Help with battery and crown replacment for Seamaster 1342.

Hello,

I was wondering if someone would be able to help with some advice on this Seamaster quartz that's in rather bad shape.


This is my father's old watch that he wore daily for as long as I can remember and I believe he got it around the time I was born (1979). the watch needs a new battery and was hoping someone could point me in the right direction for a replacement as assume due to its age it would have probably used a now obsolete battery judging by the corroded West German mercuric oxide one I took out.

There was a fair bit of corrosion on the battery terminal, but I think that it should still be ok with the remaining intact plating.


The larger issue is it is missing a crown, is this going to be impossible to get a replacement for, and if not, how hard will the installation be for a hobbyist?

My father was recently diagnosed with inoperable bowel cancer and I would like to get this back up and running for him as I know it holds decades of fond memories for him.

For bonus points, the case back Oring has also got to the point where it has lost any flex or protection, so if anyone knows what size I would need to replace it I would be very appreciative.

Thank you for any input!

The original 388 mercury battery is no longer available, but most people use 329 silver oxide battery as its replacement. The 329 is slightly smaller, so it may need a plastic adapter ring to keep the battery in place.

Hi Pigeon,
I'm sorry to hear about what you're all going through and I wish them the best.

I had a similar task to what you did, which I briefly documented on here; I had to replace a crown and stem on a 1332. I bought the parts and took my time one evening. Thanks to what @Archer gave you (they also helped me on my post), you can search up the parts online if you really wanted to do it yourself. You and I don't have the experience or knowledge though so if something goes wrong, we'd be in trouble. I just did it as there was no sentimental value, and the service price for a similar quartz Omega I have was $700aud, nearly double what it was worth. I basically went in thinking I'd try my best but was prepared to lose it.

I was given another Seamaster Quartz before the 1332 which appears very similar to yours, and as @lejaune points out, the battery isn't made anymore. I needed to order a little adapter ring, which is literally just a thin round strip of metal that wraps around the battery. Mind you, I shot one of the battery holder screws into space when I first undid it, and it never reentered our orbit.

As stated, I'm no expert or watchmaker etc. but I did originally test my 1332 though by holding a button-cell battery to it, just to see if it'd tick and it did. This is probably blasphemy to read and I don't know if it's potentially damaging etc, but maybe try buying the new battery first and just seeing if it works? I can see rust around the screws on the edge of the movement/case so getting a missing crown may not be your only issue.

Let us know how it goes.