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Help with a 60s Seamaster De Ville purchase?

artvandelay0
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Hi Folks!

I recently purchased, but can return, a Seamaster De Ville. Seller listed it as a 1965, however no reference number / photos of movement have been shown. Caseback has a custom engraving for an employee's years of service, so no hippocampus. Seller indicates the watch is running / keeping time but no specificity of service records or anything like that. The price is about $500, if that makes a difference.

Comparing the dial and hands to some known redials and franken watches, thanks to spending time reading old threads here, the dial seems to be ok. However I still have a very untrained eye. Anything I’m missing here?

I guess beyond a typical re-dial concern, my question is if I should always be looking to align case references and movements to confirm it's not a franken, or are there ways to figure this out without opening up the watch?

I’ve attached some photos of the watch as well. Could you folks let me know how you think this should be approached - e.g., does it seem like it's truly original?

Thanks!
omega3.PNG omega2.PNG omega1.PNG
 
amcclell
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Dial crown and hands all look good to me. It is in the 1960's range from a style standpoint, but you will need the caseback reference and serial number on the movement to estimate the year of production. I see nothing that would indicate that it is not from 1965. The lugs of the case and bezel appear sharp. If you purchase this, count on doing a service - and if it is not needed, consider that a bonus.
 
artvandelay0
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amcclell amcclell
Dial crown and hands all look good to me. It is in the 1960's range from a style standpoint, but you will need the caseback reference and serial number on the movement to estimate the year of production. I see nothing that would indicate that it is not from 1965. The lugs of the case and bezel appear sharp. If you purchase this, count on doing a service - and if it is not needed, consider that a bonus.

thanks mate! Probably a stupid question, but anything I can look for that would key me into not needing a service? I want to make sure I’m considering an additional $200 (is that a decent ballpark for service?) or so onto the price if needed
 
connieseamaster
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Dial text seems odd to me. The "Automatic" seems small and further away from "Omega" than I'd expect
 
nicks
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Nice watch, looks fine.

You’ll need a watchmaker to let you know if it needs a service, but expect that it will. At $500, you have some room to pay for a service, which of course would be good for several years.

That bracelet doesn’t fit and is likely scratching the watch, so you should get rid of it and find a nice strap.
 
artvandelay0
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nicks nicks
Nice watch, looks fine.

You’ll need a watchmaker to let you know if it needs a service, but expect that it will. At $500, you have some room to pay for a service, which of course would be good for several years.

That bracelet doesn’t fit and is likely scratching the watch, so you should get rid of it and find a nice strap.

Thanks - with my hesitations I’m wondering if it just makes more sense to pay a bit more for one I know has been serviced, has photos of the movement, etc. but looking to gather some more opinions still. If it’s only an additional $1-200 I don’t mind paying for a service. Just didn’t know if that was a $500 investment on top
 
nicks
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I think you may have misread my post. What I mean is that with the very reasonable $500 purchase price, you can afford to pay for a service (if needed) and still have a very good watch at a good price. Depending on where you are, a service from a good independent watchmaker should cost around $250.

That would be a keeper for me.
 
artvandelay0
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nicks nicks
I think you may have misread my post. What I mean is that with the very reasonable $500 purchase price, you can afford to pay for a service (if needed) and still have a very good watch at a good price. Depending on where you are, a service from a good independent watchmaker should cost around $250.

That would be a keeper for me.

Sure, yeah, I think I maybe misspoke in my post. I wanted to make sure it wouldn’t be, like, $500 additional for a good servicing. That would make me reasses some other options so wanted to clarify 😀
 
Biezmez
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Hi
Dial and hands look ok. Most likely a 165.020 with a 552 movement. Is there a problem with the top left lug being a bit bent? Doesn’t look totally straight in the last photo you’ve posted, but might just be the angle of the photo.

Regards
Chris
 
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