Hi guys!

A while ago I posted this thread, asking for advice on a vintage 176.005 I received from my dad:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/ome...wbie-asking-for-advice-on-overhaul-etc.33719/

I finally received it back from service today and I am SO HAPPY! I will get into details later as I think I should tell you a bit more about its history:

In the early 70s my dad was working for Siemens, a huge technology company with origin in Germany. While working for Siemens, he was sent to Bushehr in 1975, a city on the Persian Gulf coast of south-western Iran. Siemens was contracted to build the first Iranian Nuclear Power Plant there. He was working as a supervisor for local constructors and once told me his most important Persian phrase was "Yalla Yalla!" which roughly translates to "Hurry up!".

Back then, Iran was a monarchy and ruled by the Shah, who - as my Dad told me - was visiting the construction site on aregular basis. Iran was very rich due to its oil exports and foreign companies were paid huge sums for projetcs in Iran. So, as you can imagine, my dad was making very good money.

So my Dad had a lot of money at hands which he used to travel in the region, enjoying life and of course buying a lot of useful and useless stuff. One of his favorite spots for travelling was Bahrain, a small island country situated near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. And this is where he bought the Seamater 176.005 at a jeweller!

As the Shah was overturned by the Iranian Revolution in 1979, construction of the power plant was stopped and my Dad left the country. Luckily, he did not leave his watch It broke down some time later and he stored it without getting it repaired - he just bought a new one and forget about the Seamaster.

As I remember, I found the watch some day in our cellar and I was playing with it as a kid. As I grew older, I swore I would have it repaired some day when I could afford it. And so I did As I sent pictures of it to my Dad today, all he said was "Damn, looks like new... I knew the money was spent wisely."

To add a few fun facts: The nuclear power plant in Bushehr was officially opened on 12 September 2011. Also, it was in the news in 2010 as some media have speculated that infamous malware Stuxnet could have delayed the completion of the Power Plant.

So without further ado...

Before service:



During service:












And finally: My resurrected Seamaster. Unboxing, parts, timing results and worn on a leather and dark blue Nato strap:


































Services done:

water damage - following parts were rusty and have been replaced:

1132 press spring
1109 set lever
1168 crown wheel cover
1170 wig wag cover
1106 stem
1107 clutch wheel
1108 winding pinion
1476 differential crown
063TN5239 crystal
069ST 43238 crown
098EW 0030 gasket

- pushers disassembled, cleaned, new o'rings
- rusty parts removed, screws drilled out to remove
- serviced, cleaned, lubricated, and timed

With a huge smile on my face I would like to recommend @Horlogerie who took care of my watch: AWESOME SERVICE and a perfect experience! Thanks again, Rob & Jennifer!
Also thanks to @jankoxxx who made that awesome leather strap you can see above.
And last but not least, THANKS to @Taddyangle & @efauser & @Andy K & @italy1861 & @tyrantlizardrex & @cvalue13 for generously providing me with expert advice!

Sorry for this huge post, but I really wanted to tell the whole story

P.S.: Could some one on here help me with reading and interpreting the timing results?

Best
ZinGer

 

Thanks for sharing your story and enjoy wearing your dad's watch!

 

That turned out well and seems like a quick turnaround. Nicely done! I enjoyed the story, too. So are you still planning to move it for a 176.007? I personally think your dad's watch, with that story to go with it, should be a keeper. But allow me to call "dibs" should you think otherwise...

 

Hey Andy,

it really turned out well! So glad I went for the overhaul! I will keep it and wear it. Although it really is too big for my wrist and also feels a bit too heavy. But I will get used to it I think... if not: dibs noted

 

Good to see it back as it should be!

 

Wow, Perfect!!!

Worth every cent paid.

 

Spectacular story and photos. I like that whoever serviced it took those for you. That always makes a guy feel good.

Personally if this was my Dad's Omega I'd keep it forever, especially now that its been serviced and looks so amazing! Wear it and love it! Great story.

 

Hi,
thank you for your kind word!
It was serviced by Robert Horan, based in Mainzac, France. I totally recommend his service! Answered all my questions super fast (I had A LOT!) and obviously did an awesome job fixing my watch! He is also active on Omegaforums as @Horlogerie
Best

 

I wish my dad had bought a 70s Omega chrono!

 

Great story! And I hope you decide to keep this watch.

 

I will!

 

Brilliant! I've got a similar experience having restored my fathers 1951 Longines single pusher chrono. His story is quite different but a good one. It's nice to know the exact provenance of a watch as well, esp when it was in the family.

I have this same watch you have and have been trying to get a new crystal placed. A highly regarded watch restorer broke at least 2 crystals attempting this and was never successful. I've read of similar experiences by others, with no one saying they'd had this successfully done by anyone other than Omega. You're the first! All have said a unique and difficult to source tool was required. @Horlogerie actually just responded to a query I had about this several hours ago, telling me how he did it (he needed no unusual tools) and referring me to this thread.

Thanks for sharing all this and enjoy that watch!

 

Stunning! What a great restoration. Quality work like this can be hard to find. It's great that forum members guided you to the right place.

 

Great to know how you found this thread and that @Horlogerie provided the much needed help for your 176.005! Would love to see the results once you got the crystal fixed!
All the Best!

 

Amazing story! Love the Bahrain provenance, you should get an extract to document it for posterity. And great job on the service by @Horlogerie.

I think I will shortly do the same for mine -- as you can see, the crystal is so bad I have to squint to tell what time it is!

Such a cool watch though, with one of the earliest and best automatic chrono movements inside. It's obviously huge and sits really high on the wrist but I think it deserves more love from collectors. Personally I think having a 60 minute chrono counter is a huge improvement over the usual 30 and 45 minute movements...and the deep blue dial is just mesmerising -- even if I have to squint to see it!

 

Bravo! it's stunning. Thanks for sharing.

 

Good looking watch! and the story that's part of the watch is great too! Enjoy that beautiful blue dial!

 

Seamaster turned out great! Looks like it received the TLC it needed. Wear it in good health!

 

Nice restoration. I just wondered about 257° for the balance wheel. On a newly serviced watch it's not a lot. 0,47 ms a bit too much.