I ordered an Extract from the Archives

[rw16610]

I've finally decided to move forward with the process. This past Tuesday I completed the order on the Omega website and look forward to eventually receiving it.

















Once it arrives I'll be sharing.

[CHIP]

That’s cool.
Is it expensive?

[rw16610]

CHIP Considering what it is, yes. For 120 CHF to know the actual production date and country of origin after it was made in Switzerland is a lot in my books.

Now they're doing it for watches 10 years of age or older, apparently. It's pretty neat that someone at the Omega museum is working on this and it adds to the story of my watch. It'll be nice to have some documentation to accompany the vintage piece.

[priamo]

That is nice to have. When Omega restored my top loader Dynamic they never noted the serial number of the restore on the receipt. For Serial Number it has "NA".  So I can't get an extract without the serial#. I'll e-mail them and see about that serial#.

[CHIP]

May 5, 2022 18:44:38 GMT -6 rw16610 said:

CHIP Considering what it is, yes. For 120 CHF to know the actual production date and country of origin after it was made in Switzerland is a lot in my books.

Now they're doing it for watches 10 years of age or older, apparently. It's pretty neat that someone at the Omega museum is working on this and it adds to the story of my watch. It'll be nice to have some documentation to accompany the vintage piece.

I don’t own an omega but i was thinking my friend might like to know more more about his grandfather’s Constellation that I have on a loan.

[Archer]

May 5, 2022 21:54:53 GMT -6 CHIP said:

May 5, 2022 18:44:38 GMT -6 rw16610 said:

CHIP Considering what it is, yes. For 120 CHF to know the actual production date and country of origin after it was made in Switzerland is a lot in my books.

Now they're doing it for watches 10 years of age or older, apparently. It's pretty neat that someone at the Omega museum is working on this and it adds to the story of my watch. It'll be nice to have some documentation to accompany the vintage piece.

I don’t own an omega but i was thinking my friend might like to know more more about his grandfather’s Constellation that I have on a loan.

Hi Chip,

The extract process doesn't work in the on-line version for the US.  For whatever reason the US is I believe the only country excluded from using the on-line version.  You can however, order one through an Omega Boutique - they have a form that you can fill in.

I order these for customers (mostly US customers since everyone else can do it themselves) pretty regularly, and I've also ordered one for myself.  It takes around 15 working days to get the email with the pdf version, and the hardcopy comes in the mail later.  Here's an example of one:



The extract process has changed a few times over the years, leading to situations where they are more or less reliable depending on the era.  There was a time when the customer could add "remarks" that would be repeated on the extract, which lead to some abuses - people making claims that weren't really verified through the extract process (my recollection is that this was before 2008).  Then they eliminated that, and simply required the serial number of the watch.  To me this was the "purest" time, because that's what an extract should be - looking up the serial number of the movement and reproducing whatever that serial number was documented as.

This latest version that came into being maybe 3 years ago, requires photos of the watch, which is puzzling.  If this is truly an extract of the archives, then all they really need is the serial number.  So the question is are they using the archives for the information, or the photos?  This issue becomes significant with variations on watches - the vintage "Ultraman" Speedmaters are a prime example.  The only difference between the regular Speedmaster and the Ultraman, is an orange chronograph seconds recording hand.  All one would have to do is add the orange hand, and the watch is worth many multiples of what is was before.  In the past it was rare to get an extract documenting the orange hand, but now there seem to be hundreds of them out there when the extract is done with the photos.

There's also evidence that depending on who is asking, extracts that were lost in the records are suddenly found.  Auction houses have been able to get extracts for serial number ranges that others have been told were unavailable, as the records were destroyed.

This is probably way more information than anyone here needs right now, but I mention all this to warn people that an extract isn't any sort of guarantee of authenticity.  Omega does offer a certificate of authenticity, but the watch has to be sent to Bienne for that, and it's quite expensive.  So for anyone considering a vintage Omega, and it is a rare model that comes with an extract as "proof", just realize that it may not be what it seems.

In any case, this is way more than Rolex offers.  

Cheers, Al

[rw16610]

priamo The boutique should definitely be able to assist with that. I got extremely lucky as the seller shared images of my watch taken apart. This allowed me to even consider ordering one right off the bat, as that would've been a hurdle for me otherwise.





Albeit limited information I still think it's incredibly cool and worth doing for a collector.

CHIP Your friend sounds like a true enthusiast (clearly) and should do it in my opinion. Hopefully there's an Omega boutique near by that can facilitate this due to the US not having the online option.

@archer Excellent information, thanks for sharing! It's great to learn more on the history of this process. Such a fascinating ordeal and I'm going to cherish mine when it arrives.

Having this as an option has already exhanced the experience for me. I'm not even sure if in the 60s or 70s these watches came with much paperwork if any. Either way in most cases it would be long damaged or discarded. I also didn't realize they send the PDF version as well which is nice, as I'll have it to appreciate while the hard copy is kept in a safe spot.

[priamo]

I emailed Omega and next day they replied with serial# of my watch.

[CHIP]

Thanks, @archer, and good to see you!

[priamo]

Omega has discontinued the extracts for now. There were some folks misusing the extracts, somehow.

[Baco Noir]

Jan 28, 2024 12:15:38 GMT -6 priamo said:

Omega has discontinued the extracts for now. There were some folks misusing the extracts, somehow.

Wow, that’s disappointing. I wonder if folks were getting them, duplicating them but changing serial numbers on dodgy watches.

[rw16610]

Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear this but at the same time not at all surprised. Grateful to have mine, but Omega always had a disclaimer regarding these.

Dishonest, greedy people have been ruining aspects of this hobby for those who wish to enjoy it for the right reasons. It'll be interesting to see if Omega brings these back.