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Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerScrews you need are 72200002044.
Cheers, Al
Cheers, Al
1962 Omega Seamaster 300. 165014-62
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Dan S
·\
I have had the watch forever, no money out of pocket. I am not against throwing money at the watch, just to do a “proper Omega service”, done by a “proper Omega watchmaker” That’s it for now, nothing else. I would think doing a proper service would be a good thing regardless if I sell the watch or not? I think from the start, if I did it “right” it would add value or keep the value the same, not devalue the watch?
What I think is odd is I am looking for the “Omega Watchmaker of choice” here on the forum or like a top ten in the USA. The Omega watchmaker that almost anyone here would say “ahhh very good choice”. I did the searches here and on other forums but no one watchmaker is jumping out?
I live so close to Manhattan and with all the high-end watches in that town. You would think NYC and the surrounding areas would have a good number of “GoTo” vintage omega watchmakers that can do a proper and honest service?
A good service won't devalue the watch, but it probably won't increase the value by the amount that you spend.
In terms of value, one important question is the condition of the dial. Your photo appears to show a lot of small marks spread across the watch. If that is due to damage to the crystal being reflected onto the dial, it's no big deal. But if it is due to degradation of the lacquer on the dial, that's a different story, since the dial is generally 40-50% of the value of the watch (for this reference, the bezel is also a huge part), and any degradation or damage to the dial causes a big hit to the value.
There are many good watchmakers, but as a newbie, you shouldn't necessarily expect experienced collectors to rush in and give you the names of their trusted watchmakers in a publicly searchable forum. You will find the same names posted over and over again, but don't be fooled into thinking that those are necessarily the best ones. Maybe they are just the most well-known people who promote themselves well. The "top ten" idea is just a fiction of the internet generation, and this is an old-school industry that functions by word of mouth. And while people living there seem to think NYC is the center of the universe, I have often seen collectors struggle to find good watchmakers in the NYC area.
My suggestion would be to put the watch aside for now, and start networking with other collectors in your area. Join meetup groups, your local NAWWC chapter, Redbar, etc. Once you make some personal contacts and form a network and relationships, you will be able to get plenty of firsthand personal referrals from collectors that you know to be experienced. Or just pick one and take your chances.
Edited:
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Seacow
·I am back and forth on the watch; I really don’t know what to do; sell, trade or service and enjoy the watch??? I am leaning towards servicing and wearing for a little while. I 100% do know this, I have a gem on my hands, and I want to do right by the watch.
I have had the watch forever, no money out of pocket. I am not against throwing money at the watch, just to do a “proper Omega service”, done by a “proper Omega watchmaker” That’s it for now, nothing else. I would think doing a proper service would be a good thing regardless if I sell the watch or not? I think from the start, if I did it “right” it would add value or keep the value the same, not devalue the watch?
What I think is odd is I am looking for the “Omega Watchmaker of choice” here on the forum or like a top ten in the USA. The Omega watchmaker that almost anyone here would say “ahhh very good choice”. I did the searches here and on other forums but no one watchmaker is jumping out?
I live so close to Manhattan and with all the high-end watches in that town. You would think NYC and the surrounding areas would have a good number of “GoTo” vintage omega watchmakers that can do a proper and honest service?
Hi there,
IMHO, if you want most value out of your watch, you should consider sell as is on OF.
If you want to keep the watch for your enjoyment and not selling it for next 3 to 5 year. A good service is recommended. Service can run you between 500 USD to 1500USD depending where you send it to.
I recommend LWC in Australia, please see link below.
https://www.lewiswatchco.com/
It really all depends on if you can comfortably wear a 5 figure watch on your wrist without worry. My comfort zone is below 10000USD on my wrist.
Cheers
Jeff
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Davidt
·If you think you may want to sell down the line but service for now, you need to be specific in your instructions to whichever watchmaker you choose.
A full service of the movement, with a clean of the case, but no polishing and no replacement or restoration of non movement parts without my approval are my usual instructions.
Without this a watchmaker withthe absolute best of intentions may polish the case to remove the scratches and have a stab at cleaning the dial. These things would absolutely have a major impact on value.
As an example I heard a place close to me had a nice GMT2 in recently. I saw some pics and it looked great, unpolished and everything. I called in a few days later to see it had now been polished. "Oh, I thought it was in original condition, on the pics you sent it hadn't been polished" I said. "it's still original" they said, "we just sent it away for a light freshen up". They lost a sale with that watch as I wasn't looking for one that had been freshened up.
A full service of the movement, with a clean of the case, but no polishing and no replacement or restoration of non movement parts without my approval are my usual instructions.
Without this a watchmaker withthe absolute best of intentions may polish the case to remove the scratches and have a stab at cleaning the dial. These things would absolutely have a major impact on value.
As an example I heard a place close to me had a nice GMT2 in recently. I saw some pics and it looked great, unpolished and everything. I called in a few days later to see it had now been polished. "Oh, I thought it was in original condition, on the pics you sent it hadn't been polished" I said. "it's still original" they said, "we just sent it away for a light freshen up". They lost a sale with that watch as I wasn't looking for one that had been freshened up.
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Bayrat
·If you think you may want to sell down the line but service for now, you need to be specific in your instructions to whichever watchmaker you choose.
A full service of the movement, with a clean of the case, but no polishing and no replacement or restoration of non movement parts without my approval are my usual instructions.
Without this a watchmaker withthe absolute best of intentions may polish the case to remove the scratches and have a stab at cleaning the dial. These things would absolutely have a major impact on value.
As an example I heard a place close to me had a nice GMT2 in recently. I saw some pics and it looked great, unpolished and everything. I called in a few days later to see it had now been polished. "Oh, I thought it was in original condition, on the pics you sent it hadn't been polished" I said. "it's still original" they said, "we just sent it away for a light freshen up". They lost a sale with that watch as I wasn't looking for one that had been freshened up.
This is exactly where I am at! Thank you
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Bayrat
·Man, I am blown away at how nice the watch looks with a new Uncle Seiko “US1035 Flat Link Bracelet for Omega Speedmaster bracelet” and it fits perfect! The watch movement is keeping incredible time!
In the near future, I will be doing a movement service. From direction on this post and other watch forums I will keep the watch movement in peak condition. Also keeping the condition of everything other than the movement - untouched…vintage. With the specific instructions to the servicer “don’t touch anything! Not the case, the dial, the crystal, the hands…nothing! Every speck of dust on the dial stays on the dial! Just an internal service ONLY!”.
I am almost positive I will be doing a restoration on the Bezel by one of the four master artists that I know of that perform this service (Aldo, Lukas, or Rene and maybe Mcgyver???). The service will not devalue the watch by doing this and will look much better in my opinion.
I will be ordering an Omega Archive Extract on this watch. I think it would be interesting to see that information and also might help if there is a sale or trade? I am still on the fence on keeping the watch in my collection (funny saying that). Maybe doing a trade on some other watch or put it up on eBay and see what it gets? But! By the looks of the market prices on this watch. The longer I wait the more value the watch will gain. It’s a very unique watch model I am lucky to own it.
In the near future, I will be doing a movement service. From direction on this post and other watch forums I will keep the watch movement in peak condition. Also keeping the condition of everything other than the movement - untouched…vintage. With the specific instructions to the servicer “don’t touch anything! Not the case, the dial, the crystal, the hands…nothing! Every speck of dust on the dial stays on the dial! Just an internal service ONLY!”.
I am almost positive I will be doing a restoration on the Bezel by one of the four master artists that I know of that perform this service (Aldo, Lukas, or Rene and maybe Mcgyver???). The service will not devalue the watch by doing this and will look much better in my opinion.
I will be ordering an Omega Archive Extract on this watch. I think it would be interesting to see that information and also might help if there is a sale or trade? I am still on the fence on keeping the watch in my collection (funny saying that). Maybe doing a trade on some other watch or put it up on eBay and see what it gets? But! By the looks of the market prices on this watch. The longer I wait the more value the watch will gain. It’s a very unique watch model I am lucky to own it.
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Seaborg
·Excellent.
I would keep the watch without bezel (insert actually), it looks much more badass 😎
I would keep the watch without bezel (insert actually), it looks much more badass 😎
