherited it from my grandfather and as such it holds great sentimental value. He wore it from new every day until his death and I will never sell it, although I would like to find out exactly how old it is and how much it's worth. It's also due a service, so I need to find someone competent to work on Omegas that I can afford - quotes from the local jewellers have been what I consider very high - but then I am an utter cheapskate!

Even a know-nothing like me can tell it's a quality item - compared to the others, it feels like good engineering and keeps excellent time. Despite that, I must admit it's not a watch I would choose for myself: I find metal bracelets uncomfortable and it looks a bit too chunky on my thin wrist.

Wearing the Omega occasionally felt rather special, so when the battery went on my everyday cheapie Timex I decided to buy another antique instead of replacing it. The Timex went on eBay, and I bought this from the same place.










I started wearing it everyday straight away and have been chuffed to bits. I like the warm colours and the chequered-flag detail (I'm a big motoring fan too!) and the fact that it's automatic is a bonus.










It runs rather fast, gaining about a minute every day, and it's not really waterproof at all - I wouldn't dream of putting it under water, but the crystal tends to steam up on the inside if I do anything in the kitchen. I'd like to get these issues sorted but being as aforementioned a total n00b I have no idea which of the local jewellers to trust, nor how much I should pay them for this sort of work.

Well, enjoying the Rotary so much just had to lead to an eBay frenzy, didn't it! I work shifts and often have trouble remembering which day it is, so I found myself really missing the day feature on my sold Timex. Which meant I just had to buy this, from the same eBay seller the Rotary came from:










I think this one's my favourite. It's certainly the one I wear the most often. It keeps good time, I like the day-and-date feature and find that layout much more attractive than the 3 o'clock position of the day on my old Timex. That logo is rather attractive too, but I cannot find any information at all about Lord Wellington watches on the web - can anyone tell me about it, or point me to books/links/anything?

I always used to have one cheap watch and wore it every day until it wore out, but I'm starting to understand the idea of collecting. Sometimes it's nice to choose a watch for the occasion, sometimes it's about the search for perfection. I'm torn at the moment - I feel that the perfect watch for me would be a combination of the Wellington's looks, the Rotary's colours and automatic movement and the Omega's feeling of quality... but at the same time I'm really drawn to the looks of the 40s and 50s watches in the window of my local jewellers. Oh decisions decisions!


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## Andy Tims (Apr 13, 2008)

Welcome to


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## vamos666 (May 20, 2009)

welcome to RLT! Great first post and ace pictures.

Have you looked at the electric watches section? From what you say, i think you'll find lots that you will be tempted by!

Hold onto your wallet etc...


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## gregory (Feb 13, 2009)

Good, wholesome, honest and informative introduction on here, with nice pics and good stories about how you came across the watches. 

Welcome to the forum.

You are in the best place for information. Not just domestically, but internationally too. There are some real officionado's / eggheads / geeks :smartass: on here who are not only equipped with great knowledge, they also love sharing what they know, and have the patience of a saint when it comes to helping out.

It's nice that the Omega has sentimental value, this will no doubt stop you from flipping (selling it) when the full grip of the collecting game / illness fully and finally takes a hold of you, and becomes a (albeit nice) problem!!









Just wait for the advice to arrive!


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## Wellington (Dec 28, 2009)

Thank you for the warm welcome, I'll start with the daft questions then!

I realise the Omega is a bit more specialist, but what would be a reasonable price for a service and improved waterproofing on the Rotary and the Lord Wellington? I wouldn't dream of suggesting that my local jewellers are dishonest, but you put yourself at risk of being ripped off when you walk into a repair shop with no knowledge at all (I speak as someone who's got a stock of horror stories of garage mechanics who behave like this!)

Does anyone know anything about Lord Wellington watches? My websearching has come up a total blank.

Is it possible for an expert to adjust the Rotary and the Wellington so that the day and date "switch over quickly at midnight" as you so often see on the adverts, or is the movement (they both switch the date at about 2330, and the day on the Wellington takes about two hours to move around - it's also not exactly centred) a characteristic - a feature not a bug?

That'll do for now... I'm sure there'll be more!


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## thunderbolt (May 19, 2007)

Welcome to :rltb: Lovely collection you have.


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## PaulBoy (Dec 2, 2007)

Welcome to :rltb: - Hope you get the answers to your questions (not from me - 2 thick!) - 10/10 for the pics & enjoy your stay ... Paul :thumbsup:


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## BlueKnight (Oct 29, 2009)

Tiny but classy!


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## bjohnson (Oct 2, 2007)

Wellington said:


> First up is the Omega Geneve on the left.
> 
> I inherited it from my grandfather and as such it holds great sentimental value. He wore it from new every day until his death and I will never sell it, although I would like to find out exactly how old it is and how much it's worth. It's also due a service, so I need to find someone competent to work on Omegas that I can afford - quotes from the local jewellers have been what I consider very high - but then I am an utter cheapskate!
> 
> Even a know-nothing like me can tell it's a quality item - compared to the others, it feels like good engineering and keeps excellent time. Despite that, I must admit it's not a watch I would choose for myself: I find metal bracelets uncomfortable and it looks a bit too chunky on my thin wrist.


If you can get the back off (I'd recommend getting a watchmaker to do this for you) there will be text on the movement and the inside of the case back. Record all of this information and you'll be able to get information about this watch, including year of manufacture, from the Omega web site.

I'm not an Omega expert so this info might be a little "off". The Geneve line started as a rather high end line in the late 60s/early 70s but fairly quickly got shifted to the low end of Omega's offerings so aren't as prized by collectors as some of their other model lines (but they are still nice watches).

I like that bracelet but not on that watch. I'm a big fan of having fitted end pieces which the original Omega bracelet would have had so I suspect that is a replacement bracelet and may not even be an Omega brand bracelet. I'd suggest putting on a high quality leather strap and using the bracelet on the Lord Wellington if the ends are the right width.

For watch servicing .. don't go to a jeweller, go to a watchmaker. The cost of a full service varies but on this side of the Atlantic most places charges around $100 to $150



Wellington said:


> I started wearing it everyday straight away and have been chuffed to bits. I like the warm colours and the chequered-flag detail (I'm a big motoring fan too!) and the fact that it's automatic is a bonus.
> 
> It runs rather fast, gaining about a minute every day, and it's not really waterproof at all - I wouldn't dream of putting it under water, but the crystal tends to steam up on the inside if I do anything in the kitchen. I'd like to get these issues sorted but being as aforementioned a total n00b I have no idea which of the local jewellers to trust, nor how much I should pay them for this sort of work.


Steaming up means that there is moisture in the case which will lead to movement damage if left. Basically you open the case and let it dry out for a few days. If it reoccurs, you need to replace the gaskets.

Although Rotary is a good brand, this one has enough wear on the case that I don't know if it's worth spending much money on.



Wellington said:


> I think this one's my favourite. It's certainly the one I wear the most often. It keeps good time, I like the day-and-date feature and find that layout much more attractive than the 3 o'clock position of the day on my old Timex. That logo is rather attractive too, but I cannot find any information at all about Lord Wellington watches on the web - can anyone tell me about it, or point me to books/links/anything?


I suspect Lord Wellington is a brand, like thousands of others, that didn't manufacture watches but simply had their name put on the dial. They may have done some assembly like putting the movements, dials, and case together.

The movement may be able to be identified if the back is removed and photos are provided of the movement. I've got a feeling that it will be a Felsa automatic.

Is this is stainless steel case?


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## bjohnson (Oct 2, 2007)

Wellington said:


> Is it possible for an expert to adjust the Rotary and the Wellington so that the day and date "switch over quickly at midnight" as you so often see on the adverts, or is the movement (they both switch the date at about 2330, and the day on the Wellington takes about two hours to move around - it's also not exactly centred) a characteristic - a feature not a bug?


The date "snapping over" is dependent on which movement is inside the watch. Some don't and can't be made to differ. I don't think this was advertised by marketing as a "benefit" until recently.

The day/date switch over can be made to start at whatever time you want but requires the removal and repositioning of the hands. Not something for a beginner to attempt.


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## andyft21 (Feb 12, 2009)

Welcome to the forum, some nice watches you have there. :yes:


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