Omega " La Magique "

[gjlelec]

Most Magiques, due to the original horrendous cost i guess, were supplied with croco straps. The base model retailed in 1982 for just over 6000 swiss francs but the blinged up ones were nearly 15000 swiss francs Over the years, I've managed to obtain one of the "grain d'orge solid gold bracelet versions (1 of 20) and today (my birthday ) this arrived. And my wife thought socks were an ok prez

Grain d'orge version



Birthday prez to myself

[bucko170]

Nice bit of bling!

"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you.. ... ... .."

[Kasper]

ooogh F**k...i'm a real sucker for these type of watches. Just superb

i demand a wristshot!!!!

Happy birthday

[SASM]

If you paid in SFR I hope that you got the deal fixed before last thursday. It just came in the news that the Swiss bought some shops out at the border today.

Beside that you now own (another?) very elegant watch. Congratulations and happy birthday!

[fronzelneekburm]

Wow, the diamond ones are already rare, but the diamond/ruby ones are not even mentioned on the official Omega museum website. Must have costed an arm and a leg. I am already glad i got my cheap "no diamond, no grain d'orge" homeless bum version running. Changing batteries is annoying for these, i can sure see why omega did not let even official service points handle these, gotta have a calm hand and good eyes. If you ever placed one of these cog wheels under 5x magnification on the right pin then you get what i mean.

The pendant one is a brick though, some parts missing and i think the electronics are busted and the discs are... hmmm like someone used sandpaper on them. Well still a nice display piece. I really wonder how many of the pendant version were made. They must be very rare.

One thing that bothers me with my leather strap magique is the buckle. Obviously some good replaced the strap last ice age or so and had the original thrown away, so the buckle is just some random SS buckle which really hurts my eyes when i see it. I am considering to get at least a real vintage Omega "screw type" buckle, prolly just gold plated. Does anyone have the magique with the ORGINAL strap? Would love to know the measurements and buckle type.

[gjlelec]

The plain leather one i have has a non Omega strap, its actually a Cartier strap with a rose gold fold over clasp, much nicer than the plain Omega buckle. The leather (croc) strap versions came with the standard omega 18ct pin type buckle. The bezels were available in all diamond, - diamond/ruby -,diamond/sapphire, - diamond emerald. My particular favourite is this bi-colour 18ct gold bracelet. STS in the UK (official repair agent for Omega) advise Omega insist all work on Magiques is "Bienne only" Omega wont supply any parts to STS and will insist on "a service" no matter what you want done. The last time i sent them a Magique, it took Omega 6 months to complete the work and £1800 . They no longer have the fragile hour/minute discs either. It appears with La Magique, the "basic" croco -no diamond version is a rare watch and most collectors would be content to own a working version but no matter what you are fortunate enough to obtain, Omega have made a rarer, more desirable version. As far as their site goes Fronz, imo its more of a "cant be really bothered" overview than an informative, definitive source of facts.The Time Computer information is shockingly misleading

Diamond bezel version



Standard pin buckle clasp shown in background



extremely rare 18ct bi-colour version



note the bezel is also bi-colour

[fronzelneekburm]

Wow, i have never seen an emeral version. How do you know all this?


Well if you don't wanna shell out 1800 pound sterling and wait 6 months then this is how the magique should look after cleaning and replacing the battery:




I have bought an original Omega leather strap with a solid 18K Omega buckle. Looks a bit too small but for 53 Euro definitely a steal, dunno the weight but i guess its close to the melt value...




Picture 2: On my passport:

[Kasper]

wow..thanks for these incredible pictures...i'm so in love...the simplicity does the trick
I never saw an inside shot but i still wonder why they had to have a middle point for the watchhands. They could balans the wheels at the sides so it looked like the watchhands were floating.

still impressive.

[Diginut]

The plain leather one i have has a non Omega strap, its actually a Cartier strap with a rose gold fold over clasp, much nicer than the plain Omega buckle. The leather (croc) strap versions came with the standard omega 18ct pin type buckle. The bezels were available in all diamond, - diamond/ruby -,diamond/sapphire, - diamond emerald. My particular favourite is this bi-colour 18ct gold bracelet. STS in the UK (official repair agent for Omega) advise Omega insist all work on Magiques is "Bienne only" Omega wont supply any parts to STS and will insist on "a service" no matter what you want done. The last time i sent them a Magique, it took Omega 6 months to complete the work and £1800 . They no longer have the fragile hour/minute discs either. It appears with La Magique, the "basic" croco -no diamond version is a rare watch and most collectors would be content to own a working version but no matter what you are fortunate enough to obtain, Omega have made a rarer, more desirable version. As far as their site goes Fronz, imo its more of a "cant be really bothered" overview than an informative, definitive source of facts.The Time Computer information is shockingly misleading

Thanks for sharing - amazing photos of an ultra rare watch

[fronzelneekburm]

I think the middle point makes it much easier to center the discs against each other. There are 2 tiny cog wheels at the 12 o clock and 10 o clock position (These were a bitch to fit since they are REALLY small) that hold the discs in position, i guess they could have used more of these to do the trick, but the center point also makes sure the discs roll pretty well on each other and don't touch each other, i guess otherwise they might have scratched the painted hands or so?

I have had so many quartz watches, but this one is really by far the worst regarding changing the batteries. I can see why Omega won't let anyone outside their headquarters do this legally.

[gjlelec]

What the hell happened to those discs Fronz ?? I pulled my non working croco strap one apart in the past. Omg !! Disaster

[fronzelneekburm]

Hmmm, what do you mean? Disaster? Is that why you had to send it to Omega Switzerland?

[gjlelec]

No, the all 18ct one is the one i sent to Bienne, my croco standard one (bought as a non worker) is the one i pulled apart, out of a mix of curiosity and stupidity and the hope that all it needed was a battery.I eventually sent it (in bits) to Christian Dannemann to re-assemble, link http://watchguy.co.uk/no-luck-omega-la-magique/

[fronzelneekburm]

Oh so you're the one who was quite surprised to have a couple of wheels and other bits in his hand. XD Well can't blame you, really kinda bitch to change the battery for this one... Sucks that the IC is fried on that one... Doesn't look like a battery leaked in it so really tough luck i guess.

I am kinda lucky with mine i guess. Just take it out every few days to check and it keeps time perfectly. I should polish it a bit i guess.

[gjlelec]

I shouldn't really be surprised i ended up f@*king it up, i've killed enough watches in the past lol, any version of the Magique is rare . The Dinosaure that spawned it even more so

[fronzelneekburm]

Is the Dinosaure using the same battery? Just wondering since it is supposed to be even much slimmer.

[gjlelec]

Cant do Fronz, Renata 321 is 1.65 mm tall , the Dinosaure was 1.48 mm , the battery is taller than the Dinosaure. In the development stage Omega's original intention was to produce the watch at 1.35mm thick-and they did, but couldnt make them reliable. They used the Renata 333 (6.8mm x 1.1mm high), no longer made by Renata (or anyone else as far as i'm aware).The 333 was 2 volts not 1.55v too.I dont know if there is an equivalent made now, there never used to be. I believe the thinnest battery Renata make now is 1.2mm high (346, 335)

[fronzelneekburm]

Ah the Renata 333 would be a reason for me to not get a dinosaure. I think they stopped making the battery like 8 years ago so even if you could get old stock it wont be a "fresh" one and prolly do more bad than good.

The magique - as annoying as battery change is - has the 321 cell which costed me like 1 euro. Even when the 333 was still available it was already a bargain at like 30 bucks.

What do you actually do with your delirium (Or delirium clone?) afaik these (or at least the thinner models) used the 333 as well. You still have a working cell?

[gjlelec]

Fronz said " What do you actually do with your delirium (Or delirium clone?) afaik these (or at least the thinner models) used the 333 as well. You still have a working cell? "
Loosen the the watch dial via its fixing screw, put 2 x bits of sellotape on the battery (think i was using renata 341-1.4mm-) so only the contact point is exposed in the middle, slide the battery in, tighten the dial back.The sellotape insulates the battery from the dial, a trick i learned off Sarcar. The 0.5v shortfall doesnt affect the time keeping

My Dinosaure with two pound coins



Dinosaures

[fronzelneekburm]

Hmmm, so effectively you can't tighten the screws properly i guess, otherwise the size of the battery would break it? Sounds a bit like Jury rigging to me. I am surprised you did that to your dinosaure because afaik it has the same mechanics as the Magique and thus is the same pain to open (and close).

So the Dinosaure is your thinnest watch? 1.45 mm if i remember right... Or do you have a thinner one?


I wonder if the Delirium IV was ever seen "in the wild". I know that it can not be worn, but prolly still kinda the holy grail of thin watches. I'd be curious to see the battery they used, must be something custom made i guess.

[gjlelec]

The sellotape trick wouldnt work on a Dinosaure, only the standard "Delirium" watches.The one i had was rough as a badgers arse-parts watch,dented case, only one revolving disc , not repairable

[fronzelneekburm]

Wow, that Dinosaure looks really beaten up. Is the IC broken on that one or why is it not repairable?