Hello everyone, I bought this watch as a noob back in 2007, i thought it would be easy to get a replacement caseback for it. I've been searching ever since.... only came across 1 in all that time, in a huge job lot of parts that had a BIN of $2000. I've come across a few of these watches with similarly damaged casebacks. Was it the material? Just a bad batch? Or some guy's first day of work at the case factory? Google came up with these results for companies offering laser welding, does anyone have any experience with any of them? http://www.watchcaseworks.co.uk/wrist-watch-case-repairs/ http://www.classicwatchrepair.com/english/case-restoration/ http://www.watchrepair.cc/watchcases.html However, i've been looking at it again, and wondering if it was even worth it to get it repaired? It's not just that chunk that has broken off, there are quite a few little cracks that suggest the whole caseback is fatigued. Sigh... the case is not in the best shape either, but i feel it's a shame to break a watch up for parts though... So, I'd appreciate your thoughts on these options please..... 1. Repair case & caseback 2. Find someone to fabricate a caseback 3. Use as parts
For me, if the watch has emotional significance, I'd spend any amount of money to see it restored. That might mean buying the exact same watch just for the caseback, even if it the rest of it were a polished redial with an incorrect crown: http://m.ebay.com/itm/Elegant-Vintage-OMEGA-Black-Dial-Case-35mm-from-1948-/192097312705?hash=item2cb9e45fc1:g:4EoAAOSwjDZYl548&_trkparms=pageci%3A511536f7-f1dd-11e6-a435-005056b24161%7Cparentrq%3A372c951a15a0a7850436a037fff906ba%7Ciid%3A14Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network If it doesn't, and it's largely an economical decision, then I'd say the watch isn't worth your time and effort.
Both can be repaired by a skilled craftsman by laser welding. Is it worth it?, up to you really. How much, I'd guess around $500 USD
The dial is an uncommon copper color, original Omega, but not to this watch i believe. ( 2348 should be a sweep second ) I actually have the correct leaf hands for it. There are a few small dents around the 4 o'clock area.. quite slight, like i said, this was my noob tax. The case is about 35.5mm without the crown, which is a nice size.