friedrose
·Hello all,
I'm in the market for my first mechanical watch. I have a modest budget and a classic/understated sense of style and have narrowed my search down to a vintage, automatic Seamaster with a 5xx or 6xx caliber. This will be a daily watch for me; I am not a collector (yet... ha) and need a durable movement with readily available parts. I love the simple and elegant look of the 60s-era Seamasters.
I have done my research and can recognize obvious signs of overpolishing, re-dialing, etc-- but do not know enough about watchmaking to recognize the signs of a potentially damaged movement. I know what the 5xx and 6xx are supposed to look like, just not the finer points.
I found a listing on eBay that is at auction right now for an exceedingly reasonable price. The seller does not seem to be a wheeler-dealer type; the description basically reads "good condition, runs well" (I paraphrase). I've reached out to them to see if they have any information re: maintenance history and whether the watch has been worn much in the past couple of years, but have not heard back.
My questions are:
1) Is there anything about this movement that, as best you can determine from a photo, would require excessive maintenance or would turn you off from bidding on this watch?
2) Do you have any further advice to someone like myself who's hunting for a vintage Omega? If there are easily-learned signs to look for, especially with regards to a movement's authenticity or wear/condition, I'd be very interested to learn them.
If you've read all this, thank you so much, I really appreciate it!
![seamaster2.jpg seamaster2.jpg](https://omegaforums.net/data/attachments/915/915606-3c003a508deb47f0e1b4b12735dfb27a.jpg?hash=PAA6UI3rR_)
I'm in the market for my first mechanical watch. I have a modest budget and a classic/understated sense of style and have narrowed my search down to a vintage, automatic Seamaster with a 5xx or 6xx caliber. This will be a daily watch for me; I am not a collector (yet... ha) and need a durable movement with readily available parts. I love the simple and elegant look of the 60s-era Seamasters.
I have done my research and can recognize obvious signs of overpolishing, re-dialing, etc-- but do not know enough about watchmaking to recognize the signs of a potentially damaged movement. I know what the 5xx and 6xx are supposed to look like, just not the finer points.
I found a listing on eBay that is at auction right now for an exceedingly reasonable price. The seller does not seem to be a wheeler-dealer type; the description basically reads "good condition, runs well" (I paraphrase). I've reached out to them to see if they have any information re: maintenance history and whether the watch has been worn much in the past couple of years, but have not heard back.
My questions are:
1) Is there anything about this movement that, as best you can determine from a photo, would require excessive maintenance or would turn you off from bidding on this watch?
2) Do you have any further advice to someone like myself who's hunting for a vintage Omega? If there are easily-learned signs to look for, especially with regards to a movement's authenticity or wear/condition, I'd be very interested to learn them.
If you've read all this, thank you so much, I really appreciate it!
![seamaster1.jpg seamaster1.jpg](https://omegaforums.net/data/attachments/915/915605-f8d2841a5bb0742b35acbffc377ff006.jpg?hash=-NKEGluwdC)
![seamaster2.jpg seamaster2.jpg](https://omegaforums.net/data/attachments/915/915606-3c003a508deb47f0e1b4b12735dfb27a.jpg?hash=PAA6UI3rR_)