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Hello. A nice person from here messaged me on Reddit.

T
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Well as the title says, someone directed me here from Reddit. I posted my fathers watch knowing little about it. Care instructions etc. most of everyone was super helpful. I learned it’s a James Bond watch. Omega seamaster and it’s battery powered. I was asking whether I needed to send it in to Omega to service. General consensus there was yes, but some said no.

a little backstory; it was my dads he passed away in 2015 this watch was his every day wear. He wore it every single day since he bought it. I was directed to the serial number which I think means it was made in 1998. He wore this watch through everything. So every mark on it tells his story. Anyway. I just wanted to share: and I I guess re ask where I should service, what it needs, and just general info on it. Thank you all so much for your time.
 
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Scarecrow Boat
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Welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing! Where about in the world are you located? With that, we will be able to give you more guided help on where to send it 😀
 
dsio
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Nice, looks like a 2541.80 quartz as used in Goldeneye
 
T
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Scarecrow Boat Scarecrow Boat
Welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing! Where about in the world are you located? With that, we will be able to give you more guided help on where to send it 😀

Hello there! I’m in South Georgia now, USA. And thank you!
 
dsio
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The three things I’d try to preserve on that watch are the dial hands and bezel, the bezel looks great with that fade to it and a new deep blue one won’t look nearly as cool
 
T
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dsio dsio
The three things I’d try to preserve on that watch are the dial hands and bezel, the bezel looks great with that fade to it and a new deep blue one won’t look nearly as cool
Awesome! Thank you! I did notice from pictures online that the bezel seemed a lot darker than mine. I guess after so many years of constant wear my dads faded a touch. Makes more sense now. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
 
Franco
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I would advise you find quality independent watchmaker rather than sending it to Omega. So you avoid it to be refurbished "as new".

You do want to mantain some signs of age, which are part of the watch and of its life with your father. An independent will just clean it in an ultrasonic bath, change battery and is good for a few years to go.

If you have no intention of using it, the other option is to put it back in his box and keep it as it is, as a memory
 
Tako Yaki
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Beautiful piece!
Definitely, You have to make it clear to the watchmaker who service it, to keep that fantastic patina!
After all, You want Your fathers watch, not a new (looking) one!
 
nzshadow
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Yay! You came over.

Do take your time with selecting a watchmaker to trust your heirloom to, as noted on Reddit - Omega have a habit of replacing parts. The worn parts on your watch are its soul.
 
Socks
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dsio dsio
The three things I’d try to preserve on that watch are the dial hands and bezel, the bezel looks great with that fade to it and a new deep blue one won’t look nearly as cool

Would agree with this and particularly with the faded bezel. They look far better faded in real life than on a photo. Big fan of the bracelet as well.
IMG_3069.jpg IMG_2912.jpg
 
nzshadow
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+1 on the faded bezel. It elevates the look. It is such a great piece.
 
amcclell
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A modern classic Omega design - congrats! If it works, and your funds are limited, you can get a fresh battery installed and wear it. A service will clean everything up nicely but there are plenty of parts for these watches if you want to delay the additional TLC. Quartz watches don't require the same service frequency.
 
LesXL
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Nice watch and souvenirs... Hopefully, you will be adding yours before passing it on to the next generation, but not so quickly so you can first enjoy it.

As many said, advise to keep the bezel as it looks good and it is also in very clean condition (no major scratches etc).

Welcome to the forum!
 
nzshadow
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amcclell amcclell
A modern classic Omega design - congrats! If it works, and your funds are limited, you can get a fresh battery installed and wear it. .. Quartz watches don't require the same service frequency.

This. This is what I would do. Have the battery changed & see if that gets it going. I wouldn't really touch a thing after that. Wearing the watch honours the way your father wore it every day.
 
JwRosenthal
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Welcome and such a nice keepsake of your father. As said already, you can have the battery replaced by any decent watch shop and if it runs, it runs. The hope is that the battery in there hasn’t leaked. It will eventually need to be serviced though as there are moving parts, and the waterproof seals on the back and crown are probably toast by this point- so don’t go swimming with it until it has been pressure tested.
 
Walrus
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Very nice. Great reminder of your father and cool you are looking to take care of it. I have a couple of my grandfathers and fathers watches. They both liked watches but thought it was unwise to put a lot of money into something like a watch (damn they would be pissed at me) I think watches are one of the best heirlooms someone can get. They tend to stick around and I bet you can always picture your father wearing it. Glad you made the journey from Reddit, in the past I saw two posts on Reddit of people who had inherited omegas and had questions I pmd them suggesting they ask over here I don’t think they ever did. Take good care, it’s a wild world and beware.
 
blueteg
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What an awesome memento to remember your father by.
I would imagine that your local Omega boutique would carry the correct battery for it and can pop the back off of it and install it for you while you wait in the store. It looks like the Levy Jewelers in Savannah is listed as authorized retailer. So they might be a good start for just a basic battery change and quick visual assessment of the movement.

As mentioned already, I wouldn't let them take it in for a full service (something where you leave it with them and then get it back many days/weeks later) until you can get a recommendation from someone in the SE United States that has experience with an independent watch maker servicing their vintage Omega. Sometimes Omega, or other watchmakers will replace and polish away much of the character of the watch with the intention of "making it look new again".
Edited:
 
padders
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dsio dsio
The three things I’d try to preserve on that watch are the dial hands and bezel, the bezel looks great with that fade to it and a new deep blue one won’t look nearly as cool
All true but that looks like a Superluminova model to me so even if the dial or hands were changed they wouldn’t look any different and there wouldn’t be the obvious mismatch you get on the earlier tritium pieces. The bezel is particularly nice with an even fade but little damage. It would indeed be a shame if that were swapped.
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