1969 168.023 Dial Questions

Hello Forum Folk,

I have recently acquired a 1969 Seamaster 168.023 with a sparkle dial and I have a couple of questions.

1. The dial appears to be a silver sparkle dial, but In obtuse lighting, the dial turns a champagne color, pretty consistent across the face. Do you think this is just patina and normal for this type of dial?

2. Also between the 1/5 area of the dial I have some odd green / brown spots. Thoughts on if this might be deterioration of the dial from underneath or someting on it. Under a UV light there are little bits of the lume all over the dial. Could these particles causes surface decolorization to the dial over time ?

3. The dial at the 12 marker seems off center from true 12 (off towards 11) not much but I notice it. The right side of the dial also seems shifted over to the left, as there seems to be a bigger gap between the face dial and the pie pan step on the right . Not sure if it’s just the crystal playing light tricks. Thoughts ?

4. Overall thought of the dial (good, okay, throw away)

I plan to have the watch sent to Craig Stone in Illinois (Omega Certified) and have him go thru the movement and gently clean off the debris on the dial.

If you folks could give some insight, I’d appreciate the input.

Kind regards,

Garret

Nice watch, looks likely to be some moisture damage but don't worry too much about it and enjoy it
How's the timekeeping?
Suggest not touching the dial other than blowing off anything loose as it's likely to make it worse

Thank you for insight. I want to wear it in my daily rotation so I don’t want to make it any worse.

I’ve noticed the crystal is not seated all the way down in the crown side. Maybe that has led to the moisture.

In the offset light photo I submitted, there really seems to be a lot of little particles laying on the dial. Hopefully when those are gone it will present better, at least to me.

Plan is to replace the crystal now as well if we can find a PZ5111.

Cheers!

Garret

The crystals are fairly common, it also is the same for the 166.032
Essentially they are the same watch but that has a 752 movement which is a 751 which isn't chronometer rated

Sorry… the watch is running well. Was said to have been serviced prior to my purchase. When the dial is cleaned up, he will also look at the movement.

I really like the watch. I out a new FOIS Band and buckle on it and have a 1068/556 BOR for it as well.

Garret

Is there any paperwork with it to say it's just been serviced? If not I wouldn't trust that it has.
What's the time accuracy like?
Can use watch accuracy app for a rough idea

Here's my 166.5032 9k gold with fluted bezel, currently my favourite

No there was no proof. It’s one reason I contacted Craig Stone. He has done another watch for me, and I want to make sure it’s all sorted. It’s staying within +\- 5-7 seconds a day. (I’ve just used my iPhone to log the time) there have been days it’s been better as well.

Very cool piece!! I’ve only seen that type of bezel a couple of times. Very nice indeed!!

Thanks, was only for UK market

This my little box of goodies. I’m not sure if the box is correct for the year… I’m new to vintage watch collecting, so please be understanding if I have some questions.

Very unique, and stands out from the norm for sure.

Found this little nugget last night playing around on the net. Had a good conversation with the curator, and I should have it here in a week or so. Hopefully I can put it to use.

Cheers!

I got a couple of photos of what was in the box… NOS kit of a Silver sparkle dial and matching hands. (They look gold) but confirmed they are indeed for the ST168.023 as stated on the factory box.

Plans for the watch will be a complete case restoration / movement / crystal / dial and hands. Can’t wait to see them in person. I did find one gouge in the dial.

How rare is finding one of these in the wild? Cheers!!

I got a couple of photos of what was in the box… NOS kit of a Silver sparkle dial and matching hands. (They look gold) but confirmed they are indeed for the ST168.023 as stated on the factory box.

Plans for the watch will be a complete case restoration / movement / crystal / dial and hands. Can’t wait to see them in person. I did find one gouge in the dial.

How rare is finding one of these in the wild? Cheers!!

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How much did you buy it for? Not that rare but handy to have
Gold hands and dial would be for a gold watch, you would need silver for your watch otherwise it will look odd as a Frankenstein watch

It was confirmed the indices and hands are indeed white / steel. I asked a few times. He is a reputable vintage parts supplier in Sweden. The coloring of the photos isn’t good.

Do you have a link to their website just for future reference?

Sure!! https://urdelar.se I talked with Mikael (one of the brothers/owners). They have been discussed here in the forums previously.

Regarding the dial and hands I obtained, I was able to get some of the back story from Mikael of the long journey the set took to get to my hands. I also did some research for breaking down the box label.

The NOS set came from an Omega supplier who supplied Denmark (possibly others) jewelry stores etc with Omega watches, parts and service for years. (H. F. Koppel Aps in Copenhagen).


Per the original box:

It’s a 751-003-168.0023 which is a complete dial assembly kit for a Seamaster with the 751 movement.

The order was a telephone order for stock from Omega on 7/2/84 (February, 7th) and the kit was on page 4 of the shipping manifest. It sat, even after the business closed its doors in the1990s. Urdelar.se eventually acquired it and sold it to me.

751= of course the movement

ST168.0023= dial made for the stainless steel case. So hands/indices were the white steel versions.

The dial is a .91 which is a Textured Metallic Silver

MR= Raised applied markers

The n: 35ch/.77
35 = baton hands
ch= chronometer grade hands to match the 751
.77= is the factory hand-tube pinion hole diameter for the 751.

Then I researched the numbers on the back of the dial, which in the photo are easily seen zooming in.

40017AZJ 1559
40017A= internal catalog number for the specific physical blank shape, date window cutout profile, and dial feet placement designed for the Seamaster 168.023 (Caliber 751)

ZJ= Zelim Jacot (Flückiger SA). They made many of Omega's most iconic dials from the 1950s through the 1970s, and were highly revered for their complex textures (This company alone has a rich history one should read about)

1559= production run / batch number. (I’m interested to see if my original dial has this information, so I can compare

All this information is probably known by the experts here in the forums, but I’m fascinated with the history of horology. Though, I will take some of the collectibility out of the watch historically with replacing the dial and hands, there will be a historic back story I can link the change over to, that will stay with the timepiece.

The watch will be eventually handed down to my son. So though the watch will not be 100% original when completed, the history of just these parts speaks of an era gone of how omega parts were supplied and replaced. Which to me, makes a restoration story even more meaningful.

The original dial and hands will go back in the box and kept with the final restoration. I hope to share more of the restoration rabbit hole I go down with you.

Cheers!!