Pioneering the Vintage Omega Market

27 March 2025

Pioneering the Vintage Omega Market

27 March 2025
By Simon de Burton

‘Certified, pre-owned’ has become a familiar phrase in the watch world during the past five or so years. 
It refers to the sale of second-hand timepieces by the brands that originally made them, and each ‘CPO’ watch is usually offered with all the benefits associated with buying new – which means it will be in perfect working order, it will be guaranteed authentic and it will carry a warranty of up to two years.

But while most major dial names only recently became involved in the business of re-selling second-hand models, one historic brand has been doing so for the best part of 18 years thanks to its unique arrangement with the highly respected dealer Somlo London – the world’s only official outlet for vintage Omega.
George Somlo established the partnership with Omega in 2008, but his eponymous business can trace its roots back to the early 1970s when he cut his dealer teeth at west London’s celebrated Portobello Road antiques market. “I was born in Hungary but came to Britain with my parents when I was nine years old, in 1956 – the year of the Hungarian uprising. “We were the only survivors of the event from our family, and my parents brought us to London so I could have a better life,” says Somlo.

Photo by Michalina Fransik

Back in Hungary, Somlo’s father had been involved in retail and, once settled into a house in west London’s Ladbroke Grove area, he found work with a fellow Hungarian who ran a business specialising in reproduction jewellery. “My father couldn’t speak a word of English when we arrived , but he managed to sell this man’s jewellery. Eventually he took a stall on the Portobello Road and, from the age of 15, I was running it by myself every other Saturday. “Working in that environment meant you had to become a businessman, because there were so many deals going on – if you bought something at eight o’clock in the morning, it might change hands five or six times by 11!” In those days, says Somlo, there was little to no market for second-hand wrist watches, so he was mainly selling jewellery and the occasional piece of silver. 

After school, however, he left the market behind, trained as an accountant and was soon recruited by IBM, then the world leader in computer production. “It was a booming business, but the company announced a relocation to Portsmouth and I didn’t want to leave my parents – so I went back to the markets, working at Portobello again as well as Bermondsey and off Brick Lane,” says Somlo. “I got stuck in and found I was really enjoying it, so I decided to try going out on my own.” The first Somlo outlet opened in 1970 in the basement of Mayfair’s now-defunct Bond Street Antiques Centre, before moving to an upper floor and then expanding into new premises in Piccadilly Arcade where it remained for 23 years. “At the beginning I was selling silver, a bit of jewellery and some antique pocket watches, but I realised that, in order to move up-market and be really successful it was necessary to specialise,” says Somlo. "In those days, no one really had any interest in wrist watches – only a few clever people who could see what was coming in terms of rising values and collectability. But, as the market changed, we evolved and began selling them alongside pocket watches.”

Somlo’s competence in the genre ultimately attracted the attention of Omega, which suggested forming a partnership that would make the business the only outlet in the world officially sanctioned to sell the brand’s vintage creations. “I was very happy with the idea of the association, but we clearly needed a much larger shop so that half could be devoted to Omega and the other half to other brands that we sell, such as Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Piaget and Cartier,” explains Somlo. ‘Somlo London’ and ‘Omega Vintage’ took up residence in Burlington Arcade in 2006 and has since become the ‘go to’ outlet among those in search of the best of the best of the brand’s pre-owned pieces. “The business is unique in the world of vintage Omega, because we have a full-time watch maker and restorer on-site who is employed by Omega, and we receive all our parts directly from the manufacturer in Switzerland.” Somlo was undoubtedly instrumental in shining the spotlight on the collectability of Omega’s vintage pieces, the values of which have roughly tripled across the board in the past 20 years.


Photo by Antonio Salgado

But, despite having established a reputation for the quality of its pre-owned wristwatches (Omega and others) Somlo remains a valued hunting ground for pocket watch enthusiasts and keeps a stock of models dating as far back as the 17th century. “There are very few pocket watch specialists left today – and we also go right back to the dawn of the wristwatch in the early 20th century,” says Somlo. When it comes to the most collectable vintage Omegas, however, Somlo senior refers to his son, Daniel, to identify the nuances of specific pieces and to value them accordingly. He, too, considered a different profession – in this case, as an architect – before returning to the family business.


Courtesy of Somlo London

Having studied horology at the University of Birmingham before completing the renowned Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Educational programme (WoSTEP) in Manchester and then working for two years at an Omega service centre, Daniel is well qualified to buy, sell and advise on watches of all makes and types. Of late, he observes, there has been a shift away from the larger, more statement-making sports watches that became popular during the early 2000s and a return to more classic styles. “The rare, early Speedmaster models from the 1950s and ‘60s remain among the most valuable Omega watches we stock, and they can sell for anything between £60,000 and £90,000,” he says. “But we’re seeing an increasing demand for the brand’s smaller, more classical Constellation and Seamaster models.”

And those who don’t have a five-figure budget to spend on a vintage Omega shouldn’t despair – according to Daniel, one particular model that remains largely under the radar but which is gradually picking-up followers is the unusual Chronostop single-button chronograph. “They start on the low side of £3,000 and can be had in some really attractive variations, from a special driver’s model to others with lovely, coloured dials in blues and greens. They are all manually-wound and use good quality movements. “And,” he adds, “the equivalent modern Omega of this quality would cost more than twice as much….”
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