My first Omega (Seamaster Cosmic 166.026)— and it's... cracked?

Hey folks —

Joined here for a bit of advice. I've been a "budget" collector and amateur watchmaker (Seiko modding, etc.) for a few years now but have never owned a watch from one of the major Swiss brands. I've always appreciated vintage more than the newer luxury stuff so this year I made a goal of getting my first piece.

Well just yesterday my Seamaster Cosmic 166.026 arrived from a seller on Reddit. It is in overall excellent condition to my eye. And a timegrapher shows it is running +/- 2s a day which is incredible for a 1968 watch. Dial is in great shape with a grainy silver finish that I love. Very happy with it.

This morning I go to wear it for the first time and notice a scratch in the crystal. Didn't think too much of it since I've polished out acrylic crystals very easily in the past, but upon closer inspection I start to think it's an actual crack. Bear in mind I haven't even worn the watch beyond my desk at this point so I have to imagine if it got cracked, it did so during shipping. See photos below.

Guess I'm looking for some advice; what would you guys do here?

I wasn't initially going to have it serviced. The previous owner doesn't know the full service history but the watch is running well enough to indicate that it's likely been serviced in recent history — probably a big assumption but I'd wager a guess it's not a fluke when a 56 year old watch is running near perfectly.

That said I'm not specifically opposed. My biggest concern with service is that I live in Vermont here in the US and there are almost no watchmakers in the entire state, let alone one who I'd trust with a vintage Omega. And then of course costs. I was hoping not to incur any additional costs of ownership in the immediate term. But I know that's my problem and I'd just have to deal with that when I can afford to.

It could be a crack or a deep scratch. It may have been there and the seller didn’t notice it.



Big assumption. Generally, watch movements have to be cleaned and lubricated every 5-10 years. Modern oils evaporate overtime, so eventually, the oiling points become dry. Watches can run decently well sometimes when dry, but it accelerates wear.

It could be today, tomorrow, 6 months, or a year from now, but when the wear reaches a point that it stops the watch, then you’ll probably have an expensive repair bill.

Appreciate this perspective. I will factor that in to future care for the watch for sure.

I will say as an update — I sat here and gently polished the crystal for the past hour and seemed to have knocked it down to wear it is almost imperceptible. This gives me hope it may have just been a deep scratch that didn't show up in the original photos. If it spreads then I'll know for certain it was a crack I suppose.

I paid a fair market price (~$500) and the photos were good. Don't think the seller was being disingenuous. I suspect something happened during shipping though.

After my polishing this morning and living with it the past few hours I do think it's nearly undetectable at this point except at an extreme angle in specific lighting, so I am pleased. I think the thing that bugged me the most was that the watch hadn't even been in my possession for 24 hours before noticing an obvious flaw. 🤦