Hi all,

I have a 176.007 and I'm researching if the crystal is correct. It is supposed to be a newer service replacement, but original from Omega. Now this might well be true, however, there are two things that I haven't noticed on other 176.007s:

- The Omega logo in the center is smaller, fainter, fuzzier, and less deep engraved than on all Omega acrylic/hesalite crystals that I can find pictures from, or have ever seen in person. Very hard to see at all with the naked eye even under optimum conditions (but good enough in the second picture).

- Looking from the side, the profile of the crystal has a "step" or "edge" where the curvature meets the vertical side of the crystal.

What is your opinion - do aftermarket replacements for these even exist? As far as I know, the tachymeter is a fixed part of the crystal?




Thanks, any input is much appreciated!

// edit: P.S. I don't have another 176.007 available for live comparisons.

// edit: One more enhanced picture:

 

Not sure because I know there is a service replacement on mine, but I do have the original (cracked) crystal in the bank safe. I'll prolly go there tomorrow - in that case, I'll bring it and take some comparison shots.

 

Mine (35612xxx) looks exactly the same up to the point that the opening of the Omega sign points to ~8:30.
It is on the watch at least since I bought in in the mid 80s.

 

100% sure this is a genuine Omega service crystal on my blue dialed 007, though I cannot definitively claim that it is correct for this reference (just that Omega fitted it as such a couple of years ago).





90% sure this is the original crystal on my silver dialed 007:





Both appear different from yours. The shapes of the Omega logos are markedly different (elongated & very short or no serif feet vs. more round & serif feet). In fact, the (what I suspect to be) original crystal has completely different shape from my service crystal, in that it is more bulbous and curving towards a single straight (vertical) edge, whereas the curve on the service crystal crystal is less pronounced and connects to an (angled) straight edges that itself connects to the vertical one.

I'll be 100% sure on the second one once I find the original crystal for my blue 007.

 

I think you're good. I haven't heard of generic crystals having a faux logo embossed onto them, and the size position and shape of yours looks similar to a replacement crystal I got from Otto frei last year some time.

 

@Archer, is there any way you could look up for us what the part number for the hesalite crystal for an ST 176.007 is? Thanks a lot!

 

Just to add to the evidence, here's a crystal fitted by Omega just a few weeks back:




Previously, my 007 had the wrong hands (and possibly the incorrect bezel too), so there's obviously doubt about the crystal - here it is anyway:



I couldn't find an old pic showing any logo on the crystal - actually, I don't recall if there was one there. The crystal was pretty scratched up...

 

Thank you all for your detailed input! The crystal in the last pic looks a lot like mine from this perspective.

So, I guess it's safe to say that it is not a modern Omega replacement, but what else it is, seems inconclusive...

One question: I've read that the tachymeter scale is part of the set you get as a replacement part from Omega. Is it just packaged with it, or is the tachy fixed and non-removable from the crystal? What I'm asking is, does a fake crystal thus imply a fake tachy?

Thanks again for your support!

 

While the crystal might very well be part of a "crystal & inner bezel set" from Omega (i.e. they are ordered together), you often see just the bezel for sale on eBay, Ofrei etc. So I don't think you can conclude fake crystal = fake bezel...

 

Your service crystal looks exactly like mine. I guess we can cautiously conclude that this is the modern, correct replacement.

The pictures of your old crystal look very much like my original one. Perhaps the TS' crystal is an old service replacement, before they switched to the newer, less bulbous design?

 

Yup - I'd go along with that!

Could be! But TS mentioned that his crystal looked like my old one (which also looks like your original). Maybe the method of putting the logo on the crystal changed!

 

Here's another (hastily-taken) shot of my recent service crystal:



The angle to the vertical at the edge of the crystal looks the same as dialstatic's...

 

I think I prefer the old style crystal. It looks more vintage and it seems to enlarge the tachy ring numbers a little because of the curve at the edge.

 

The crystal itself is part 063PN5220. But as assemblies that include the ring, several are listed for STEEL CASE CAL. 1040 | 055ST1760007:

Tachymetre - 063PE5220TA - white

Decimal - 063PE5220DE - white

Pulsometer - 063PE5220PU - white

Telemeter - 063PE5220TE1 - white

Decimal - 063PF5220DE - blue

Pulsometer - 063PF5220PU - blue

Tachymetre - 063PF5220TA - blue

Telemeter - 063PF5220TE1 - blue

Decimal - 063PH5220DE - 2N (light yellow gold)

Pulsometer - 063PH5220PU - 2N

The rings and crystals can be bought separately.

Cheers, Al

 

Yeah, might prefer the old one too, but doesn't make that much difference to me, tbh.
Found a few shots of the old one from the day I got it:

 

I think I see an Omega logo in the crystal in the second photo. Did they give you back the old crystal?

Here's a comparison I just shot from exactly the same angle to highlight the different profiles. The original crystal is much flatter on top (in addition to more bulbous at the edges).

 

I think I can see the mark you're talking about, but I'm not sure if that's actually an Omega mark. Here are a few quite clear shots - I can't see anything here! That's what's giving me doubts...



That kind of looks like an Omega symbol in the last shot, but even considering the angle, it looks to be in a strange place...

I didn't get the crystal (or anything) back from Bienne. I have had everything back from Omega Service Centers on 2 occasions in the past, but this is the second time nothing has been returned from Bienne. I was informed of this in advance both times, but went ahead anyway...

 

So that's how they stock up on cool vintage stuff ;-) I can see what you mean with the mark. It kinda looks like a faded omega symbol with long feet, but it's not in the center. Interesting!

I managed to find my cracked crystal today. I'm 100% sure this is original, because the watch it belonged to (my blue dialed 007) was purchased new by my father in early 1974 and was driven over by a truck (!) in early 1975. It stayed in a drawer until I had it revised some 15 years ago (hence the service crystal).

Both the crystal's profile and the logo look (to me) exactly like the TS' pictures. I think he's good ;-) Interestingly, the logo looks less elongated than on my silver faced dial. The application method may have changed, but the movement serials are less than 400 apart.

 

mine is similar to the 2nd one - original crystal. the 1st one should be an original omega replacement. dint get a good macro shot of the inner logo but pretty sure it's not round shape.