Omega Serial Numbers with Production Dates & Years + Speedmasters

The easiest place to find an Omega serial number is on the corresponding paperwork for the watch such as the warranty card, chronometer certificate, certification of authenticity, or official service records. However, having the original paperwork is not always feasible – particularly in regards to vintage Omega watches. In those instances, an OMEGA serial number lookup isn’t as difficult as you might think. You can find the serial number on the actual Omega watch itself.

Each Omega watch has a seven-digit or eight-digit serial number etched somewhere on it. For most Omega watches, the watch’s serial number is in fact the movement serial number, which is etched on a bridge of the internal movement. In more recent decades (by most estimates, the early 1990s), Omega also began placing the movement serial number on the exterior of the watch – sometimes on the back of the lugs and sometimes on the outside of the caseback.

However, there are some important discrepancies to note here. First, some Omega watches do not have a movement serial number (for instance some non-COSC movements and some ETA-based movements) but they will have a serial number somewhere else on the watch such as the interior caseback, exterior caseback, or lugs. It’s also been reported that Omega does not always place the serial numbers in the same place, which can create an additional level of confusion for collectors that do not have experience with the brand.

Therefore, depending on the specific model and year of production, an Omega serial number can be found on:

The movement
The interior caseback
The exterior caseback
The back of the lugs

If the serial number is not on the exterior of the watch (which will generally be the case on vintage and older Omega watches), the caseback will have to be removed in order to view the serial number engraving, which will be located either on the movement itself or on the inside of the caseback.

Yet another important thing to note is that because Omega serial numbers are typically movement serial numbers, the sequence of serial numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. Movement parts could have come together much earlier than a complete watch, so it is entirely feasible that a later model could have a lower serial number than an earlier model. Furthermore, the below charts are estimations, therefore there is the possibility that certain production dates could be off by as much as a few years.

Finally and perhaps most importantly, the Omega Speedmaster – the brand’s most famous collection of watches and the model best known for being the first watch worn on the moon – follows a different Omega serial number system. So, if you’re looking for the serial number of an Omega Speedmaster, it’s crucial to make sure you’re using the correct chart.