No Extract Available - How Much Less is it Worth?

[ConElPueblo]

I have had a late sixties Seamaster 300 for a few years now and after getting the lume on the hour hand fixed, I was thinking of moving it on. I ordered an Extract and it couldn't be produced - the serial number was for another watch.





I didn't do a whole lot of research prior to the purchase, but nothing strikes me as indicating it could be a later put-together. Tritium dial, hands and bezel corresponding to a later issued watch and match each other.

So what is the value of one of these? The value doesn't plummet as much as an Military version with a wrong movement, I know that. Apart from the movement, I have a hard time finding faults with the condition.

 

[CdnWatchDoc]

Could this be a WatchCo piece? I know they used "new" parts, but maybe this is a mix of their "best" parts

 

[cineaste]

I doubt Troels could be fooled by a WatchCo.

 

[jaguar11]

I am no expert on these but at a guess that the value would be around that of a put together WatchCo type. The chances are from what you say it is not and has suffered the fate of a movement swap at some stage possibly due to the economics of repair prevailing one option over another. Let's be honest (for example) 45 years ago who would think it would matter or that these would have the value they do today in original configuration. Yours does have the appeal of period charm and patina that could have some influence on the price someone would pay. Good luck!!!

 

[Tony C.]

Geez, on top of everything else, he openly shares his disappointments? If he weren't already married...

 

[MtV]

Tony C.

Geez, on top of everything else, he openly shares his disappointments? If he weren't already married...

My thoughts went in the same direction. I can’t contribute towards the discussion of the 300’s value but @ConElPueblo good on you for sharing this thought / information - I bet there are quite a few owners who would’ve tried to keep this information from the public and possibly would’ve forgotten to mention this little detail when selling it. Lovely piece nonetheless.

 

[Shabbaz]

Do you have pictures in daylight of the dial? It would be hard to believe if you put this on chrono with full disclosure you would get a watchco price. I would assume it would be a bit higher. What are those watchco doing nowadays? 3,5k euro? This would fetch more I think. But the buyer wont be a collector. And I would'nt try to sell it here but on chrono.

 

[fizz]

I think the pursuit of EOA when it comes to vintage Omega's is highly overrated and almost takes the "fun" out of collecting.

Imagine what would happen to the vintage Rolex world if they started issuing EOA equivalents and proved wrong half of the online speculation that's been created or built around many models, making many of those pieces no longer "rare" or "valuable" or even...questionable.

Omega's archives aren't perfect in my experience either.

 

[timoss]

Did Omega specifically say the movement was from another watch? Or did they say something vaguer, like one I received once:

"Regrettably, due to the nature of vintage archives in certain cases information has not survived, is unreadable or even missing.

We regret to inform you that unfortunately the provided serial number falls onto that category, so we are unable to issue an Extractof the Archives."

 

[timecube]

timoss

Did Omega specifically say the movement was from another watch? Or did they say something vaguer, like one I received once:

"Regrettably, due to the nature of vintage archives in certain cases information has not survived, is unreadable or even missing.

We regret to inform you that unfortunately the provided serial number falls onto that category, so we are unable to issue an Extractof the Archives."

Do they still charge you even when it's their own failure?

 

[timoss]

No they did not charge me in that case...

 

[Fatcat]

The watch is legit , many SM300, 600,1000 even have this issue , movement exchange during a service completely like yours or holes in the archives , your SM300 clean and legit .

Paul

 

[Shabbaz]

Fatcat

The watch is legit , many SM300, 600,1000 even have this issue , movement exchange during a service completely like yours or holes in the archives , your SM300 clean and legit .

Paul

But Troels is saying the serial was for another watch so it's not a hole in the archive. And even if it was normal to swap a movement it will have a effect on value if you disclose this in the add. It took some time to sell the one from @Passover and that one had a relume only (it was a lovely watch and was priced very well).

 

[Foo2rama]

jaguar11

I am no expert on these but at a guess that the value would be around that of a put together WatchCo type. The chances are from what you say it is not and has suffered the fate of a movement swap at some stage possibly due to the economics of repair prevailing one option over another. Let's be honest (for example) 45 years ago who would think it would matter or that these would have the value they do today in original configuration. Yours does have the appeal of period charm and patina that could have some influence on the price someone would pay. Good luck!!!

This

 

[padders]

It’s value will be somewhere between a freshly minted characterless SL dial Watchco and a clean fully original watch. The original tritium dial has to add something. Even when you consider VAP there must be a pretty big premium over a modern put together I would have thought.

As noted above, are you certain the movement was swapped or could it just be from a serial range in one of the holes? Or could it be an error on the part of the extract team. Or a serial misread. All are possible.

 

[Fallout Boy]

Please give us some more details: inside case-back (seven digits?) CB / HF?, movement-number, caliber,.....

 

[omegastar]

IMO, the objective way to assess correctly the watch is by adding the value of the parts.
And your parts look terrific !
Bezel + dial + hands + case back + case + crown + movement = do your homework.
Don’t get overwhelmed by the deception of the EOA.

 

[ConElPueblo]

Thanks for all the replies.

A few has asked about the rejected extract; as mentioned in my original post the serial number belonged to a different watch. So no refund and nothing will be found about it. There is no chance of me misreading the serial (just double checked what I had written) and I find it highly unlikely that either a misprint in the Omega archives or a misread serial by one of the staff members are to blame.

padders

It’s value will be somewhere between a freshly minted characterless SL dial Watchco and a clean fully original watch. The original tritium dial has to add something. Even when you consider VAP there must be a pretty big premium over a modern put together I would have thought.

This is what I lean towards myself. I would be shocked if the value was as low as a new WatchCo which at the moment is around €2,800. If mine had a EoA, I would expect a price around €4,800. I bought it a few years ago at a bit less than that price and have found that prices have remained very static.




The hour hand lume stabilisation/repair is fairly evident here. The dial is of the late variant where the indices are only light yellow with a hint of green in them. It has some scratches on the crystal due to being the daily wearer. My girlfriend's daily wearer, that is

Edited: Jun 4, 2021

 

[JwRosenthal]

I don’t think you would have any problem moving that here. Although there are many that are sticklers for originality- there are also those who just want a fabulous watch to wear and aren’t too mired down in the details.

 

[ConElPueblo]

Fallout Boy

Please give us some more details: inside case-back (seven digits?) CB / HF?, movement-number, caliber,.....

It's the same case type as this one: https://omegaforums.net/threads/found-an-omega-seamaster-300-ref-166-024.71486/

cineaste

I doubt Troels could be fooled by a WatchCo.

Honestly, I didn't do a whole lot of research when buying this one (the most expensive vintage watch I've purchased ) and to be fair this issue would only have shown itself had I demanded an extract should come with the watch.

MtV

My thoughts went in the same direction. I can’t contribute towards the discussion of the 300’s value but @ConElPueblo good on you for sharing this thought / information - I bet there are quite a few owners who would’ve tried to keep this information from the public and possibly would’ve forgotten to mention this little detail when selling it. Lovely piece nonetheless.

Tony C.

Geez, on top of everything else, he openly shares his disappointments? If he weren't already married...

While I am flattered @Tony C., you have sold far too many of your watches lately for me to seriously consider your advances. On the other hand, a life in sunnier climes do appeal...

I am a bit torn about what to do, which is why I posted here. I have been thinking of selling the watch for a long time and wanted to get the lume fixed before posting it. The Seamaster 300 is a fantastic vintage watch and I love wearing it, but for a small time collector with a young family, loans, etc. it does bind a lot of funds. I only sell watches here on OF, but as @Shabbaz notes, something like this might be better sold on C24, even with the fees etc.

Though I am not immensely clued up on the vintage watch market, I think that the SM300 has still to experience the jump in prices as the Speedmaster did a few years ago, so the smart option might be to just wait for prices to climb a bit. That said, a late model 166.024 will always be the least appreciated version of these, so I don't expect the value to soar.