New member with old Seamaster

My Dad gave me his old Seamaster that he was given for his 21st in 1968, and probably hasn't worn since the 80s.

I know it should have a service, though I'm pretty impressed that it still keeps good time. But I'm wondering what you all would suggest I do about the dial and the case with chipped gold plate. I want to be able to use the watch, and would like to protect the case from chipping further if that's possible, but I also don't want to remove all signs of wear from when Dad was using it.

Also I can see there is some debate about sending these directly to Omega for service or finding a local watchmaker to do the work, I would be interested in your thoughts on this and if anyone would recommend a watchmaker (I'm in London in the UK).

Many thanks!
Jo

Thanks for this David, I have messaged them for quotes. Would anyone recommend Harris Horology for this sort of work? They came up early in my googling and are close to where I am (not a requirement but, you know), but would rather go with a recommendation.