First off, I love flightmasters, and I especially love ones with browned complication dials -- but have never owned one. So, when this one - all beat up - was floating out there and the only thing between me and it was money, I went for it, knowing it would be a project.

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Clearly the crystal is shot, and I don't believe it has the original bracelet (we'll see when it arrives). A cleaning and service is definitely in order.

Now I turn to y'all for any advice on what to do (or not do), and who to (or not to) do it.

 

All great advice, thank you. I'll wait to determine the case refinishing, though, as I'm unsure how much polishing it's had based on the photos (particularly given the back of the case), and otherwise I'd like to have one that I'm not terribly concerned about banging up here and there. Maybe someday I'll shell out $6K for a pristine case that I wear on "special" sporting occasions (whatever those are).

 

The Flightmaster arrived today. Pretty happy with it, and now begins the project of getting it fully put together.

First some pictures, and then some thoughts.

First, you have to have some sizable wrists for this chunk of stainless:



Second, as was known, the crystal is toast (I've already ordered a replacement), but there is clearly a gasket associated with the crystal also needing replacement (and finding):



Even through the haze of the crystal, though, the dial seems to be in pretty good condition. The winder feels right. Pulled out, the main minute and hour hands all float about seemingly properly. Same with the blue second hour winder and hand. The Pushpieces work perfectly, with the center second hand and minute and hour totalisers all starting, stopping, and snapping to the 12 position.

The trouble comes into China with the winder for the movable bezel: the winder does not want to move, and so nor does the bezel, which as you can see is stuck just off of the 12 position. Perhaps the crystal's gasket junk has seized up the bezel? Either way, this will need some form of fixing.



The main winder, crown and pushpieces themselves all appear fairly well sorted out, though lacking their color markings. Apologies for the poor depth of field in the shot below, but the mis-focus does however show that the case is unpolished and seems to have fared better than the crystal, in terms of scuffing. (In the picture below, notice also the back side of the bracelet clasp, which I'll come back to, below.)



The remaining second-hour and bezel winders themselves also seem well sorted, though oddly only the second-hour winder has retained its color markings.



As for the bracelet, it appears to be entirely a cheap "100% Stainless Steel - Hong Kong" replacement, luggs marked "155." I'd like to get a proper vintage replacement, and would love any advice on the proper bracelet for this particular model.

Also, in the picture below, you'll note that the back case gasket is also toast, and will need to be replaced. Luckily, this thing doesn't appear to have been off of the watch for a very long time, as the movement pictures below may attest.



The back is in similar shape to the rest of the case, save for the tool marks highlighted below between the 6 and 9 positions. The engraving itself is pretty well together.



Finally, although not the clearest of pictures, the movement -- to my relatively untrained eye -- looks like a very clean 911 numbered 33315206




So then, to my untrained eye a crystal (NOS ordered), a few gaskets (need to identify), a bracelet (need to identify), and a cleaning/service of the movement seem no-brainers, while the stuck bezel and bezel winder are a looming question-mark. From there, perhaps an extremely respectful cleaning and buff of the case?

I've been told above that ( @Archer) may be a good man for the job, and I'd certainly be happy to discuss with him. If anyone knows of alternatives nearer to Houston, I'd love to know.

Any other observations/nits/concerns?

Cordially,
Coleson

 

That is actually a correct bracelet, only the hinge has been replaced.

 

I had wondered/hoped so!

 

(Any advice on why it rotated all of my pictures onto their side?)

 

Superb dial

 

Give that Flightmaster a good cleaning and a new crystal, and you´ll see it´ll make a big difference! Same for the bracelet which is the original one. Try to find a correct hinge/ clasp stamped 1162. I wouldn´t polish the case to begin with. Looks to have sharp edges, so I doubt that it has been polished before. The plane on the back is amazingly crisp.

Wonderful aging in the dial and hands!

Instruct your watchmaker to be very careful when exchanging the crystal. The gasket underneath has blead, and has smeared the inner rotating bezel. If he doesn´t look up, he will ruin the printing on the bezel, when cleaning it from the smeared gasket, which is very sticky. That is also why it won´t move. Those bezel can be hard to find, so if you can use the old one, the better. Will save you a lot of time and money.

Congrats to a good find!

 

Is the correct clasp/hinge the 1162-A, or is it instead the 1193-A?

I see either clasp on various flightmasters, but would like to know exactly which one came with a 145.026 ca. 911 - 3331526. I've done some looking around, but have yet to find any considerable focus on the answer.

 

I'll definitely be contacting Mr. Archer.

Also, does anyone know, in broad strokes, what STS asks for their full servicing?

 

My understanding is that Omega can take up to a year to return a watch in for the full kit; surely, STS, in th the timing respect, is a bit more 'fighter jet' than 'battle ship' in this respect? I've also heard there are some differences regarding the level of vintage-respect either outfit demonstrates with respect to the watch?

I saw your pictures you posted from the STS lobby the other day - their flightmasters were incredible (though I do adore my watch's chocolate sub-dials).