Hi!

I just purchased a Seamaster 166.010 cal. 562 for what I consider to be a pretty good price. It's my second vintage Omega, and is pretty close to being exactly what I wanted. With my limited budget, I couldn't pass it up, and I'm really happy with it.

The watch was supposedly serviced before sale, and seems to be running well, although it's still a little soon for me to tell for sure.

However, I have two issues with the crown. The most glaring issue is that the crown unscrews from the stem. I was winding back and forth between 9 and 1 to try to set the date, and after several cycles, the crown just fell off. I panicked, but quickly realized that it wasn't broken, but had just unscrewed. I was able to easily screw it back on, and can set the time counter-clockwise by turning the crown toward the 12 o'clock position. Handwinding toward the 12 position seems to be okay, but if I move the crown toward the 6 position, it begins to unscrew.

The second problem is that the crown just seems to small. It was fairly difficult for me to wind, being so small. I initially thought it might be incorrect for the watch, but I'm not sure. My research says the crown should be a 069ST42524, which is 4mm. I don't own calipers, but using a ruler, it seems that the crown is 4mm, so I'm inclined to think it's the correct crown. However, I'm wondering if there is a bigger crown I could use to replace it, especially since the current crown in unscrewing.

Is there a crown I can get to replace the small one? How do I go about fixing the unscrewing crown? Is it a job for a watchmaker, or is there an easy fix for it?

Thanks so much!

Edit: Does anyone know when the watch was made? I think it was the in the 60s but I'm not sure.

 

This photo is from the OVD. Unless you know what you're doing, I would rely on a watchmaker to fix it. If the crown is available, a watchmaker with an Omega parts account should be able to source it. If it's not, start with eBay, once you have the part number.

 

I'll definitely take it to a watch maker then. Thanks for the advice.

I didn't previously know about the OVD. Thanks for sharing the photo. Based on that photo, it does look like the crown on my watch is too small. However, doing some research here gave me the part number 069ST42524 for the crown, which leads to this ebay listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Omega-Genu...itm=173431012893&_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network, which seems to be the crown that's on my watch.

How can I find out for sure the part number for the bigger crown shown in the photo you shared?

 

The current replacement crown listed for you case number is 069ST42055.

Cheers, Al

 

Listen to @Archer, he's the Omega parts savant.

 

Serial number of the movement is 2125.... so watch should be from around 1964

 

Thanks! I was actually basing my guess on the crown part number on post you made on another thread. That one was just generically asking for the crown number for a 166.010 cal. 562. I'm glad to know the proper number for my watch.

Now I just need to figure out how to get one. I'm not sure if my watch maker can get one. He's a local guy in my rural community and is semi retired now.

 

Thanks so much!

 

Nice pickup! For reference, how much are those worth?

 

Depends on how many hours you seek...

 

Something on the $400-600 range would be nice; is this any good?



https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/163398342706

 

The redial is not a bad effort however the relume job is unforgivable.

 

Sorry. That looks terrible. Dont buy!

 

Ok! Can certainly use the guidance of vintage experts here to find a nice piece (automatic, ss case, preferably around 1966 to be a birthyear piece). A caliber 564 like Seamaster 168.022 or similar would be nice