My Seamaster 600 Saga

Just sharing this here since you all were so helpful with my previous threads. Not sure why anyone else would care, but, then, if folks here don't care, who would? 😀

Been loving my 1965 Seamaster 600 w/ the black technical dial. Such a beautiful watch, and my first foray into Omegas. Won't bother posting images here as I provided a full complement with my earlier post and I don't want to needlessly duplicate and use up unnecessary server space. Earlier post.

The one issue I noticed was not cosmetic but functional: although the seller claimed the watch was recently serviced and keeping superb time, for me it was gaining quite a bit. I never really measured precisely, but somewhere in the ballpark of 3mins a day, I'd estimate. (Originally I'd thought it was just 1 day, which I might have been willing to live with, but that was an underestimate.)

I wondered if magnetization was the culprit, which could make good sense knowing the watch had just traveled from the UK, passing through who knows what kind of scanning equipment and motorized conveyors, etc, planes, trains and automobiles. The Lepsi app (which seems to garner mixed reviews) did indeed show some magnetism in the watch, so I went ahead and bought the universally recognized blue demagnetizer thingamabob off Amazon. I followed the conventional wisdom exactly: press button, hold for 10 sec, then (with button still depressed) lift up slowly. After two sessions, the Lepsi app no longer read it as magnetized.

Thing is, the watch is still fast---no change that I can see. I don't regret demag-ing it, as I doubt the magnetization was doing anything to help the watch, but it does not seem to have been the cause of its hyperactivity. Per Dan S., in a previous thread, other "common culprits are oil or foreign matter in the hairspring, or something that has become loose and is interfering with the balance."

So today I bit the bullet and took it the local Omega Boutique and left it with them. Their expert watchmaker/repair-person will take a look (probably not until next week) and see if it just needs some regulating (which I'm too fainthearted to try myself), one of the other things Dan mentioned, or if it's something more serious that requires sending it to Omega. I have no idea what any of this will cost me, though I did ensure that they will quote me pricing before taking any action. ---And I plan to address my concerns (with a fair dollar figure) to the seller once it's all said and done. Probably can't expect him to pay for the whole thing, but perhaps he'll do the decent thing and meet me part way. I'm too infatuated with the watch to do a return over what I'm hoping is a fairly minor issue.

Anyway, I welcome your thoughts and ideas, if you managed to read this far!

You had better post photos here if you want anyone to read your post.

Roger that. Reposting my pics. (The watch isn't in-hand presently, or else I'd add new ones.)

Did you buy from a dealer as the cost to service this will be significant and especially at Omega?

"Keeping superb time" could mean anything and perhaps the seller was happy with +3 minutes per day. If you're in a return period, perhaps worth considering?

It does look a lovely watch and a nice clean movement, apart from the ratchet wheel screw - probably just the picture, so, you'll probably want to hang on to it.

Good luck, Chris

A vintage watch dealer in the UK, but not anyone (as best I can tell) with any kind of official connection to Omega. My hope is that I'll have some idea of the service cost while still within the return grace period, so that I can make an informed decision. Just to help me brace: what do you mean by "significant"? ---This is, I guess, assuming it's more than just a regulation issue?

For reference, I have a 1966 Seamaster 600 which gains around 25-30 seconds per day

God, I love these 600s! That's a beautiful watch too.

I'd be totally fine with +/- <1 / day for a vintage watch, which, in all honesty, I want for its looks more than its horological accuracy. (If I just wanted something that kept time precisely I could get something digital at the dollar store.) But when I can see it's off by a full minute within a a couple hours of setting... it was getting to me. Suppose I will be in the position quite soon of putting a dollar amount on exactly how much I care. But I can't see myself not fixing it unless the price is really extravagant.

If it is, I guess I'll also find myself wondering if I'm better off getting it back from the Omega Boutique and seeking the help of another party, but I'm gathering (from reading other peoples' threads) that it's probably worth the cost to go with Omega because they'll warranty the work...

My suspicion re price for Omega's own servicing (based on the research I've done here and at Omega's site) is $550. Crikey.

Appreciate this feedback. If anyone knows of someone good in the Annapolis/Baltimore/DC/Northern VA area, please do let me know. I'd consider venturing up to Philly too, if necessary.

Since I started this thread, I might as well finish it. Got my SM600 back today, fully serviced (disassembled, cleaned/oiled, and supplied with a new mainspring, I gather). It appears to be keeping better time, although I'll need a day or two to confirm, of course. It's good to have it back, in any case--I was seriously beginning to wonder if I'd see it again under the circumstances, with businesses indefinitely closed. In the end it was serviced by the watchmaker affiliated with the OB where I dropped it off (not sent to Omega, which I wouldn't have permitted), but I really appreciate the recommendations folks here PM'd me for places local to the Mid-Atlantic. No doubt I'll be sending them watches too eventually. For now, I'm appreciating the new-to-me feeling of owning a watch for which I have a (documented, warrantied) service history.

its certainly a beautiful watch and as the movement appears to be clean the seller could have been honest with you. you have a real chance that the watch runs off time because it needs just regulation or demagnetisation

Thanks. And, as mentioned above, magnetisation was my first suspicion—an optimistic suspicion since it’s easily resolved—but it was not (or not alone) the culprit. I’m not going to condemn the seller, especially since (as more than one person has pointed out) “keeping superb time” is a subjective phrase. For a watch that arrived on the scene the same year the Grateful Dead did, gaining a few minutes a day might be acceptable to some people. 😀

And it is a marvel. I’m just crazy about it, really. I’ve grown to love the modern piece it’s going to rotate with (an Aqua Terra from 2006), and I appreciate many of the other vintage and modern pieces I see on here, but this one is, to my eyes, the best looking watch, bar none. I’ve got a period appropriate strap and buckle inbound for it too. The photos are nice, but this is a watch you have to see in person. It somehow manages to be both very understated and impossible to ignore.

If they ever do a slightly larger, modern (co-axial) remake of this (a la the new 1948 tribute Seamasters, which I drool over too), I’ll sell a car to get one if I have to.