You all may remember I'm the guy who purchased a Seamaster 300 from WatchCo for a high price because they claimed that the movement was NOS. Just got this watch back from servicing, two years since I bought it. I brought it in when timekeeping started to go wonky. The price was $450 labor from a local Rolex-trained watchmaker and $485 in parts. Some of the parts replaced included was an escape wheel (running out of true, loose on arbor), barrel complete (teeth, walls, and/or arbor holes worn), winding pinion and sliding pinion (teeth worn). There were also a couple of screws that broke when he removed them. The crystal was replaced as a matter of routine and the watch passed the 200m pressure test. Was the movement NOS? No clear evidence pointing one way or another. There was evidence that the movement was serviced, which WatchCo claimed to do. It's possible they didn't do a very good job of servicing, which is why it needed parts. One thing he did say... that the "diamond-finished" edges of the bridges looked unworn, something he would not expect of a movement that had been previously used. In any event, this remains my favorite watch, and I have three bands I wear it on... the 1610 with 840 end piece, as seen, an 1171-1 with 633 end piece, or an Omega rubber dive strap, similar to what you see on a Ploprof. Tom
Lovely watch. Well worth persevering with from the photo. I imagine that with a history like this, it'll be a keeper.
Agreed, I've got Seiko with 30 years of daily wear on it that hasn't had that much hardware replaced.
This might call for a new career pathway: Forensic Watchmaker. "Can you estimate the time of death, Simmons?" "No estimate necessary, sir, this watch died at exactly 12:14 PM on the 29th."