My Early Seamaster 120 Divers. What to look for and what to avoid.

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Well if it's going in for service anyways why not! I wonder if they could sort out the bump as well? I wonder if it works like on cars where you can use dry ice to pop dints back into shape 馃榾
 
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Speaking of lume round 2

The lume and dial condition is the make or break for me...
The one that just sold is only valuable to someone who will either wear it that way, has a spare bezel, or wanted it for the parts (the dial was nice).

That was why I was bidding on it. Take a look at my next watch:



As has been discussed lately https://omegaforums.net/threads/opening-a-can-of-worms.121685/page-2#post-1633730, this dial had some lume that was on the swampy end of the mossy range, so I cleaned it from the dial. I'm planning to get a sympathetic relume done some time soon, but I wouldn't have minded swapping in the dial, hands, and date disc from that ebay watch if I could have gotten it for a price that worked for me.

...and here's one more for kicks (I know the second hand is not correct.)

Edited:
 
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W wcm82
Well if it's going in for service anyways why not! I wonder if they could sort out the bump as well? I wonder if it works like on cars where you can use dry ice to pop dints back into shape 馃榾

There is no dent on the the back of the dial, so the bump must be a different kind of defect. If I installed it, I'd just leave the dial as is. I'd rather not risk any damage trying to improve on its condition.
 
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Two very obvious fakes from Japan, same seller: https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e459543930 https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n460617813

There's also one price scam Seamaster 120 for repeated sale: https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w424373010

They drove the price to $1400 with fake bids yesterday, then cancelled that auction and listed it for $1900 ^

My personal price reference is Yahoo Japan auctions, even though American flippers join those auctions too, the natural prices end up actual worths of watches - sadly I didn't witness a Men's Seamaster 120 yet, the $830 price I witnessed was for a Ladies one (I checked later on)

Even on Japan, there's this fake bids tactic, I assumed Japan would be free of it, but they do it, for example I want to collect 168.029's, they sell for $550-$850 (with bracelet) - there's one listing that pops up every week from this seller: https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/l619272652 - he drives the price to $1700-$1900 - then cancels/relists - if any naive bidder gets caught up in it, I assume they end up buying an inflated watch - the watch he's selling is worth $700 with the good condition but missing bracelet

Anyway, regardless of the market, if a manual/613 Seamaster 120 pops up, I doubled my budget for it, losing the 563 hit me harder than expected, I only got 2 hours of sleep, and I had a 10 hour road trip ahead of me, it wasn't pleasant 馃榿
 
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Just as a point of reference- I bought mine for $900 knowing it wasn鈥檛 perfect- paid $375 for the service (it needed parts), $200 for the correct tritium hand set from a member here (I got lucky- they perfectly matched the lume) and it didn鈥檛 come with the factory bracelet...and that was a little while ago.
If I were in the market for one of these now and wanted a very nice example that had no issue- I would budget $2k and go for the best one i can find. These aren鈥檛 watches you want as a project.
 
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Got this for ca. 700$ years ago 馃榾

And I got this for $800 years ago.

....when it鈥檚 what they were worth.

I think many of us got some of our prize watches long before the craziness that is the current watch market. It鈥檚 important to remember that when new members come to this thread looking for advise on buying, the landscape has changed. We can鈥檛 apply what we knew about the market to what is now.
We see a never ending stream of Speedy鈥檚 and SM300鈥檚 out there- but these 120鈥檚 seem far rarer in comparison.
I鈥檓 all for trying to get a bargain when I can, but the 120 seems to have Sky-rocketed in demand over the last couple years and good examples are getting harder to find....shit- any example that isn鈥檛 a fake!
 
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Chrono's are $1100-1500 as far as I see, but if it's that good in condition, I guess ~$1600 and the market has doubled? I think, apart from flippers/scalpers and fake buyer/sellers - the prices seem deserved - I bought a Stowa for ~1000 euros that I enjoy and wear daily, comparatively, my almost-NOS 168.029 need to be $10k+ - but it was less than 1000 euros

fyi, most sales on Reddit are fake I assume, there's a mafia-like grouping where watches are sold to someone, then the watch reappers from the so-called buyer as a re-sell from a lower price, and in the process both parties increase their transaction#

This is a near-NOS 136.027 - as I read from comments, the flipper bought from eBay for cheap, I assume around or less than $1000 - and assumably flipped for $2500 https://www.reddit.com/r/Watchexchange/comments/eoci81/wts_1969_omega_seamaster_120_136027/

So I guess it's not that unrealistic to expect a near-NOS example for $1500 - I want a used up one for $1000 馃榿 (but I guess realistically it'll be a catch even at $1200-$1500 for a used up one)
 
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Here is my 120, just to contribute to this thread

Man that is clean! I see it also has a stainless sweep hand. Which bracelet is that? I really like the look of it.
 
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W wcm82
Man that is clean! I see it also has a stainless sweep hand. Which bracelet is that? I really like the look of it.
Thanks !
The bracelet isn鈥檛 the one that is originally made for the 120 but it is for another reference that has the same case shape so it fits like a glove
As you can see on the photos : 524 endlinks and bracelet ref 1069 No.12
 
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Seamaster 120 were delivered originally on 1067/512, and then on 1098/547 and 1069/524 too...
 
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Seamaster 120 were delivered originally on 1067/512, and then on 1098/547 and 1069/524 too...
Oh didn鈥檛 know that, thanks for the correction!

I was basing this info on that ad found in an another thread.
I thought that only bracelets with 547 endlinks were for this reference
 
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Oh didn鈥檛 know that, thanks for the correction!

I was basing this info on that ad found in an another thread.
I thought that only bracelets with 547 endlinks were for this reference
It looks horrible- not at all correct- I will graciously dispose of it for you 馃槈
 
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It looks horrible- not at all correct- I will graciously dispose of it for you 馃槈
No I鈥檇 rather directly throw it to the bin 馃榿
 
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...and on the bracelets, was the 1098 and the one pictured in the advertisement above made by Jacoby Bender for Omega (the one in the ad looks like the bullet bracelet)? I know they had several contractors, but the similarity between those and two that I have are uncanny- although my endlinks are all around 17.5 to fit Bulova.
 
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Hello all,
I have a 166.027 and also no bezel. Please anyone tell me inner and outer diameter of bezel. I measured the glass which is 31mm.
I am trying to search a substitued bezel.
Thank you in advance.
CK
 
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C CKY
Hello all,
I have a 166.027 and also no bezel. Please anyone tell me inner and outer diameter of bezel. I measured the glass which is 31mm.
I am trying to search a substitued bezel.
Thank you in advance.
CK
Hey CKY - Welcome to the club 馃榾

In all seriousness - the bezels don't come up very often. I've been looking for one daily for the last 6 months without any luck. At this point I am expecting the search for a bezel to take years. Make sure if you're looking at one that you get the proper sized bezel, ladies bezels appear from time to time but are a smaller size and wont fit.
 
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W wcm82
Hey CKY - Welcome to the club 馃榾

In all seriousness - the bezels don't come up very often. I've been looking for one daily for the last 6 months without any luck. At this point I am expecting the search for a bezel to take years. Make sure if you're looking at one that you get the proper sized bezel, ladies bezels appear from time to time but are a smaller size and wont fit.

Hi wcm82, thank you for your info. Really hope someone could advise the outer and inner diameter of original bezel so that I can find the proper bezel. Thank you all.
 
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Hi wcm82, thank you for your info. Really hope someone could advise the outer and inner diameter of original bezel so that I can find the proper bezel. Thank you all.
You鈥檙e not likely to find the correct factory bezel, and if one did pop up, the competition would be fierce. Your best bet is to go by the demensions around the crystal and try to find a generic bezel from another watch (perhaps another 60鈥檚 skindiver) that uses a tension wire to hold in place and hope it fits and stays in place.
Until there is someone who dares to make a reproduction bezel for these- we are SOL since Omega clearly doesn鈥檛 care.