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  1. chipsotoole Sep 12, 2017

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    Hello Omegoids,
    I just purchased this watch from a guy in Oz. It's the first time I've bought a watch for other reasons than just because I liked it. A bit of a quandary. As you can see, the dial and the movement are more than a little tired. Most collectors here might at first glance categorise it as a POS/junker not even worth 80 Bucks. However, I bought it because:

    a) I think that's a 1170 with 340 end links bracelet and they are increasingly hard to find and I'd probably get what I paid for the watch just by selling that on.

    b) The model itself 166.0065 (I think) was only made for a year or so in 1971 and whilst not exactly rare, they're certainly not seen all the time (and I kind of dig the sunken dial and 38mm large case....It seems to be an era I'm getting more and more interested in. Whether anything can be done about the dial and surround remains to be seen.
    and
    c) I already have a '68 cal. 565 Seamaster cosmic and might probably need spare movement parts at some future point.

    Or of course I might say "sod it!" and spend a long time trying to find a replacement dial and renovate the whole thing back to it's former glory.

    Decisions will probably come once it's in my hands , the scratches have been taken out of the crystal, the bracelet gets a sonic and scrub, and the dial lightly brushed to see what grime comes away. Owner states in description that the watch hasn't suffered water damage, but it looks like it's gone through a few other acts of God.

    Has anyone else here ever bought a watch in this kind of state principally for the bracelet? sparkle1.jpg sparkle2.jpg sparkle3.jpg sparkle4.jpg
     
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  2. Gstp Sep 12, 2017

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    I would be very surprised if you're the first
     
  3. STANDY schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collector Sep 12, 2017

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    Some here have bought watches for as little as the crown or hands :whistling:

    Be surprised what service dials are still available from Omega ;) ( don't know on this one but you never know )
     
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  4. JimInOz Melbourne Australia Sep 12, 2017

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    I usually seem to do it the other way around.

    Wanna see my collection of Spiedel/Fixoflex/Maruman etc flexi bracelets?
    :D
     
  5. PhilN Sep 12, 2017

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    I purchased a 145.0022 Speedmaster for the rare 1447/805 bracelet. The watch turned out to be in a great condition as well. MWO specifically mention that it has not been confirmed that the 145.0022 was fitted with the 1447/805. The seller told me he bought the watch fitted with the bracelet in Germany in the '80's. IMG_3130.JPG IMG_3132.JPG IMG_3133.JPG IMG_3138.JPG
     
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  6. mikechi22 Sep 12, 2017

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    Probably not in the same league as you, Mr. O'Toole, but I recently picked up a men's Dynamic because I wanted an original steel bracelet to put on another I had gotten with a weird, but correct leather deployment strap contraption. My plan is to preserve that for my heirs and assigns when they liquidate my estate. I should technically sell the extra Dynamic, but it's in nice shape and the guy who sold it, loved it so much, I'd feel like an ogre to just strip it of its bracelet, put a leather one on it and move it along. So, I'm kinda there with you!
     
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  7. EdtheAussie Sep 12, 2017

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    I always try to keep an eye out for old seamasters and constellations with 7912 and 1035 bracelets, and so do many others!
     
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  8. Dero13 4 watches. All set to the wrong time. Sep 12, 2017

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    I bought this one solely for bracelet. Sold the head and it covered what I had in the watch

    Screenshot_20170912-185449.png Screenshot_20170912-185456.png
     
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  9. chipsotoole Sep 12, 2017

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    Funnily enough I picked up a nice gen 1 dynamic last week, but the corfam bracelet was in such a terrible state I bought a steel bracelet and waiting for it to arrive...The Dynamic is off for revision..what to do with the ratty corfam bracelet? It does have an Omega buckle! lol! dyna1.png
     
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  10. mikechi22 Sep 12, 2017

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    Keep the buckle, of course! I've got a guy in Bangkok who can fabricate a nice strap in suede for USD $45. I'd love to go for Corfam but that just seems like an unfortunate confection from the Space Age. That's the exact watch I got myself except mine has the blue bulls eye dial.
     
  11. Canuck Sep 12, 2017

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    Rust is clearly evident in the subject Omega, in spite of what the seller said. I hope you like it once you do what you have to do to complete a mechanical and esthetic restoration on it. More of a challenge than I would care to undertake.
     
  12. chipsotoole Sep 12, 2017

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    you may well be right there.....but hey where's the fun in buying "off the peg" ? :)
     
  13. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Sep 12, 2017

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    Some people don't like to be challenged - for me this is the kind of job that I get excited about doing. I just got this 1978 Speedy in yesterday, and I'm looking forward to digging in...

    [​IMG]

    Spec of rust here and there...

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    :)
     
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  14. perks713 Sep 12, 2017

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    @Archer I'd love to see a time lapse of you fixing that guy up!
     
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  15. cristos71 Sep 12, 2017

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    A crusty, rusty and seized Seamaster together with 7077 and a very, very, very average Connie 14381 also with a 7077, picked these both up very cheap as parts watches purely for the bracelets....there have been a couple more over the years but I didn't used to photo these spoils of war ;)

    205 - Copy.jpg

    20141007_160722.jpg
     
  16. chipsotoole Sep 12, 2017

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    Good grief.....Even I have my limits. What on earth are you gonna bathe those rusty parts in? Are most of the parts even saveable? Please give us an after pic!!
     
  17. chipsotoole Nov 23, 2017

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    So it came back from a revision. my watch guy probably did me a bit of a favour as the 565 movement, as we guessed ,was right the edge of being chucked. He gave me quite a wee baggie of parts he swapped out. ...I guess as he was revising a dynamic for me at the same time he was feeling generous. I gave him a JLC bumper to revise as I picked these up too.....I think he's gonna be my new "go to" guy as he turns things around in 6-8 weeks as opposed to 3-4 months like the other guy.
    Anyway . Here it is back in order...I'm very pleased with the results, (apart from the 4mm end of the second hand I clumsily pinged off..I can see that's going to bug me in the long run but I've other projects to be getting on with.)....I'm going to wear it in my rotation for a while and see if we bond. IMG_2938.jpg
     
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  18. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Nov 23, 2017

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    Well, oddly enough I had made a video of this exact thing, but had completely forgotten about this request...now that this thread has popped back up, I might as well post it. So, here you go...I'll warn you it's long and to keep it from being even longer I made the time for each image short, so click on the pause button if you want to look at something closely.



    Cheers, Al
     
  19. McKinley Nov 23, 2017

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    This is deserving of its own thread. It shouldn't be lost, orphaned here.

    McK
     
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  20. chipsotoole Nov 23, 2017

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    Agreed...great video even if it is a bit over my head!!
     
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