Considering a vintage Seamaster

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Always good to see your watches, @Revo - and I greatly enjoy your posts in the vintage Smiths forum on MWR. Glad the community here has managed to help you out - wear your Seamaster in good health!
 
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Always good to see your watches, @Revo - and I greatly enjoy your posts in the vintage Smiths forum on MWR. Glad the community here has managed to help you out - wear your Seamaster in good health!

Thanks. Bit of a departure from my usual. Great forum by the way. No third-party hosting for photos plus kind and helpful support. Also no moderator / admin duties. I like it here! Omega ftw!
 
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Congrats, glad you found something you liked! 👍
Be careful, those Omegas might grow on you— and this place is full of enablers 😉
 
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Congrats, glad you found something you liked! 👍
Be careful, those Omegas might grow on you— and this place is full of enablers 😉

Where do I register my card details? Just take my money already!
 
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Where do I register my card details? Just take my money already!
If you really insist, just click on your own avatar and you might find a way to do that 😁
 
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It's just arrived: Omega Seamaster "Speedmaster Companion"

To be honest I had a mild case of "buyer's remorse" after paying -- or at least some nervousness: would the "technical" dial be too dressy? (It's a slate grey with very fine sunburst bushing to give a soft metallic shimmer.) Would the cross-hairs on the dial bug me? Would the size / shape be OK (it's 34mm)? Etc etc.

Well, so far I think I like it.

The dial is really cool and classy without being fussy; the effect is very subtle. I've always liked matte black dials but this is a bit smarter. Laid flat and out of direct light it just looks a sort of dark graphite. The layout is more or less Speedmaster (lovely aged tritium batons with the two dots at 12). Incidentally, I suspect this has the wrong hands: should be Speedy-style "sticks" but to be honest I think I prefer these dauphine ones.

I'm rubbish with a camera and this is a particularly hard watch to photograph: capturing the dynamic reflection on the dial is impossible and really needs a video. But here's some shots of it in various lighting:
 
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Classic movement and in terrific condition - congratulations. This is a keeper, so don't worry about what you paid. Black dialed sporty watches from the 60's will always be cool. It would look terrific on a leather rally strap. I happen to be wearing one today.



The only caution I have about nylon natos is that they can wear an imprint in the case back. It is usually caused by years of wear and dirt embedded in the fabric. I like natos, but prefer leather, although it is more expensive.
 
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Yes, I hear you about the caseback wear from a pull-though strap but equally they do save a watch in the event of a springbar fail. A while back I went trekking through some woods and halfway round saw my watch hanging by one lug -- I was mighty glad of the NATO that day. Still, I don't want to rub that lovely hippocampus off . . . . Hard to know what strap suits a grey dial though.

P.S. I was going to say a big THANKS to all the members here for your advice and input but then again you are just a bunch of enablers, so . . . . 😁
 
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I was thinking a grey Eulit perlon might be a good look. Annoyingly I thought I had one but I must have sold it with a watch.
Agreed. Perlon is the thinking person's NATO.

*ducks for cover*
 
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I was thinking a grey Eulit perlon might be a good look. Annoyingly I thought I had one but I must have sold it with a watch.

I like perlon, and use one of the redline caseback protection stickers:

http://www.ofrei.com/page227.html

The grey dial is great BTW!
 
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I hate you all. I started this thread looking for a vintage Seamaster. I posted up a couple of links, got some great feedback, was led to consider a "Speedmaster Companion", was pointed to one on ebay, bought it, absolutely love it . . . .but then returned to look at one I was originally considering (a 12, 3, 6, 9 with beefy lugs.) You lot had already told me it was about 50% overpriced but I liked it and suspected it might have a Dennison case. Now for various reasons I am a sucker for them (made near me in Birmingham, England). Cue a bit of back and forth with the seller and I ended up swapping with him for a couple of watches I'd picked up cheap, had repaired and was planning to sell on. So now I've managed to snag two very different Seamasters: a 1967 166.002 (yes, I know it has the wrong hand but I actually prefer these ones) AND a 1950's Dennison-cased which I'm 90% sure is not a redial (please don't tell me otherwise!) So damn you all! My wife, of course, is furious but that's part of the hobby, right? A nice outcome, though, is that both the sellers were lovely to deal with. As for the watches: both are in great condition and both are keeping bang-on time. And she'll get over it.

This place. Just a bunch of enablers.

 
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I hate you all. I started this thread looking for a vintage Seamaster. I posted up a couple of links, got some great feedback, was led to consider a "Speedmaster Companion", was pointed to one on ebay, bought it, absolutely love it . . . .but then returned to look at one I was originally considering (a 12, 3, 6, 9 with beefy lugs.) You lot had already told me it was about 50% overpriced but I liked it and suspected it might have a Dennison case. Now for various reasons I am a sucker for them (made near me in Birmingham, England). Cue a bit of back and forth with the seller and I ended up swapping with him for a couple of watches I'd picked up cheap, had repaired and was planning to sell on. So now I've managed to snag two very different Seamasters: a 1967 166.002 (yes, I know it has the wrong hand but I actually prefer these ones) AND a 1950's Dennison-cased which I'm 90% sure is not a redial (please don't tell me otherwise!) So damn you all! My wife, of course, is furious but that's part of the hobby, right? A nice outcome, though, is that both the sellers were lovely to deal with. As for the watches: both are in great condition and both are keeping bang-on time. And she'll get over it.

This place. Just a bunch of enablers.

My friend, you have arrived. Welcome to the club.
 
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Oh. Slippery slope. Started.

Welcome to the first circle....
 
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Hook line and sinker come to mind 😁
 
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I hate you all. I started this thread looking for a vintage Seamaster. I posted up a couple of links, got some great feedback, was led to consider a "Speedmaster Companion", was pointed to one on ebay, bought it, absolutely love it . . . .but then returned to look at one I was originally considering (a 12, 3, 6, 9 with beefy lugs.) You lot had already told me it was about 50% overpriced but I liked it and suspected it might have a Dennison case. Now for various reasons I am a sucker for them (made near me in Birmingham, England). Cue a bit of back and forth with the seller and I ended up swapping with him for a couple of watches I'd picked up cheap, had repaired and was planning to sell on. So now I've managed to snag two very different Seamasters: a 1967 166.002 (yes, I know it has the wrong hand but I actually prefer these ones) AND a 1950's Dennison-cased which I'm 90% sure is not a redial (please don't tell me otherwise!) So damn you all! My wife, of course, is furious but that's part of the hobby, right? A nice outcome, though, is that both the sellers were lovely to deal with. As for the watches: both are in great condition and both are keeping bang-on time. And she'll get over it.

This place. Just a bunch of enablers.

Yeah, but those dauphine hands are so nice
 
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Both Dials are repainted and re lumed. ......... ........... Just kidding! ( The re lumed is partly true....) Nice Start. Show the next 20, you are about to buy, before you buy and after that, you are ready. Maybe time to buy your wife an old watch too. And bring her on board.... Kind regards. Achim