Advice needed: Omega Seamaster 600 grey linen dial

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Shams123

·May 22, 2020

Hi - hope everyone is well!

Newbie here, looking for my first Omega! Considering this Omega 600 with a grey linen dial. Have only seen a few examples of this dial in my search, so was hoping for some advice.

1. Is there anything obvious I'm missing that needs to be considered before buying?

2. What kind of price range is fair for this particular model?

As mentioned, I've seen very few examples of this so struggling to figure out a fair value.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

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Davidt

·May 22, 2020

Looks fully original.

Ask for a few more dial shots. There are a few of these flying around with very degraded dials, but the angle and lighting can make this appear better than it would in the flesh.

Price wise, a standard white/silver dial 600 is around £250-400. These do demand a premium so I'd say around £350-£550.

 

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Shams123

·May 22, 2020

Thanks so much for the quick response and the advice @Davidt . I'll definitely check a few more pics before making my decision. Much appreciated.

 

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Annapolis

·May 22, 2020

Dial looks really rough to me---especially near 6 but also near some of the other indices. Guess it depends on how much that would bother you, but I'd probably keep looking.

 

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tpatta

·May 22, 2020·Happily spending my daughter’s inheritance

The linen, waffle and hobnail dials are some of my favorites. This appears to be a pretty clean example of a cal. 601. I think that dial is awesome. Unless the seller has a recent receipt for a service you should factor that in to the price. I'd say that @Davidt price range is close.
And the strap is very cool. Good luck.

 

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Annapolis

·May 22, 2020

Yeah, upon a second look, it's clear that some of what I thought was dial damage is actually scratching on the crystal, which you'll probably be able to polywatch (or toothpaste) out---or you can always replace the crystal if it comes to that. Still, though, the gunkiness around the hour indices... preferable to a bad redial, of course, but it would bother me. Everyone has his/her own threshold for that sort of thing, of course.

Agree that the movement looks very clean!

Do folks think that's a replacement crown? It looks (to my unreliable eyes) like it could be a little larger and more convex than the original tiny, flat-edge SM600 crown. Even so, I think it'd be a perfectly acceptable replacement if it is indeed one.

 

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Davidt

·May 22, 2020

I'd really get more pictures of the dial. It doesn't look great on these pics, there is clear degradation around the hour markers but it may be worse.

 

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JwRosenthal

·May 22, 2020

Davidt

I'd really get more pictures of the dial. It doesn't look great on these pics, there is clear degradation around the hour markers but it may be worse.

Agreed- this is common on blue dials of the period as well. It’s not something I could live with as I can’t take any dial damage, but some find this kind of wabi-sabi attractive. But it looks all original to me so if it speaks to you and is priced accordingly- go for it.

 

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tpatta

·May 22, 2020·Happily spending my daughter’s inheritance

Davidt

I'd really get more pictures of the dial. It doesn't look great on these pics, there is clear degradation around the hour markers but it may be worse.

I would hope that it's just dirt/crud around the indices. Pretty sure a service and cleanup would fix it, but it certainly could be corrosion. It does seem to be even across all the markers. Perhaps a closeup of the dial around the markers would be helpful.

 

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JwRosenthal

·May 22, 2020

tpatta

I would hope that it's just dirt/crud around the indices. Pretty sure a service and cleanup would fix it, but it certainly could be corrosion. It does seem to be even across all the markers. Perhaps a closeup of the dial around the markers would be helpful.

It’s not crud sadly, it’s moisture damage. The lume has also gone dark because of it.

 

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Davidt

·May 22, 2020

Yeah I don't think it's dirt either. I agree with @JwRosenthal that these dials are prone to degradation and it's almost certainly a reaction to the glue used on the markers, just like the blue dial of the period that suffer from a reaction to the tritium lume dots.

 

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cristos71

·May 22, 2020

Looking at those pictures I'd wager that the seller is a wannabee dealer selling "curated" watches for a premium 😁

This is the kind of watch where a seller will try to convince an inexperienced buyer that this textured dial is super rare and highly desirable and as such warrants an enormous premium over the same ref with a more common dial.

I disagree in this case, and think that this watch with this dial, which is in quite poor condition, is only worth fractionally more than one with a more common dial in the same shape. Personally I wouldn't even bother with this example as who wants to look at such a degraded dial all day?

 

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JwRosenthal

·May 22, 2020

To speak to the point at @cristos71 makes, I think when we see something as cool as this (despite not being “rare”, we don’t see textured dials all that often- let alone in grey) we try to look past the flaws and convince ourselves we can live with it. I have done this a few times and always ended up getting rid of the watch because I just couldn’t see anything else when I wore it.

 

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Davidt

·May 22, 2020

Although I don't like it at the best of times, I can sometimes live with slight dial damage on a diver as it's meant to be a tool watch.

On a textured dial semi-dress watch the dial needs to be good or I'd prefer to wait for a better one.

 

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Annapolis

·May 22, 2020

Agree—it’s all I’d see and I’d end up probably selling it off at a loss as soon as a cleaner one came along.

 

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Shams123

·May 27, 2020

Thanks for the input everyone, I gotta say, this forum never disappoints, and I seem to learn something new every time.

After a closer look, the dial is actually pretty degraded, and to your point, not something I would enjoy looking at everyday. I figure if I don't really enjoy it myself, whats the point - so have decided to pass this one.

The search continues. I shall be back with more questions. Thanks once again!

 

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raitosan

·May 27, 2020

The crown is a bit big for this reference. I had a similar crown come with a ref135.011 concentric dial. Seems to be a replacement, although branded. I had to order a new crown, slightly more slender.

 

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thelinendial

·May 30, 2020

Personally, I generally stay away were only have artsy pictures are put forward. The background colours can also fool your eyes too. Out of curiosity, try asking for simple pictures in normal daylight or near a window.