1950s/60s Seamaster

Hi! Totally new to this forum and in all honesty never thought I'd be fortunate enough to own a Seamaster but here we go!

My nan recently gave me what she said was my Great Uncles Seamaster. I have spoken with Omega (the wonderful Brenda) and have been given some information, however I am really looking to get a little more before I embark on what could be a relatively pricey refurbishment!

The information I have is that this was a late 50s early 60s model. There is corrosion caused by water damage which fits as my Great Uncle was the captain of an oil rig fire fighting vessel for years.

It has no date window, and also no 300 marking which made me think that it could possibly have been fake, however Brenda has advised that by all accounts its genuine.

As you can see by the back, it has no markings other than the Seamaster. I haven't had it opened up yet, however the automatic function kicked in as soon as I started handling it and it hadn't been moved for about 8 years apparently. Its working fine and keeping the time so I'm hoping the damage is limited.

Has anyone seen a model like this before? I'd be so interested in whittling down a year of manufacture. I have contacted an official omega partner who does servicing and restoration and am just waiting for them to contact me.

I look forward to any response!

Toby

Nice watch! All genuine apart from the crown which isn’t original I don’t think (likely changed at service, this is common). I can’t think of the ref off the top of my head, but I can tell you that due to the ‘T’ by Swiss made on the dial its an early 60s model; at least after 1962 (might need correcting on this). The reason for this is that omega used Radium lume up to the early 60s before switching to Tritium; and there was a certain point when they started showing this on the dial with the letter T.

Once a watchmaker opens the caseback the serial number of the movement will allow you to get a better idea of the date and if you want a very specific one you can buy an extract from the archives which will tell you the manufacturing date (it left the factory) and where it was delivered.

I love sun burnt tropical watches and yours is gorgeous. you got some real solid advice so far so please go with what has been suggested. A watch is only original once.

Wow! Thank you all so much! Such quick and helpful insight, I really appreciate it!

I must admit, I didn't think about a restoration until it was suggested to me by Omega but I guess that's just something they have to do from a sales point of view.

I will certainly be back with more information and more photos once I have it serviced and cleaned. Special thanks for the information regarding the difference in the style, I searched for a long time to try and establish that on the world's best search engine

I hope you all have a great day, and look forward to sharing more information once I have it.

Best regards,

Toby

Hi again,

So I got the watch strap adjusted and am now proudly wearing it!

I also got the jeweller to open up the back and took some pictures of the movement. Its a 552. I guess the longer number is the serial number?

I've posted the pictures below

The dial looks great. Makes it a unique piece.