Hello all, after searching the web for hours, i finally gave up trying to identify this watch and decided to come here to ask for your help. My dad passed away 2 years ago and left behind alot of clocks and watches, he starting acquiring pieces for his collection from 1950's till he passed away. Long story short..my mom has asked me to find values and/or cut down the collection a bit. It now stands at around 1000 clocks and 3000 watches. I started doing research a little bit at a time and this Seamaster has me stumped...
Apart from the obvious writing on the dial 'Omega Seamaster' and the orange squares above the markers (Which i haven't found on the internet)
The case back has the following: 176.0015 & 376.0804. And just under the balance wheel there is an Omega symbol with 861.
After researching the numbers I've come to the conclusion that maybe the case back is not for this particular watch because it keeps coming up with Speedmaster and not Seamaster.
Any help regarding age and an estimated value would be greatly appreciated. What is surprising is this watch had been in storage for at least 25 years and as soon as it was wound it started ticking away and is keeping excellent time. The Crystal is in rough shape but the dial is superb.
I have attached some pictures of it...

 

Hello, here is a link with information, you have a very nice watch. Try to make the pictures with natural day light, without direct light exposure.
http://chronomaddox.com/c1045_in_detail.html

 

Interesting.

A tachy dial and a tachy on the crystal?

A Seamaster in a Speedie MK2 case, yes, there have been.

No reference to it on the OVDB or in AJTT. However the late Chuck Maddox did discuss some of these variants but not a specific example like this.

The serial No on the movement could help, I'd say it's a pre 1971 861 due to the lack of the delrin widget thingy.

Bracelet numbers are also a help if the bracelet is original to the watch.

Clearer front-on pics and better pics of movement and bracelet might help.

I'm not calling it a bitsa just yet, but........................

 

Thanks for the fast reply, I came across that link before, I didn't find this particular watch though, Those were all Speedmasters and this is a Seamaster, Also, most of those watches have a day/date display at '3', my own doesn't. I'll read a bit more and see if i can find anything else.
Thanks alot for your help though.

 

Hi there,
176.0015 1974 c.1045
Tonneau /Bar Bracelet 43.2 mm 42.0 mm 39.0 mm 15.1 mm 155.15 g n/a
2nd Case Ref#376.0804 (Bclt 1204/212

I found that on the site that Vintage said to check out. That bracelet number matches the one on my watch. But what about the lack of a day/date window?
What is a bitsa?

 

This is obviously a transplant. The case, crystal and bracelet belong to an Auto Speedmaster while the dial and movement from a early 70 Seamaster c. 861.

 

A bitsa is a local term for something, like a mixed breed dog for example, where the sum is comprised of parts from many sources.

Bits of this, bits of that = a bitsa.

I applied it to this example as I don't think it's a franken, which in my opinion is a combination of parts meant to deceive or mislead.
It may have been that your father managed to gather enough donor parts to make a watch like this.

I agree with rolexfantastic that it's a transplant, but I'd be interested to know where all of the donations came from.

 

Thanks for all your help JimlnOz, Is there a way to find or trace serial numbers? The serial number on the movement is 29119068.
Would this 'bitsa' be worth anything or should it be dumped or scrapped?

 

The serial No dates the movement to about 1969.

I'd definitely not dump it, the 861 should be removed and put up for sale, maybe the bracelet too, don't know about the other parts but somebody else may offer an opinion.

 

Unfortunately, Mom already threw away alot of the watches, i just dug up a box that had about 20 or so more Omegas inside. Do you guys think i should try to sell it off One at a time or should i list them all as a lot? There are a few that says 'the first watch worn on the moon' and most of the others are solid gold. I also have another dozen or two Omega Pocket watches, mostly solid gold as well. My dad wasn't one for much record keeping so I'm more or less depending on Google for research. Any advice is greatly appreciated.. Is there a for sale section here? Or is eBay my best bet?

 

Most of the gold ladies watches have no real collector value and you would be better off using eBay with a sensible reserve price and let the market decide. Some ladies still like the small "cocktail" watches similar to the ones you have posted.

Make sure you are aware of the gold carat/weight value in the watch, that will set your reserve price.

The gold mens dress watches are in the same boat, most seem to get melted for gold value but the movements are often saved which is a good thing for collectors needing spares.

Others like the Seamaster and moon watches should be put on the sales forum here.

If they don't get picked up you may get comments about the watch that will aid you in a subsequent eBay sale.

Ones with their original boxes will command a slightly higher price, and there's even a market for the boxes alone.

Post them all up in the FS forum and see how it goes.

 

Gaaaaaaaaagh!!!!!

I just saw that. Get thee to the landfill stat!

If you have (or HAD) around 3,000 (three THOUSAND) watches, based on the immutable laws of chance and luck, you'll have 2,000 clunkers, 500 maybes, and the balance worth something between $1000 and $5000. Each.

Maybe

Good luck with your sales, now start taking good clear pics of the front, side and back of the sellers.

Try to photograph in natural daylight and use the macro function on your camera. If you're going to be selling a lot of watches, look at a "studio" setup. Nothing fancy, just a tripod to give steady shots, a cheap light tent to diffuse glare and provide even lighting.

 

Thanks again for your advice, I currently have a friend posting some watches on eBay for me, we decided to try ebay with some of the less expensive watches before we post the others.He posted them all with no reserve for less than the current gold market value.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/edbat123/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=50Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network
I will try the for sale forum here, but i will have to do research on the prices, karat, etc. I see others brands posted on the forum here as well, I have alot of those brands to get rid of, I have a few brand new never worn Jaeger Lecoultre reversos, Patek Philippe, Iwc, Too many to list, I also a few Breitlings and about 40 Rolex's to Dispose of.. This seems like its going to be hard work. Better this than my mom going into cleaning mode...
Should i have the Omegas serviced before posting them here?

 

Actually, we had closer to 5000 or so watches, whats left is about 3000.
I agree with investing in a small photo studio/ light box, I'm having quite a bit of trouble with the photos. Darn reflections when using flash, and without flash the color is off.

 

No, but disclose the fact that the watch may not have been recently serviced and recommend buyer gets it serviced.

And make sure you use our FS forum

Any watch you post on there will appear on sites like Watch Recon anyway so you'll have a large target audience.

 

No flash. lightbox, or even a white sheet/curtain on the window and try to shoot in natural light.

Where do you live, I could come and help you take the watches, whoops, I mean take the photos.

 

Dial/movement are from a ref 145.024, Jedi.