THanks for the advice. I am not a watch collector but have a question about a rare Omega.

I am the sole owner of a vintage PloProf that I purchased back in 1977 or so from Don Brod's dive shop in Austin, Texas.

I used the watch extensively when I was a professional underwater photographer and scuba instructor. My watch had years of use (at least ten years!) and thousands of hours of underwater time. I trusted it with my life and it never failed me. But, being young and having to spend almost all my money on underwater photo gear, I did absolutely no maintenance on the watch. It has been in my safe for at least at least 10 years and I got it out last week and wound it and set the date and it still works like a charm. Keeps perfect time compared to Rolex and Casio G-Shock and the date functions too.

The dial has faded, as did the hands, the case is worn with dents and scratches, the crystal has a few scratches. I have the Omega bracelet and the isofrane strap, neither of them were used during my diving days. (I used a thick orange velcro strap during my diving years because it was so easy to use it with or without a wetsuit.

When I was diving a lot the watch was the best piece of safety equipment a diver had. Scubapro had just released it's first dive computer (the old "bladder" model that tried to simulate recompression times) but for deep dives you couldn't beat an accurate watch and the Navy dive tables. This watch was with me on deep cave dives in Florida and Texas for Esquire Magazine, the now defunct "Oceans" magazine and numerous dive magazine articles. Took it to the Middle East on many non-diving photography jobs and despite its weight and bulk, was with me on all my backpacking and snowshoeing trips across the Rocky Mountains. Then when I thought it was time to make some real money, I put it away and hadn't looked at it in a decade and had not worn it in at least twenty years! It sure brings back memories!

But I am approaching retirement from my current job and am selling a lot of things I don't need anymore. In the last few days I have done some research over on the Rolex forum ( I have a Rolex DJ) and realize the watch is valuable still!! The watch is worn, has scratches, the dial is faded as are the hands. I have the bracelet for it and it is in good condition as I used it for years with the "state of the art divers band" back then - a bright orange velcro strap - that could easily be adjusted over a wetsuit! I also have the isofrane band that I do not believe was ever used. I cannot find the isofrane band strap loop but I am still looking for it. I never dove with the bracelet or isofrane strap, I used a velcro adjustable strap which suited my needs. This watch has never been serviced!

My question is this: should I service this watch before I sell it or leave it in its current condition? On the rolex forum the consensus seemed to be get the watch serviced but no polishing, no replacing the dial or hands. Just get the movement serviced, have the seals checked and tested and then sell it. What are your thoughts?

Still cannot get my photos loaded, so click here for watch photos:http://www.ocgarzaphotography.com/gallery2/v/watches/

 

Hi and welcome.

That's a great watch and a great history. You will get differing views in response to your question, but my view is that you should sell it without having it serviced. You would be unlikely to recover the cost of the service, in addition to what people are prepared to pay for the watch as it stands. I would let the next owner decide exactly what they want to do with it - just advertise it as needing a service.

If you have any photos that show you wearing it as it was intended, that would be a big plus for your sales advert - let's face it, the most likely next owner will be a desk diver and it is unlikely ever to go under water again.

Whatever you decide, good luck with the sale and may you have a long and enjoyable retirement.

 

Thank you for the comment and the move There were some comments on the rolex forum suggesting the same thing.

Can I ask you a question, why a "no reserve" auction? I have sold some things on eBay before, nothing of any real value per say. Does a no-reserve auction bring out collectors?
OC

 

Thanks for your opinion. As the photographer on most of my dive trips, I don't know if any photos of me with the watch even exist but that is great advice. I'm bound to have a few from dive buddies somewhere

 

Glad to see you found your way over here. Often, a low opening bid/no reserve auction will attract more bidders, and the more the merrier... For your sale.

 

Got it and you are right. Thanks again.

 

Nice tool watch sir........

 

Really a great watch and additionally one from the first owner with a interesting history.
All the rest was said, put it on ebay swallow the 10% sales Fee and sell it without a reserve price. I would have been interested if i didnt already own this version.
Mine say Hello.

 

Wow! That is an impressive trio and they look familiar

 

I would sell it without any type of service, just the way it is now. There are So many variables in a watch service that what one watchmaker demands as necessary may be the opposite of another. Let the buyer determine the service they can live with.

If you end up putting it up for sale at a set price, please let me know.

 

Thanks unwound. That seems to be my course, sell it "as is" and let the buyer determine where he/she take it from there. I have not determined how I will sell it but most of the recommendations are for a non-reserve sale on eBay. I will contact you when I sell.
OC

 

Spend as much time as you reasonably can documenting the history and timeline of this watch. Having pictures of you wearing the watch as far back as possible will add a surprisingly hefty premium to this specific reference. This is an "adventure" collectors piece and if it's not NOS condition with all books and papers then buyers want to know that it was used as a proper tool. Don't waste your time or money servicing this watch. A serious collector will want his guy (it might be himself) to do any restoring.

Photo documentation will attract the heavy hitters to your auction. The reason why experienced collectors are recommending a no reserve, low open auction is that buyers perceive this to be fair and square. Your goal as a seller is to get deep pockets to go to war in the auction. All of the action will happen in the last few minutes and seconds of the auction.

You're in the U.S. so you should time your auction to end around 9:30pm EST; you'll get the most eyeballs during primetime. You also might catch a guy or two who had one too many snorts of brandy and might let himself get involved in an online tussle. Don't get cute and use shill bids (like your brother in Tulsa). Experienced auction buyers will sniff out a shill and take off with a quickness. Nobody likes to get hustled.

One more thing to consider: Ebay and paypal are going to grab ~12.5% of your final sale price for basically doing nothing. This watch has a pretty established market value so you might consider selling the watch to a collector with a good reputation for an 8 to ~11 percent discount. Anything below 12.5 is better for you.

There are plenty of serious collectors here, as you can see.

 

Wise words ^^^^^

 

You beat me to it!

 

I remember reading somewhere (probably on here) that auctions ending on a Sunday evening produce the best results and have the widest audience at the close, so that might be worth considering along with citizenrich's advice.

 

Thanks for another great piece of thoughtful advice. I found four Kodachromes from '77 thru '81, including one in Florida when write Steve (Stephen) Harrigan and I were diving in Florida caves for Esquire magazine with deep diver Hal Watts. One thing I discovered is my memory is not as good as I'd like. One shot shows the watch with the Isofrane strap and I found another photo with the blue velcro strap on it, not the orange one. The watch is not very prominent in the photos but you can ID this watch in any photo I need to clean and scan the slides so I will try to do that this weekend.
Your last paragraph is interesting. I'm not quite sure how such a sale might happen but I'll find out.
Again, thank you.
OC

 

Fantastic watch and history! I have a SM300 165.024 in my dive watch collection, but have never sought the Ploprof due to how values have skyrocketed!

OP has received excellent advice here and I hope someone on this forum gets this nice example. Would be very kind of owner to determine an acceptable price and make it available first on this forum.