Hey all! Thanks in advance for any info or advice you might have -- this is a pretty amazing forum, and I've learned a lot just from digging around.

Sometime in the mid-90s (I was in my early 20s) my grandmother let me pick one of my late grandfather's watches -- I don't remember what the other options were (some of them were prob quite a bit fancier) but I was super attracted to this old Omega Seamaster. I just really dug it's compact size and awesomely iridescent dial and the little applied-gold numerals. It's come with me throughout life, but I've actually never worn it -- but these days I think I'd like to start wearing it at least from time to time. So I'd love to know more about it, and also have a few questions.

First, I'm interested in any info about the watch -- what it is, when it's from etc. I've figured out that it's a bumper automatic (I assume cal.354) and gold-capped, but I'm not sure how to remove the case back to get more info.

And then I'm curious about what best to do with it! It still works -- even if it's been sitting in a drawer for years, it starts ticking away shortly after I pick it up. And it keeps at least decent time -- I wound and set it this afternoon, and now it's 8ish hours later and it's still showing the correct time.

It has a minor glitch, though -- the second hand stutters a couple of times each rotation. And obviously it's pretty dirty in way that goes beyond 'patina'. So I'm curious about what the best moves for dealing with those things would be. Would it be best practice to get it cleaned and serviced? Should I leave the outside as-is? Any advice in those areas would be super appreciated.

Thanks for your help!

 

One other sort of interesting datapoint -- I'm pretty sure this watch hasn't been regularly worn in like 50 years. My grandfather had a pretty large collection of watches and many that were newer. This one probably left the rotation decades before I got it. In any case it's been a *really* long time since it had any kind of service or maintenance!

 

Nice.
Get it cleaned & oiled.
Specify No Polishing.
Choose an independant Omega qualified watchmaker. Don't send too Omega.
Don't remove the back

 

Excellent, thanks so much for the tips! Is there a ballpark amount I can expect to pay for that service? (If it makes a difference, I'm in NYC, so I assume there are a bunch of watchmaker options -- searching the forum for advice on that now.)

 

Interesting (at least to me!): after a bit more digging I found this page on the Omega website, which certainly looks a lot like my watch:

https://www.omegawatches.com/en-us/watch-omega-seamaster-omega-ko-2767

The crown is different, is it likely mine was replaced at some point? (I of course have no idea -- if it was, it happened a zillion years ago.) And the hands don't look to be exactly the same -- mine have a black stripe where these seem to have a lighter colored one (although hard to tell much for certain in this black-and-white photo).

Anyway, should I be confident that my watch is at least that model?

Thanks again for any info! Trying to dig up info on my grandfather's watch has made for an interesting weekend. (Although I'm a little worried I'm about to drop down a horological rabbit hole and start a collection!)

 

Welcome to the rabbit hole.
In watch world, the model is called a reference. The reference number will be on the inside of the caseback. I am not an expert, but you seem to have at least gotten close to the right example. Very desirable piece.
The crown is replaced, as was common.
The hands look different due to radium lume patinating. It would have started out light, & darkened over time. You should find similar dark dots on the dial, near the hour markers.

 

Thanks! Super appreciate the time you've taken to respond. Digging more, I *think* it's more likely a Ref 2567, although that and Ref 2767 are super similar. And it looks most like older versions I've found photos of, prob from sometime right around 1950 with a 351 movement. I'm super curious to know for sure, and would love to open it up, but will try to take photos of the caseback and movement when I take it to be cleaned/oiled. Is the crown definitely not original? I've seen photos of old Seamasters with a non-logo crown like the one this watch has, but of course that isn't a super reliable datapoint given they could also have had replacement crowns.
Anyway, I loved the watch before I knew anything about it, and am even more interested in it now!

 

Not all Omega's had signed crowns in the old days. I'm basing my opinion on the overall crown design. The crown with the small number of large divots is more likely correct for this watch than the one on it. Now you are down the rabbit hole, you will browse a whole lot of pics of old watches, & notice fashions change over time re crown designs, & other parts.

Have you found a thread about watchmakers? If the OF search function isn't working well, try googling what you want, but add omega forum to the search items. It often works better.

 

I found a few threads about NYC watchmakers -- not a huge amount of enthusiasm about most of them (it being New York, either the prices are super high, the work isn't great, or the operation is somehow shady), but saw a few decent-seeming options. Will call a couple tomorrow and see what they say.

My assumption is that cleaning and oiling the watch is a pretty minor procedure, is that correct? (And is there a typical price for that service?)

There is one more thing -- it seems to be losing a bit more than a minute a day. Is it possible the cleaning/oiling might fix that? If not, I'm ok with it not being a perfect timekeeper for the moment -- prob not looking to spend $500 (or whatever it would end up costing to get it fully repaired) until I'm sure I'm going to be using it regularly.

Oh, and about the crown! That's something I'm mostly just curious about, since I'm not going to sell it. I do like the idea of it being an (at least mostly) intact, functioning object from another era (and of course that it was my grandfather's!). And I'm getting pretty into the geekery and bit of sleuthing it takes to figure out what it is!

 

I mail my watches for service, because there are no close choices. But maybe that is best for NY'ers too.
I am an Aussie, so can't recommend.
There must be some expert vintage watch repairers in the USA, as there are in England.
A decent one could may have a source for proper crowns.
I expect a service would solve the watches problems. Expect some parts to need replacement.

You could start a new thread about watchmaker recommendations, if you need to.

 

I believe you're correct that it's a 2767, here is one owned by me once:



Lovely watches

 

Very nice watch! And a lot cleaner than mine! Was the face the same champagne-y iridescent color as mine, or some other material? And do you have a sense of how much a watch like this would go for? I'm just very curious. I was pleased to learn that Omega made a very similar commemorative Seamaster last year -- that's just a cool indication that this design (albeit in stainless) is one that the company sees as as significant.

 

You can use this as a guide and then adjust for time of sale and condition of item: https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-seamaster-2767-1-cal-354.42025/

It is fair to point out that these are bit less common than the very comparable 2577, but probably less valuable - all things being equal - due to the snapback design as opposed to the construction of the 2577 which has a screw-down caseback.

Bear also in mind that yours have lume plots at 3-6-9-12 which I haven't seen on other examples; it could either be an uncommon trait or a sign of reluming with/without prior dial cleaning. The hour hand looks like it is a replacement, but I am not 100% sure.

 

Huh! Interesting! What about the hour hand looks potentially wrong? I assume it's the triangle-shaped mark, as opposed to the line on the minute hand? Doing some digging today I've definitely found other examples of similar watches with lume plots (useful lingo, thanks!), but it's not common, and for all I know they could have had dial work done. Here's one, although it has two dots at 12:00:
https://www.mywatchmart.com/listing...reshly-serviced-354-bumper-movement-675-obro/

It's a little sad that I can never know the answers to these things for sure, but whatever work was done to this watch, it likely happened a half-century ago. As I said in an earlier post, this was not a watch that had been in use for many, many years when I got it 25ish years ago. Which makes it feel like a minor miracle when I pick it up and give it a couple gentle shakes and it comes back to life -- it feels like an almost living connection to a long-lost world.

Anyway, thanks so much for your help -- these are all very interesting things to know. Given that I plan to keep the watch this isn't much of a concern, but it sounds like even if were to spend, say, $500 servicing it, that likely wouldn't wildly exceed the value of the watch or anything.

 

I would be fine spending $500 on it.

 

Good to know, but hoping it won't require that much work! Given that it runs at least semi decently -- loses a minute-ish a day -- is there any reason I shouldn't just use put it on a strap and use it as is for a while?

 

i woke up this morning and my limbs worked, therefore I didn’t need to warmup before my workout; I found a ‘67 Mustang in a barn and it started so I drove it 1000 miles before I checked the oil; I found a watch that still works after 25 years in a drawer so...

 

Parts for old watches can be hard to find. Best to treat them kindly.
If you treat it like a consumable, it will get consumed.

 

Haha ok, fair points both of you! Thanks for the sage advice. One last question then -- can the exterior of the watch be cleaned but not polished? And is even some very light polishing a clearly bad idea? (I don't at all want it to be new-shiny -- I like that it's watch that shows its considerable age.)

 

It can be cleaned. Professionals use an ultrasonic bath when dismantled.
I use a soft cloth dipped in baby oil to clean the exterior.