While I wait for a proper vintage 2998 dial to appear for sale and hopefully be able to snare, which is the best alternative on a later reference 2998:

1) A brand new 321 flat non-professional service dial which has no "Ts" but looks so out of place or

2) A vintage, well maintained, stepped 105.003 dial which, I believe, is identical to the 2998-3 thru 105.002-62 dials except for the nasty "Ts". I believe the silver crystal ring might even cover the "Ts".

Anyone have a extra 2998 dial in their toolbox?

Opinions??

 

How about the third one down on this page?

http://www.ofrei.com/page343.html

Tom

 

+1. I have seen some nicely aged modern service dials, and as Ash says, much cheaper incorrect part.

Part of the question is guess is how likely you think it is that a proper one in decent shape will appear and what your chances of nabbing it are.

I guess an alternative might be to sell what you got complete and find a complete and correct one..

 

Right. The one you pointed out is the service dial.

 

Sell a watch??? I didn't know you were allowed to do that!

 

there are some great tutorials for adding a little age to a dial. I would also go that route until you find a proper face.

 

What your saying of course make perfect sense, but why not instead do some work on the 105.003 dial.....touch it up by removing the "T"s.

In comparing the (MWO references) later tritium A5 "Low Swiss Made" dial used for the later 2998 and 105.002 vs the A7 "Close T" dial, the dials are virtually identical. The only real difference is the introduction of the "T"s which, I believe, was required by law so as to prove to consumer that the dial was radium free. Except for the lettering of Swiss Made and use of "T", the dials are identical.

From an ethical standpoint the watch is for personal use only. No desire to sell but if I did would of course disclose the redialing. To me this is similar to having a vintage 7912 bracelet but altering a less expensive end link rather than pay $1500 for a pair of "6"s. Very small blemish, unnoticeable, which is disclosed if the watch is sold. While a nice 105.003 dial is not cheap, they are available.

 

Aging is only part of the issue. The service dials are flat. The vintage dials are stepped.

 

the 105.003 dial would be an expensive option. and it wouldn't satisfy me. everytime I would look at the watch the feeling of something being wrong would pop up (well that's true for me, maybe I should find a good psychiatrist to cure this...)

 

all those dials that you mention will not really fit you 2998, as long as you use the correct white (silver) inner tension ring in the crystal. This white tension ring allows only a slightly smaller diameter for the dial than the later black tension ring because all (radium) dials from 2915-1 up to 105.002 had this slightly smaller diameter.
You will notice immediatly when you put the white (silver) tension ring on a 105.003 or later (also the service) dial, because it will almost touch the outer minute indicies and will completely cover the 'swiss made' of those later dials

 

Any decent applied Omega dial is going to be expensive. To buy one and then ruin it by removing the "Ts" I think a bit foolhardy. The service dial will give you a usable watch while you search for the correct dial. You need to be diligent about examining some of the crap that appears on ebay. I bought a hideous Franken that had some 2998 bits, a beautiful DON bezel, decent speedy case, Lemania movement and other stuff. They pop up every once in a while. It may take a while to find what you are looking for, but what's the hurry?

 

Good advice

 

Thank you all for your advice. As the watch already has a service dial, I will be leaving it alone and searching the ends of the earth for a proper 2998 dial.

 

when i buy my 105.003-65 it cames with the wrong crystal with silver tension ring. In comparsion with my 105.002 i see it the first time, that the CK and 105.002 dial is a bit smaller.