Omega
Omega was founded at La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland in 1848 by Louis Brandt. He assembled precision pockets watches from parts supplied by local craftsmen. After Louis Brandt’s death in 1879, his two sons Louis-Paul and César took over the company and moved the headquarters to the Gurzelen district of Biel, where the headquarters are still situated today. By the time of Louis-Paul and César Brandt’s death in 1903, Omega was one Switzerland’s largest companies, with 800 employees and 240,000 watches produced annually.
In the 1960s, the company was involved in a notable space age rivalry with Bulova Watches to be selected as the ‘first watch on the moon’. Ultimately, the Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph wristwatch (known as the “Moon watch”), was designated by NASA for use by the astronauts in all manned space missions, becoming the first watch on the moon on the wrist of Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin - forty years ago, on July 20th, 1969.
In 2007, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Omega Speedmaster Professional Chronograph, the Omega company unveiled the commemorative Speedmaster Professional Chronograph Moonwatch. The watch had the distinctive features of the first hand-winding Omega Speedmaster introduced in 1957. It was sold in a limited edition of 5,957.
In April 2007 a Swiss bidder paid $351,000 at auction for an Omega Platinum Constellation Grand Luxe, Circa 1953.
This is the highest ever auction price for an Omega watch and was among the 300 lots up for bid in the historic Omegamania auction, conducted by the world’s leading luxury-watch auction house, Antiquorum. Omegamania was the first-ever auction devoted solely to the Omega brand generating a total of approximately $5,540,000.
If you have an Omega watch, and would like to know how much it is worth, Borro.com will be happy to provide you with a reliable valuation.
Borro.com offers asset backed loans against personal valuables such as Omega watches.
DID YOU KNOW…?
A chronograph watch is identified by it’s stop watch function and 3 dials…
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Fill your pockets with a pocket watch
They were first documented in the 15th Century, and by the 18th Century no gentleman was dressed without one. Yet by the Twentieth Century they had all but disappeared.
The modern image of a pocket watch, in a gold case on a chain, is one which has evolved over Centuries. Indeed the first pocket watches were worn around the neck, not carried in the pocket as they were too large.
One of the earliest mentions of a pocket watch was in a letter of November 1462, when Bartolomew Manfredi, an Italian clockmaker, wrote to the Marchese Di Manta claiming to have invented a ‘pocket clock’ better than that belonging to the Duke of Modena.
By the end of the 15th Century, spring driven clocks appeared in Europe, and by 1524, Peter Hanslein, a master locksmith from Nuremburg, had begun to manufacture pocket watches in England.
Leroy, one of the leading watch manufacturers of all time, was founded in 1751, when Charles Leroy Senior handed his business over to his employee, Cachart, who teamed up with Charles Leroy Junior. They continued to have the royal patent, prior to opening their workshops in the Royal palaces in 1785. Their clients included Marie Antoinette and many other members of European royal families.
It was perhaps in the Victorian era, when pocket watches came into their own. Knowing the time gave the Victorian gentleman independence and precision at a time when science was forging ahead.
A perfect example of how crucial accurate time keeping could be, came from America. It became obligatory for US railway workers to carry watches, an wise investment which vastly reduced the number of accidents by ensuring trains ran at the correct time.
In the late nineteenth century, designers such as Cartier and Patek-Philippe produced watches with jewelled movements and ever more ornate designs, but by the 1930’s the pocket watch was deeply unfashionable.
Before the war only women had worn wristwatches, but the practical drawbacks of the pocket watch made them impractical for combat. The ease of use of more modern wristwatches, and people’s thirst for modernity during this period consigned the pocket watch to the annals of history.
Early examples of pocket watches are in high demand from collectors, while later examples - if they have a large gold weight - can also be valuable, due to the current high price of gold.
If you have a quality pocket watch, and would like to know how much it is worth, Borro.com will be happy to provide you with a reliable valuation. Borro.com offers asset backed loans against personal valuables such as pocket watches. Borro lends between £100 and £100,000 for 1 - 6 months (extendable by mutual agreement), and when you have paid off your loan, your watch will once again be safely back in your pocket.
DID YOU KNOW…?
As the chain or ornaments attached to the pocket watch are called “Fobs”, Pocket watches with a fob and cover attached are also known as “Fob Watches”…
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Selling second-hand VS pawning valuable items online
Selling second hand
Are you looking to sell second hand an item of value? If so, do you really want to sell second hand, or would you prefer to keep your options open? If you pawn valuables, you don’t have to sell second hand, and you get the items back. This may be a much better cash-raising solution than kissing goodbye to an item of value that you might otherwise need to sell second hand.
Pawning your valuables
Items suitable for pawning are often those which are good to sell second hand. Jewellery and watches sell second hand easily, but are equally easily pawned. Other items which people often sell second hand on ebay are precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum, as well as sports and showbiz memorabilia, and certain types of art and antique.
There is always a market for these items if you wish to sell second hand - but if you can sell second hand, you can always pawn. Instead of trying to sell second hand online, why not try pawning these items online. Online pawnbrokers may be a much more flexible alternative than trying to sell second hand online. If you sell second hand online an item of value, you may get a bit more than if you pawn it online, but you will not get it back.
This is the big advantage that online pawning has over a sell second hand online situation. Before you sell second hand online, think about online pawning. It might be a better cash-raising solution than trying to sell second hand.
