First Post: Restoring Inherited Omega 176.007

Greetings all, it's my pleasure to join this forum and as with many folks, this first post is to respectfully ask for your combined wisdom.

This (formerly) beautiful piece recently entered my collection, as my third Omega, under sad circumstances following the death of a close relative.

My intention is to have it faithfully restored , and while I have tinkered with watches in the past I would not trust myself to attempt this and I’m therefore seeking advice on what to have done and who to trust with it.

Here are my thoughts. Please critique, comment and correct me. Any advice I can get will help me make choices that I won’t regret in bringing it back to life. I wouldn’t say price is not important but this is about sentiment more than profit - I will never sell this watch and I want to do a good job.

I’m not sure if this is considered a restoration or an extremely overdue service, but there is work to do.

Dial - this most certainly falls under restoration - the paint has flaked. Whilst patina would be expected and welcome (tachy ring looks lovely to me) this dial just looks damaged. I would rather it was restored to the original look rather than replaced.


Hands seem OK, so a clean and re-lume

Crystal - this is the original domed hesalite with the elongated Omega logo. Sadly it is cracked and probably beyond repair. I would love to replace like for like but I guess I will have to settle for the newer service replacement types.


Case - OK definition to the edges but some evidence of bad polishing, the sunburst brushing on the top of the case is just visible in the right light. There are these dents and it looks like someone’s made an unsuccessful attempt at buffing them out. I’m torn between a very gentle polish to bring some of the crispness back. Or a restoration polish to restore as new.


Movement - the pictures say it all. Parts to replace. The chrono reset button is seized - heaven knows what lurks beneath.


Case back - erm… my recently departed relative had decided to etch his name and address on it. No photos. But for sentimental reasons I will keep it as is. The hippocampus/seahorse, Omega logo and “Seamaster” are in very light etching but quite heavily eroded and wouldn’t take a polish anyway.

Strap - Original 1184 bracelet just needs a clean and service to tighten up but the endlink is missing on one side. Sadly I have more chance of finding a Covid vaccine than the 653 endlinks - I don’t know what to do here.

I think that covers it. Sorry it’s long. I would love to know who I can trust with this restoration. I am in London, UK. Has anyone tried Omega’s own restoration service? Personally I’ve not had a great experience with their service centre in the UK, is it realistic / wise to to send to Omega in Switzerland?

Basically, I suppose the question is, what would you do if you want the best result?

I don't know if Omega would be the better option, or an independent like STS.

For the dial, any restoration will irreversibly strip all the paint from the watch and has a decent chance of not turning out as well as a factory dial, so I'm not certain of the rationale behind preferring a restoration vs replacement. It looks like the tach ring is a separate piece, but I don't know for sure.

For the case, you could probably find someone to do some laser welding to add material and then refinish the case to factory size and spec, if you end up going the "like new" route.

The crystal is definitely beyond saving unfortunately.

+1 on the crystal.
I like the dial...its not perfect but it's honest patinated wear and tear.. I think I'd focus on getting the brushed finish back on the casing with some careful polishing from a skilled watchmaker.
oh and a thorough clean and service.

It all depends on your point of view..If you want your watches to look like new or not...as this was inherited as opposed to a purchase that's something for you to decide. Keeping it as original as possible is usually the name of the game here...
Kudos on the photos...Very impressive for a first time poster!!

Everyone has different tastes but if it was me and the watch held sentimental value I would have a watch maker clean and service the movement and while he or she is doing that I would hunt down a loose end link for the bracelet. You may end up buying an entire used bracelet but that is what it takes sometimes. The alternative is find something close and shape it to fit. Not impossible. The dial, to me, is the heart of a sentimental keepsake watch so the most I would do is have it clear-coated to stabilize the remaining surface. The speckles have a pleasant nite sky stars kinda look 😁

Edit: forgot to mention the case and crystal. Yea I would replace the crystal but leave the case alone save for a light cleaning.

you are in the right forum. there are pretty good vintage watch service here or referrals. for sentimental reason, repair cost may be secondary to that nice watch.😉

Folks, thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts.

If nothing else, it's made me realise that I was thinking of too much, too quickly. Perhaps I should tackle the critical repairs first; crystal, movement and cleaning. Then take stock of the aesthetics later.

That said I will first send it to Bienne as recommended by gatorcpa, this was always my preference to preserve originality so I'm relieved to see that recommended.

You are absolutely right, that's exactly what I thought when I first looked at it - for a second I even thought it might be a special / limited edition dial. But then when you see the heavier flaking around the sub dial at 6 o'clock... 🙁

Whatever happens, I will do my best to come back to this thread with further updates and pictures. Hopefully you and I will not be disappointed.

Thank you. In fact, photography is my other hobby. Although I didn't have my macro lens for these, they were taken using my mobile phone and a 7x loupe. I am really pleased with the result! I will get some better quality ones when I'm home to document the restoration.

Thanks again to all, you didn't disappoint!