Sorry for the crappy phone pics (best camera I have).

I recently acquired a vintage Omega on an impulse buy. When I first saw it I fell in love because how similar the dial looked to a speedmaster; a dress watch version of the speedmaster dial. I had never seen an omega like this before. I know you're supposed to buy watches on ebay with your brain and not your heart but I couldn't resist.

Before I did make the purchase though, I tried doing some research on the watch. I didn't find anything that looked exactly like this watch which made me a little hesitant but everything else (to me) seemed like it was legitimate. On the ebay listingPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network, the seller provided ample pictures of the watch and movement, info about the serial number and reference number etc. and it seemed that everything was in good shape and still had evidence with the degraded lume and hands and a small mark on the omega logo that it was old and the dial was not repainted. I did not pay the full buy me now price (quite a lot lower than $680). Apparently it is a 1966 (as evidenced by the serial number) seamaster calibre 565 (reference number 166.002 as seen in the picture and not what he wrote down).

I first tried looking at omega's vintage database and searched the ref 166.002 and found two entries. One entry was a seamaster 166.0002 year 1962 with a possible cal of 565, date function, same hands, crown and 24 jewels like mine. What was different was that in the picture it had applied hour markers (which is what is usually found on seamasters) and had the Geneve signature (?). The other entry was a seamaster ref 166.0037 1966-1970 calibre 565 24 jewels date function and same hands. This one also had applied markings and the crown was different. I know the omega vintage database isn't entirely complete so I tried finding other examples of similar looking omegas and this is what I found:

Omega Speedmaster Companion Project

Special Omega Story

These reference a similar tritium hour marks dial without the date... but are Seamaster 600s (ST 135.011). They also mention the term "Speedmaster Companion".

Three Technical Dials

This thread has the omega most similar to the one I bought. There is mention of a 565 movement and reference 166.002. The dial of the watch has the same styling but the one in the thread has the crosshairs. They also seem to have a matte finish on the dial whereas mine seems to have a lustrous (sun burst?) finish.

Omega Seamaster Steel Automatic 1966

This last page is from what seems to be a reputable watch seller. They have a lot of info on the history of the watch similar looking to mine. This one does not have a date function though, has the crosshairs, and is ref 165.002. It mentions calibre 565, serial number being correct for 1966, and correct crown.

This is all the info I came up with and even though not finding an exact match of the watch somewhere else I still bought it. It is running quite well at minus 2 seconds a day. The dial is more of a grey/light charcoal than black. I am hoping that you guys would have some information on this watch... frankenwatch? legitimate? Would it be worth getting it serviced again (seller said he serviced recently). Whatever it may be I would love to know more about this watch.

I hope you guys will be able to help and I apologize for the massive wall of text. Thanks in advance!

 

Thanks for the info! Hahaha what a coincidence! Yes it looks like we got them from the same seller. Also, by the other member's comments, it seems that I made a decent purchase as well. Thanks again!