Hello all,
My name is Mick, I am new to the Omega Forums; this is my first post.

Just a quick introduction, I am from a small town in the north of England. I work as a Special Process Quality Engineer in the Aerospace Industry. My hobbies and interests are automotive/cars (Classic Mini's to precise) and watches/horology (of course ).

I have just bought my first vintage Omega from an online Watch Company (who also advertise on ebay), it is an Omega Seamaster 600. I have read a lot about dodgy sellers and vintage watches made up of various bits and bobs from different models; so would really appreciate some feedback and your expertise.

These are details as provided by the seller, I have also attached some pictures.
I asked the seller to remove the back/case and send a picture of the movement. Since receiving the watch I have not managed to take the case/back off yet (fear of damaging/scratching the case, without the correct tooling), so I am yet to verify.

Brand
Omega
Series
Seamaster 600
Model / Serial
135.011 / 23255465
Age
Circa 1966
Case
Gold plated
Case Size
34mm
Bracelet
Leather
Dial
Silver, gold batons
Movement
Hand-wind mechanical, cal 601


Thanks again!!

 

Welcome Mick here on OF!

To me it looks like an original state, clean watch in very good condition.
Parker's is no place for bargains but I think everyone should decide what he is willing to pay for a watch.
Small scratch on caseback, crown is original (I think), looks fine to me.

I think it is not neccessary to open the caseback if you don't want to, wouldn't make sense for Parkers to insert another movement.

Have fun wearing it!

 

Not 'the' Mick Walsh? Not unless you're being sarcastic about the Minis.

 

Hello Mick

Preston area? Or over the other side?

I was in aircraft for 40 years starting in manufacturing and then moving to Stress/Design etc. Plus, I have a classic Mini and I have an interest in horology as well as I've changed to being a watchmaker... You're obviously of a similar mindset.

Looks like a clean cal 601 and as @Passover has said, the rest looks correct. I wouldn't get it wet without having a water resistance test but I hope they serviced it for you.

Enjoy your watch and the forum.

Regards, Chris

 

Nice watch, a good start into Omegas. Enjoy it!

 

Congrats on your choice, enjoy this beauty!

In my personal view, this is a near to perfect design for a sleek and elegant dress-watch. I have bought an identical one some months ago from a German dealer. The only difference is that mine is a 1964 production. Following the Standard Operation Procedure for each newly acquired watch, I instantly gave it to my watchmaker who will check and optimize it.

My very first Omega was a silver steel model of exactly the same design, 1966 production just like your golden one. Together with the golden one this will now be a nice twin-set.

Question to all specialists among the readers: Has the Seamaster 600 of exactly this design ever also been produced in some solid gold case version (as far as I know, the answer is no), or is this 40 micron gold plated type the most we can get regarding gold of this type?

 

Welcome Mick. I think you've picked up a very nice 600, the movement looks pristine and I consider the 601 to be one of Omegas finest manual wind calibers (all the 30T2 fanboys just chocked on their cafe au latte). All of the info provided by Parkers matches the pics of the watch.
Don't worry about removing the caseback until you have the right tools and a clean environment.

 

My first Omega too (actually my first ever watch).

I've never seen a 600 in solid gold or gold cap, all the versions I've seen are either SS or 40µ gold plate.

 

No, unfortunately they only made them in gold plated cases. No solid gold or gold cap cases were made.

 

Hi Mick!
I am big fan of the SM600 myself and have owned several of them over the years. The dial and movement seems to be in an excellent condition. It may just be the photos, but unfortunately some of the plating of the lugs seems to have been worn through.
How much did you pay for it?

 

There were several solid gold Geneve models using the 600 series movements but I've not personally seen any marked up as Seamasters.

 

I have a 18K solid gold Seamaster from 1960 with a cal. 600 movement, so they were definitely a thing You are right about solid gold Geneves with a 600 movement. I have seen lots and lots of them, but the Seamaster 600 haven't been produced with a solid gold case.

 

You are right, I do own one of these myself. Ref. 131.041 Genève with cal. 601 pure manual wind movement, 14k solid gold case, 1970 production. A very nice thing, near to NOS condition.

 

Welcome.

As @Passover says Parkers is not necessarily the cheapest but they have been trading for a long time and I know that if you had any concerns about the watch they would take it back.

 

I also fully agree, the cheapest buy isn’t always necessarily the best one. Of course the price is a main issue, and everybody – including myself – is happy to make a good bargain. Some few times one would even intentionally take a risk. But generally there are also a lot of other criteria (like e.g. the reputation of a dealer), and each of them finally has some kind of value. It is the whole package of all conditions and circumstances that is to be taken into consideration.

 

Thanks @Passover @MCC @Hnansen @JimInOz @ChrisN @KingCrouchy and all for the information and response!!

I have bought (and just received) an 'Extract of the Archives' from Omega for this watch . The certificate has come back from Omega saying that the model is a Geneve, when I placed the order I gave the stalls of the movement number, calibre, watch/case ref number and stated that it is a Seamaster .

The watch is a seamaster; do you know if the Geneve movement is used in the Seamaster 600 or does this watch have a modified faced?

Little confused as I expected the Extract of the Archives certificate to state that it is a Seamaster .

Many thanks

 

Hello, either the movement got swapped with a Geneve or they have some error in their database.
Just look at the link and the Image
https://www.omegawatches.com/de/watch-omega-seamaster-600-jd-135-0011

The Cal.601 got used in many different watches of Omega, here a list on their database
https://www.omegawatches.com/de/vintage-watches?v_watches_calibre=3080

More knowledgeable members will for sure add more.

 

I'm sorry my question is only tangential to the subject, but why is this model actually called "600"?

 

I believe the 600 name for these watches related to the calibre - the 600 series of which the 601 is one. The 600 series have a lot of common parts with the 550-565 autos and these were the standard 1960s manual and automatic calibres.

This particular calibre (601) was used in various models as @KingCrouchy says. I'm not sure why the extract came back with a different model than you expected as 135.011usually shows as an SM600. Note that the movement serial in your picture is not the same as in your text . Which number did you give them? The picture serial seems to end 163 and it may be you have an extract for the serial ending 465 which may not be yours - I can't see the serial number in the picture that well on my phone so may be mistaken.

Cheers, Chris

 

As far as I know, both the Cosmic and the 600 were Seamasters and both could house the manual wind 601 movement, however they are not the same watch so there is something odd with this. As @KingCrouchy said this could be a movement swap at some stage or an error.

If I was guessing I would think that the movement was probably swapped at some stage because they are both 601.

I am sure that someone else might be able to shed a bit more light on this.