History of 354 cal bumper

Spruce

Some of the above posters are anxious that the dial on your watch is not the original dial which, if it were, might make the watch more valuable and desirable to a serious collector.

It is suspected that at some stage, and judging by the dial condition, many years ago, the then owner may have had the dial refinished or given a 'make over'.

I can’t say whether it was or wasn’t but my suspicion, if it was refinished or reprinted or just 'touched up', is that it was done at the behest of the then owner, who just wanted his daily wearer watch to look a bit crisper.

All members of the OF are anxious to avoid old watches that have been made up to look to be in better condition than they really were before being ‘refurbished' in order to increase their re-sale value to the more susceptible buyer.

In my view, whether or not your watch dial is original or has been refinished, it was probably so long ago that even that refinishing might have an antique value.

If it was refinished, it was refinished carefully and without an intention to show your watch to be something it wasn’t or isn’t.

You’re clearly not a collector. All you’ve done is bought a 67 year old watch to wear. You’ve probably not paid a huge amount and you’ll get a lot of pleasure from wearing it.

Edward53

Personally I like that dial and I believe the paint finish is original. Any apparent wonkiness of the script is IMO due entirely to the nature of the dial. Painted script on a relief surface with numerous different angles can never look the same as on a flat surface, but on zooming in very close the words Omega Automatic appear to me to be correctly aligned, spaced and shaped. Everything else about the dial looks good to me. We are naturally suspicious of black dials as this area is subject to more trickery than most, but @Leep I think you have a real winner there.

L Leep

@Edward53 that makes me a double winner! I love the watch anyway, but to feel that it is all genuine, and a much loved item which has obviously been kept in great condition by the original owner(s), is very much a bonus. Thank you for the positive comment.

hoipolloi

Attached is your dial and mine, another 2577 with Seamaster on the dial.

hoipolloi

Yes, it is correct