Here's a bit of an "artsy shot." Thought these two pair nicely. I enjoy this case style the best on the vintage seamasters, as it feels explorer-ish to me. Also personally enjoy the magnifier and aging on the dial.
I agree with you all. I've had some opportunities to pick up one in around the ~800 range, but ultimately those slipped away for one reason or another. Felt the time to buy was now so when one popped up with the specs I wanted from a dealer with all positive feedback and a line stating it had just been serviced, all those reasons combined justified the price bump.
Lesson learned though on claims from dealers on recent servicing. On the next one will likely go the route of private sales and take the time to bring it for service.
Driving this one out today and will show it to a watchmaker about an hour away from me. I can update later if it needs a full service or if I can get away with just some regulating. I'm not sure if the crown was new, it looks original, but thinking maybe fresh gasket. I had noticed and wiped away a small amount of residue build up at the point of the recess.
... I don't think the watch had a very fun time in winter travel.
As for the $250 reimbursement (for which the dealer said he won't be making money on the watch, not really believing that), I told the dealer I would see what the watchmaker says about the issues and may need to counter.
What the heck do I do now! Lessons being learned...
For a service, I would suggest casting the net wider than the NY/NJ area.
Find independent watchmaker with Omega parts account who will likely charge somewhere in $ 500-600 for full service plus cost of parts
!!!UPDATE!!!!
Well, I have quite the update. I went to my local watchmaker. He happens to be an Omega authorized watchmaker. He has only good reviews online.
He took a look at the watch and said there is no chance the watch was serviced. His words were that the movement has wear, debris, and dried oil everywhere (including the crown area which explains the tension), and it appears as if lots of fresh oil was simply applied on top all the dirt and debris. His assessment was it needs an overhaul and quoted me at $1350. I responded if he can just regulate it a little bit and clean the crown recess, but he said it would not make much difference given the state of the watch. I generally trust his assessment as the shop has a good reputation and has been there for generations.
So I contacted the Chrono24 seller, because again, his listing states a "January 2026 service" and a timegraph report of near chronometer ratings (the seller could not produce the actual documentation of either when requested). In truth, if the listing just said something like "runs well" I'd be fine with my own data. Also in truth, I'd have bought one of the many others on Chrono24 at around 900$ rather than $1500.
In the meantime, does anyone happen to know a watchmaker in the NJ/NY area that might be able to service this for less? Or might perhaps be a bit experimental rather than a full blown overhaul?
What the heck do I do now! Lessons being learned...
