I'm very new to this and have just acquired my first Seamaster, which I haven't even received yet! I hope this will be a nice piece to start my collection with, but would appreciate some advice. The watch I have appears to be (I haven't yet ran a check on the serial) a 1949-1950 2577 351 Gold capped, and in good working order.

What I'm not sure about, and may just be personal preference, is whether or not to get it refurbished? How does this effect the value and can anyone recommend any good specialists in the UK to get work done. I can see a light patina on the dial due to it's age, is this a sought after feature or one to replace/restore? Same for the case, there are clearly marks from wear, should I get these polished out or can that devalue it?

I'd be really interested to know the true value of this watch and what it may be if it were serviced/restored.

Thanks for your time to read this and I'll post more pics when I have the watch in hand.

 

wear it for a year and then decide

 

To get the value, check the sold listings on eBay or the internet.

 

Aside from a service anything your do to "improve" it will only devalue the watch.

 

I see, so replacement glass, polish, clean dial and hands all a no no in terms of value?
Do you see these for sale often? I personally love the design, and appreciate the craftsmanship and how far they have come since origin, so value isn't so important - however I'm still curious

 

I can't find an example of this model being sold previously, hence the question of it's value. I've found a couple of examples of sales of steel ones, but none gold capped

 

Perhaps you are spelling Omega 2577 wrong. I just did a quick eBay search on sold listings and got about 30 hits, many of which are plated.

 

Don't refurbish. Ever. Ever. Ever. If you think it needs refurbishing, don't buy it. Kills the value of the vintage Omega.

 

Noted! Thanks. I'll get it serviced and cherish it. Doesn't appear to be worth a great deal though I still haven't found an exact match for sale

 

Here's my 15 seconds of research gift to you. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nk..._sop=12&_dmd=1&_ipg=50&LH_Complete=1&_fosrp=1Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

Thanks for taking the time - it must be the wifi I'm on as the link doesn't work. I'll try again when I'm back on dry land. Much appreciated

 

To be fair, that link doesn't work for me either but as I mentioned earlier, if you simply search on omega 2577 on Ebay sold listings you will get what you need, which is that your watch is worth a few hundred quid. You have clearly purchased the watch somewhere, ebay perhaps? Anyhow, you already have one price data point and a quick search will give you more so I am not really sure what else you need. If it is the answer to the question should you 'restore' it then basically no. You can't polish gold cap too much or else it will blow through, refinishing the dial is expensive and ruins originality and a service while necessary is maybe £200-300, money which might not be recouped in a future sale. If you got it boot sale cheap and your idea is to sell it here, then be aware that is frowned upon and likely won't fly. I have had a coupe of 2577s and do like them, but be aware that gold cap is a distant third in metal finish popularity after steel and solid gold (in which ever order you choose).

 

Looking at the dial, I'm not sure, if it's genuine. And shouldn't it be

'OMEGA
Automatic
Seamaster'

like here:

https://hobarttown.com/product/omega-first-seamaster-model-made-1948-49-orig-ref2577/

 

Apparently, you can't link to sales archives. Pretty ridiculous. Anyway, there were 5 or six gold capped 2577s ranging from $385 to $500.

 

You do love to jump to conclusions and IMO are far too quick to cry fake. A quick google search on Omega 2577 will bring up several examples of exactly that dial layout. There was a lot of variation early on in the Seamaster's life, including for a year examples with no SM text at all.

Here is my 1950 2577-6 with the same layout as the OP watch:



And here is a 1949 version with no text.

 

Maybe this could help, actual screenshot from today:

 

I posted a picture of a watch with exactly the same dial design, but different arrangement of the words. I said I'm not sure and I was asking a question... I believe that was no conclusion.

Can you show me this dial design with 'OMEGA Seamaster Automatic'?

 

Yep. Pics added above.

 

Thank you for the pictures and your reply.

 

That's a great help, and thanks for the advice. My intention wasn't to sell here, or anywhere in fact, as I mentioned this hopefully the first of many. I simply wanted to get some expert opinions and tap into some knowledge of this watch. I'm pleased to see you have a couple of fine examples yourself.