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  1. mrs_LA Mar 27, 2019

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    Hi all,
    I’m about to purchase my first Omega, a Speedmaster Reduced that I believe dates to 1996 (arguably vintage) based on cal 1141. I’ve sent the payment, but have kindly asked the seller to put on hold while I ask for some advice. I have always been to vintage Omega dress watches, so I am quite surprised that I wanted to get the Speedmaster as soon as I came across it. It must be that egg-y tritium lume on a sports watch...

    Here are some pictures. I am not sure if the lume on the hands are dirty or flaked. The seller said that it was a dark yellow color in person.

    Movement was serviced “several years ago” by the original/first owner, when that is - your guess is as good as mine! I have sent the movement pics to my watchmaker as well, but it’s quite late and he hasn’t gone back to me yet. Hoping some of you guys could help chime in on the condition of the watch. It looks in good condition to me, but I’m not very well informed in Omega sports territory, nor am I familiar with the pros/cons of movements issued and such. I’d like to know if there’s anything that stands out (from the pictures of movement, watch) that might make me think twice on purchasing the watch. Thank you!

    A11908A9-E746-454E-9679-4A7787C883D1.jpeg B08DCC22-F380-4470-A684-A555122FC116.jpeg A4B63D5C-FBEB-423D-9DF7-512AF90AB650.jpeg F80110C3-C6A2-44DE-BCCC-3D1CE3172968.jpeg 6872F03E-7CA2-4B49-A68B-8B2256053E55.jpeg 5E1CF522-AA47-407C-AB07-311642C85B07.jpeg 20B12BB6-FD67-4AC6-BF8B-9F8E8EBE84E6.jpeg 0059F887-FA44-4D61-84D5-461EC9AD9706.jpeg 1B641DCA-100C-44EA-8FDC-38C68F5D4E5A.jpeg
     
    Edited Mar 27, 2019
  2. AJwala Mar 27, 2019

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    Isn't this the Speedmaster reduced? This looks good. I have a similar one. But I would wait for a few more feedback by experts in the forum
     
  3. mrs_LA Mar 27, 2019

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    Yup, it’s the Speedmaster Reduced.
     
  4. Foo2rama Keeps his worms in a ball instead of a can. Mar 28, 2019

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    Edited Mar 28, 2019
    connieseamaster likes this.
  5. efauser I ♥ karma!!! Mar 28, 2019

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    There are a number of threads about the reduced model. A site search will bring them up. You'll find some very strong opinions about the pros and cons.
     
  6. mrs_LA Mar 28, 2019

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    Thanks for the feedback. I did tell the seller that, but he said the lume was still there.

    I am looking specifically into the reduced at an appropriate price point. I actually did look into watchvault, but the prices are much too high than if I purchased one needing service, and sent to my watchmaker.

    I have looked into them briefly prior to making the post. I apologize if I wasn’t clear on asking opinions regarding the specific watch I was about to purchase.

    However, my watchmaker has responded to me as it’s now bright and early here. I thought I would share his response, just in case somebody may be needing future reference as well. The chronograph module would be needing replacement, which is very costly especially from omega (he has a parts account). Just cost of service and module only (who knows what else he will find) would be more than the cost of watch itself, and my watchmaker advised me from purchasing it (from his perspective on the movement).
     
  7. efauser I ♥ karma!!! Mar 28, 2019

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    That seems to be the consensus around here, too.
     
  8. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Mar 28, 2019

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    I would also caution that if someone is claiming their watchmaker has serviced the watch, this often means that they have only serviced the base movement, and have not serviced the chronograph module. This is clearly not a great approach as it's only doing half the job. Note that Omega will take care of these for the same prices as any other chronograph, so my advice to people is to send them to Omega. I'm not sure what your watchmaker was going to charge you, but Omega full service in the US for a chronograph is something like $750 I believe, so not outrageous pricing considering all that they will do along with the movement service...
     
  9. mrs_LA Mar 28, 2019

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    Hi Archer, thank you for that. That’s also why I would much prefer to purchase a watch that is needing service than one that has been claimed to have been serviced, unless there are papers it has been serviced by Omega or a qualified watchmaker.
    For clarification, my watchmaker said that the chronograph module would need replacement, which costs $1,200 from Omega. He charges $500 for service (labor) only.
     
  10. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Mar 28, 2019

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    Omega will service the whole watch, parts included, for $750 - in fact what they do is exchange the old movement for one that has already been serviced (at least that's what they do in some markets). The old movement is then sent back to Swizerland where it is serviced and shipped off to a service center somewhere to be put in another watch - these movement don't have serial numbers so a movement exchange is the common way of handling these.

    For clarification, the chronograph module doesn't need to be replaced unless there is a significant problem with it. It's simply easier for your watchmaker to do so rather than tackle the module, because they are a pain to service.

    Cheers, Al
     
    leafy and mrs_LA like this.
  11. Foo2rama Keeps his worms in a ball instead of a can. Mar 28, 2019

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    So this ones under 1500?
     
  12. mrs_LA Mar 28, 2019

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    Al, great insight and good to know for future reference! Not sure why he said there was a need for it to be replaced, maybe because I said that the watch was from the mid-90s.

    It was priced at $1,660. Plus fees, it came out to around $1,700+