Advice for a newbie re: vintage Seamaster

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!

Thanks for the quick reply-- no, it's different. Dial has a more beige/golden patina, some spots, and a date complication.

In the first picture I can see some corrosion on the regulator mechanism.

To gatorcpa: I don't think that's it either. The case is less polished and the dial is a bit less pristine (more spots).

I assume these two parts mentioned (gasket & regulator mechanism) will have to be replaced?

The regulator shows some slight corrosion so, probably there has been some moisture in the case. The rotor has marks from catching the case back so, the rotor bush is worn. Apart from that, on my phone, it looks complete although the regulator is off to one side. Budget for a full service and some parts. Case seal is very old but, you'd expect that to be included in a service.

The dial picture is useful, to see if it is correct. You don't have to share it but, buying a redial would not be the optimal idea. How much are you thinking to spend?

Cheers, Chris

Hi Chris-- here's a picture of the dial. A concern with the dial is the asymmetrical Omega logo (pointier on the left) and the authenticity of the black markers. I don't mind the spots on the face and prefer a more lived-in look than mint. Any other insights would be appreciated of course. The photo isn't the sharpest unfortunately.

Dial looks original to me but, I personally, don't like the spotting. That is up to you.

It may be that it will be serviced before sale but, if not, add 300ish of your currency to cover issues. These 550 series are good at keeping going until they show very poor timekeeping and reserve - I don't recommend this as parts are not cheap and as you will use it daily, it will quickly wear parts.

I wouldn't buy this as it doesn't appeal but without a service, I would not think it is worth more than 400-500 (£/$/€) so don't get excited and bid too much - we've all been there ...😉

Good luck, Chris

I'm hoping that the spotting keeps people away, honestly. This watch would be purely for me and I'm not terribly worried about resale value. I'm a woman with freckles so in a way it matches me, ha ha.

Assuming a full service and replacement of parts that need to be replaced, it should be a watch I can wear daily, correct? (Trying to clarify your comment, Chris). I have read that wearing an unserviced but working watch can wreak havoc on it so I would definitely service it before wearing.

Yes, you can wear it daily. Parts can be expensive for this calibre so, make sure it's in good order before using it all the time. It might be as water resistant as any modern watch (depends on the condition of seals, case and crystal) so, there wouldn't be any concerns. If it goes wrong or wears out, it will be more expensive to fix than (for example) a calibre 1120 watch

I wear vintage watches everyday as do many on the forum. Better deals may be around - which country are you in?

Cheers, Chris

I'm in the US, specifically NYC. In what ballpark do parts cost for this caliber? Apologies for the seemingly obvious questions. It seems to be a delicate balance when finding a bargain. Perhaps it's better to find something already serviced.

Thank you all so much for your advice. Fortunately I have some time to think about it!

The crown on that watch is an incorrect replacement. It may be an original Omega crown (can't see if the logo is there) and it may even be the service crown that was considered correct when it was replaced, but the watch didn't start life with it. The original crown would have been much narrower and semi-hidden, as in post #2 of this thread.

If this is going to be a first and possibly one and only vintage, it's usually a good idea to go for something all original and in good condition as the more you find out about it, the more dissatisfied you are likely to become with any imperfections. This applies particularly to anyone who is at all picky.