Advice needed on a black dial cross hair Seamaster

[Omarrye]

Hi everyone. I’ve been offered a 2849 Seamaster black dial cross hair for $1250 without service history. Its head only as the bracelet is confirmed to be aftermarket. These are the best photos the seller was able to provide me with . I tried comparing the text to other examples but I found it difficult to come to a conclusion on the dial. What I understand is these came with slightly different fonts and text, depending on earlier or later examples. The most confusing thing is the Seamaster text. What say you all? Thanks in advance

 

[Bumper]

How does it look compared to this?

50's font?

 

[Omarrye]

I’d say it looks good when compared with your example

 

[seekingseaquest]

The pictures are too bad to say for sure on the dial, but one thing is for sure - those black insert markers didn’t originally come on a black dial SM. And that’s definitely not a good sign for dial originality.

 

[X350 XJR]

Looks good to me.

You can see the reflectivity of the "printing" in the second photo an indication of a proper gilt dial.

Onyx inserts are not unheard of on some deluxe special order dials, so I think you're good there too.

Case looks a bit soft in some (many) of the photos.

Better photos would help.

 

[lucian23]

For me 1250 USD it's a high price for this watch but i am not an expert..

 

[Bumper]

Here's a nice watch around the same price.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/197...7-c-case-with-rare-bracelet-1290-euro.170992/

 

[seekingseaquest]

X350 XJR

Looks good to me.

You can see the reflectivity of the "printing" in the second photo an indication of a proper gilt dial.

Onyx inserts are not unheard of on some deluxe special order dials, so I think you're good there too.

Case looks a bit soft in some (many) of the photos.

Better photos would help.

Do you have examples you can share of original black dials with original black insert markers?

 

[X350 XJR]

seekingseaquest

Do you have examples you can share of original black dials with original black insert markers?

A quick Google turned up these in addition to the ones I've seen in person or had in hand.

Edited: Apr 11, 2024

 

[Wlcutter]

X350 XJR

Case looks a bit soft in some (many) of the photos.

Better photos would help.

I'd emphasize this quite a bit. IMO the charm of the 2846/8/9 case has been polished away from this example.

 

[seekingseaquest]

X350 XJR

A quick Google turned up these in addition to the ones I've seen in person or had in hand.

Interesting, I stand corrected. I wonder if these were part of a single batch as they’re all the exact same dial variant.