I got a call from my watchmaker last night who has been working on my 145.012 for a while now. He informed me that I need a new dial because at some point in my watch's history, someone "repaired" one of the legs on the back of it by soldering and it burnt the dial which is why I had noticed a paint spot on my dial (they likely tried to cover up their poor repair). My watchmaker tried to use the repaired leg and carefully move it into place since it had been slightly off, but eventually it broke off and he suggested there is not a really good way to fix it again as soldering would surely burn the dial more and glues or epoxies won't hold well enough into the future to be comfortable using. Plus, as I mentioned, the dial already had a paint spot on it, so I'm okay with a new one I guess.

My watchmaker said he can get the new replacement dial for me direct from Omega without a problem and for less than $200. It won't be exact as it won't have the 'T Swiss Made T' marking, I know, but what else would be different about this dial than the original? I'm wondering what my other options might be - I'm assuming people will suggest I keep my eyes on eBay and the like to see if/when a dial comes up. Are these relatively easy to get my hands on, or are these one of those parts that almost never shows up and when it does is swiped immediately? Are there other places, besides eBay that might be a good place to look? I have no intention of ever selling this watch since it belonged to my uncle and was my first ever 'nice' watch so value to a collector isn't a major issue here, but I do like the idea of it being as correct as possible.

Really appreciate everyone's help here - I can't wait to get this watch back!

 

I'd try to find a vintage replacement,knowing it could take a while.

You should check around, and if none are quickly available, consider going with the service dial and replacing it later.

Meanwhile, you can wear and enjoy your watch.

 

I'd do the same, if nothing is currently available, put ask service dial on and then keep an eye out for a correct, period replacement.

 

Depends on the state of your dial, and your budget.

if your dial is already damaged then any dial is an improvement. I couldn't live with a new dial on a watch as old as this.
321 speedmaster dials do appear from time to time, but are not cheap, and you have to check they don't already have problems. It will take patience and $300-800.

if the dial is replaced, then the old hands might look out of place.

for me this situation is very disappointing. The dial is the heart of the attraction of a vintage speedie. (And hence the value).

i wish you every luck in what you decide.

how about some photos of the dial you have?

 

Ya, I'm pretty bummed also - I really loved the look of the aged dial in its proper case, but according to my watch maker this dial is really unusable and therefore I need to decide on the least poor alternative.

Below are two pictures I took of the watch before sending it away, and the third is a shot he sent me a few weeks ago just before the leg broke off the back I guess... You can clearly see the paint spot near the 2 O'clock marker in my original pictures; not so much in his - not sure if he cleaned it off some, or if it's just the lighting/angle of the picture.

 

Has all the lume already come off the dial? If so, a superluminova replacement isn't going to be quite such a drastic change compared to replacing a dial with lovely patina'd markers.

That said, it might be worth getting a second opinion on restoring the original dial.

 

The dial does not look that bad and i can't notice the paint spot. The leg can be soldered again and i would go for that instead of a new dial.

 

Personally I wouldnt spend a vast sum of money on that dial, from your pic there is no patina to the dial and that is what most people like in a vintage dial. Depends if its worth fixing the dial.

An alternative might be for your watch maker to fit a new dial and hands and then for you to keep the original parts until you can find an alternative vintage dial, which could well take a long time and expensive

You might also decide to go for a more modified look since the parts wont be original anyway ......but I think that is just me, for me if its not original then I might as well go for something totally different.

 

+1 rolexfantastic

I can't see it either. Looks good to me.

 

Have you looked at the dials from otto Frei? They do show one for the 321.

 

By the way, current practice in dial work is not to use heat to solder on dial feet, but rather use more modern electrical soldering which doesn't create heat (in comparison) and shouldn't add to any damage already there. A good dial company should be aware of this and should able to do this repair, going on what you've written.

 

If this is the case, I would research this. Personally, I prefer to glance at the same watch face as the one that displayed the hours to my uncle's eyes.