***Scroll for Pics*** Hey folks, so I was looking for a vintage Seamaster chronograph for quite a while now, and realised its difficult to make a good deal because they are quite rare. I finally found one through a friend (of a friend) which I could buy for a reasonable price, it is an 18k Gold model with the 861 calibre, reference Nr. ST 145.0016. The problem though is that the stopwatch is not working. So, my question is, what are your experiences with that? I know that if I give it to Omega for a full inspection it will cost somewhat between 600-800 bucks, but I have no clue about reparing the stopwatch. Did you ever let Omega repair a stopwatch function, and if yes - how much was it? And is there any chance that the function is damaged so severely that the watch is a writeoff?? I know that this is nothing you can say for sure from a distance, but maybe you can share your experiences. Thanks a lot!! This is the model (though in steel on the pictures): http://www.omegawatches.com/de/planet-omega/heritage/vintage-watches-database?ref=15011
Relatively cheap and easy to fix through a qualified independent as parts for Cal 861 are readily available, what's your general area? Price at an independent will be lower than through Omega and they are often preferable if they're good at what they do, 350-600 is probably the range you'd be looking at though some are higher and some are lower. They don't repair just one function incidentally or do a "part repair" as they're called, its a full service which means the watch is totally dismantled, cleaned, re-lubricated and returned to original specifications. Has to be done every 5 years or so as the oils dry out and then mechanical wear occurs.
Thanks for your quick and helpful reply! What do you mean by area? I will have the chance to take some pictures of the watch on friday, will post them here to get your general opinion!
Oh, you probably mean geographical area. Was a bit slow with that one. I live in Paris, France. And what is your opinion on the value? The condition is ok but not great. I saw this model selling for around 5000-7000 Euro on the net, but in better condition (without the gold bracelet).
They're often listed at that but they don't tend to sell at that very often, its a nice piece but they have a C-Case which is a case style popular in the late 60s that went out of favour and hasn't been very popular. Having said that Omega has literally just a few months ago re-released the Constellation Globemaster which is modern C-Case so they could be coming back into fashion. Selling price does tend to be more $3500-$6000 though based on interest in those case styles.
Ok, the seller is asking for around 2k Euros, and I expect that it is necessary to invest an additional 1k for the repairs and to change the glass. This would mean that the total costs are still at the lower end of the range. Does that sound realistic? It's interesting that you say that, because I always found that "outfashioned" shapes are exactly what makes vintage waches attractive. A pre-moon looks more or less like a modern speedmaster, whereas the organic silhouette of the C case (didn't know it was called so) reflects perfectly the 60ies style I want to get with a vintage watch.
I have only one rather bad picture i took with the iPhone, can post that later. Will get more and better pics in two or three days.
I think it's pretty cheap since the case is in very good, unpolished condition. Do they still have the full bracelet or just the end links left? One thing strange is that this dial says Ts but no lume can be seen on either dial or hands. I've quite a few of them like that for this reference and they don't look like refinished/redialed at all. Here are 2 different examples:
That's the drawback - the bracelet is missing. If I buy it, I want to turn it in to original condition, and I got the Impression that the 18k bracelet is hard to find. What do you mean by Ts?
The bracelet has much more gold than the watch and probably been melted already. If not lost, 2k eur is a steal. The two end links are still worth a lot, not for gold, but for parts since they are rare. The Ts in "T Swiss Made T" denote the Tritium normally used in the luminous indices in watches from the 60s to mid 90s. There's no lume here so the Ts are weird.
Interesting, I never reflected on the meaning of the Ts although I recognized them earlier. But doesn't the watch in the first Pic Feature them as well? By the way, I love the steel chrono in the second pic! So would 2k only for the watch but without the bracelet still be a good price?