We all hanker after well looked after unpolished watches but sometimes acquiring one of these is just not possible.

A few years back I came across a Flightmaster which although unpolished was not a 'one careful owner' example as can be seen from the first set of pics below. However it did have potential so I bought it.

Whilst most Forum members do not particularly like the 'replace everything' school of restoration there was not much to save on this one so it got the full works. The original dial and all replaced parts were returned and passed on to the new owner when I eventually sold the watch.

I'll let the pics tell the full story.............

 

As much as I like patina that one was probably too far gone even for me!

 

It was an interesting exercise to see what could be achieved.

 

I think it looks great.


It is always hard to judge how much case has been lost in the refinishing process, though.


How much would your estimate be – maybe 1mm?

 

Nice work ! There was indeed not much to do with the original !

 

Difficult to estimate but you can see that the crystal stands a lot higher than previous.

 

So the refinishing was only done by removing material from the case - or was metal added to the big gashes by laser welding, or something similar? The big gash near the 6 o'clock looks like it would have required a lot of metal being taken off to get the finished results. Looks fantastic though.

 

A ballsy purchase and restore...nice results. Did the purchase and restore end up costing as much as buying a better vintage one? I like to see great watches get a new lease of life!

 

I was so pleased when they said they could do it that I didn't discuss how it was going to be achieved and it was not mentioned in the estimate or receipt.

However looking at the height of the crystal I would guess removing metal.

 

Can't remember the exact costs as it was quite a few years back but the total purchase and restoration was far less than the cost of an average example at the time.

This was mainly due to the low purchase price - I think most people where frightened off!!!

 

I have been asked who did the restoration so thought I would mention it here too.

The Flightmaster was sent back to Omega in Switzerland for the work.

 

Love it done exactly the same 15 years ago , and still perfect like out of the factory , enjoy it now, the most important was to save the watch and give them a new life .

Paul

 

I bet that was not cheap. Probably worth it though.

 

It was restored in 2009 and from memory cost around £1100.

 

Good on you @JACK G for seeing the potential and putting in the money for restoration. This one looked like it hard life. I'm sure the new owner is getting plenty of joy from it now.

 

Amazing! I love the “after” look for sure! Nice to see these watches come back to life.

 

I don't think you can determine anything by comparing the crystal, because the original was domed and the replacement is flat. The flat crystals sit higher than the domed ones.

 

Congrats! Only skilled hands can do such a great work!

 

Looks fantastic!!!!! Enjoy and wear in good health.

 

Looks great, I love the case refinish.