misaligned double hour marker on vintage seamaster

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That's the rate in Milwaukee, which is not East Bumfuck. Not aware of any better prices in Chicago.

If you have watchmakers charging significantly less in New York, I encouarage you to share.

But YOU have to remember that not everyone lives in New York (nor wants to).

Tom
 
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That's the rate in Milwaukee, which is not East Bumfuck. Not aware of any better prices in Chicago.

If you have watchmakers charging significantly less in New York, I encouarage you to share.

But YOU have to remember that not everyone lives in New York (nor wants to).

Tom

seems YOU need to remember I was replying to the OP who does indeed live in New York. now how about cooling off and being a bit more pleasant rather than antagonistic?
 
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"BULLSHIT"? my expectations? get a simple automatic caliber omega cleaned, lubed and regulated without getting bent over and rammed like you seem to enjoy.

movement parts are plentiful in NYC and so are qualified watch makers that compete for business. the OP's watch movement is quite common. you must be high if you think $500 would be a normal cost for servicing it. well...I suppose it could cost that if the OP was living in east bumfuck.

This sounds like what I ran into about 6 years ago. A reputable watchmaker restored my C case Connie for $180 and that INCLUDED an Omega crown and crystal.

Four years later, same guy wanted $600 for just a service! I laughed, left and found someone who did an excellent job for 1/3rd the price.
 
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... anyone have a suggestion for a watchmaker in NYC?

A frequently asked question on many forums, usually followed by crickets, or a mention of Central Watch. 馃ぎ
 
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I think you should return the watch and look here on the OmegaForum private sales.

Much nicer looking watches at better pricing.
 
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UPDATE: Just heard back from the watchmaker today. He said he can get the dial looking like it is "new from the factory,"



Your watchmaker offering you to ruin the watch. I would ask 2d opinion on the movement service as well.
 
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UPDATE: Just heard back from the watchmaker today. He said he can get the dial looking like it is "new from the factory," but it turns out there are larger problems - the movement needs a new mainspring and reversing wheel. As it is now, the watch runs but I can't manually wind it. This leads me to have to ask all you knowledgeable people another question... what is a reasonable amount of money to spent on a working, recently serviced version of this watch? I paid $490 for the watch and the watchmaker is asking $500 for the movement service and parts. This does not include the dial cleaning and marker fixing (he wants another $280 for that). Lets say I skip the dial work and just get the watch working correctly. I will have spent about $1000 and the dial will look like it looks in the previously posted pictures. I like the watch quite a bit, so I don't mind spending the money, but I also don't want to find out that I could have spent half of that if I just kept searching. The ebay seller that I bought it from allows for free returns, so I could just send it back and start the search again. What do you all think? Is it worth the $1000 or should I send it back and keep looking?

As others have said, I would be very wary of the proposed dial work. The pricing for service is pretty much in line with most reputable watchmakers, and although some may disagree, you get what you pay for when getting a watch serviced. Parts for this caliber are going up all the time, and Omega has been jacking up the price of parts in a very big way the last couple of years. Some parts are going up in price 4X overnight...and the "reversing wheel" (a.k.a. winding wheel) on this movement is quite expensive - $104 the last time I bought them. And now Omega will only sell them to you on an exchange basis, so I will incur the added costs of having to send the old wheels back to them when I want a new wheel...

As for this being "recently serviced" well you should always take that with a large grain of salt. I received a 321 Speedmaster recently from someone who bought it "recently serviced" by a watchmaker who doesn't have "outrageous pricing" as some would say. The watch arrives with poor balance amplitudes, worn parts inside, and although the train wheels had fresh oil, when I opened the mainspring barrel, this is what I found inside the barrel cover:



And this was the inside of the barrel drum:


And this is the mainspring - note the black marks along the spring. This is evidence of wear on the spring itself, and if you pull it through your fingers you can feel that it's "wavy" along the entire length:


So unless a vendor is providing you written proof of a proper service, done by a reputable service provider, you should always assume it will need a full service.

Cheers, Al
 
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As others have said, I would be very wary of the proposed dial work. The pricing for service is pretty much in line with most reputable watchmakers, and although some may disagree, you get what you pay for when getting a watch serviced. Parts for this caliber are going up all the time, and Omega has been jacking up the price of parts in a very big way the last couple of years. Some parts are going up in price 4X overnight...and the "reversing wheel" (a.k.a. winding wheel) on this movement is quite expensive - $104 the last time I bought them. And now Omega will only sell them to you on an exchange basis, so I will incur the added costs of having to send the old wheels back to them when I want a new wheel...

As for this being "recently serviced" well you should always take that with a large grain of salt. I received a 321 Speedmaster recently from someone who bought it "recently serviced" by a watchmaker who doesn't have "outrageous pricing" as some would say. The watch arrives with poor balance amplitudes, worn parts inside, and although the train wheels had fresh oil, when I opened the mainspring barrel, this is what I found inside the barrel cover:



And this was the inside of the barrel drum:


And this is the mainspring - note the black marks along the spring. This is evidence of wear on the spring itself, and if you pull it through your fingers you can feel that it's "wavy" along the entire length:


So unless a vendor is providing you written proof of a proper service, done by a reputable service provider, you should always assume it will need a full service.

Cheers, Al

So does this mean that an omega certified watchmaker can get these replacement parts (mainspring and reversing wheel) new from omega still?
 
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So does this mean that an omega certified watchmaker can get these replacement parts (mainspring and reversing wheel) new from omega still?

Yes...
 
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Yes...
Neat. With the watch being so old, I was thinking they would have to be scrounging around for parts. Nice to know new parts are available. Thanks!
 
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Neat. With the watch being so old, I was thinking they would have to be scrounging around for parts. Nice to know new parts are available. Thanks!

The 55X, 56X, and 75X series of movement are the last automatic movements that Omega still carries all the spare parts for. Once you go back before that, there are parts that are discontinued and no longer available. Once you have to go searching for parts on the open market, then the prices tend to get even higher, because the parts sellers know they are discontinued and often charge a premium for them.

This is why some of the budget watchmakers tend to leave worn parts in the movement, rather than replace them.

Cheers, Al
 
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I saw this on a new seamaster 300 from 2021 ... sometimes mistakes happen