Omega 1961 Seamaster Authenticity Question

W wkshez

Hello, my father surprised me this Christmas with this 1961 Omega Seamaster as he knows I'm a fan of vintage watches, and I decided to do some research on it to see if I could find out more about the watch or similar ones released at the time. Upon doing this I couldn't find any watches that had a dial that looked like mine with the numbers oriented in a way that the 7 and 8 are upside down when you look down at it, and when I tried searching from the reference number on the caseback it brought up a completely different looking watch.

I'm not an expert, but from what I can tell from looking at other Omegas, the movement looks legit, so I'm wondering if this is an incorrect or restored dial or maybe some weird one off model that I'm clueless about. Any insights at all would be greatly appreciated.

The below photos are from the seller he bought it from on ebay.

padders

Looks like a redial to me, the rest looks straight, though it likely started without the 30 on the dial judging by Google hits for the case number. As you say the irregular treatment of the 5 and 7 is a big tell but there are others.

MtV

...or enjoy it for what it is: A nice gift from someone who loves you. 😀

Passover

Original sale ad says "redialed" DIAL: Black dial ( Professional redial ) .

https://bit.ly/3hDNzrg

Seller often offers redialed watches but states that in his descriptions

To the OP: Price is roughly stated in the link so maybe don't click on it as it was a present

W wkshez

Ah, that explains it. We're both actually looking into this since we're kind of nerds when it comes to originality in vintage items, he must've overlooked that part.

Davidt

Almost certainly not a black dial to begin with, but a silver dial similar to what you posted above.

A redial it may be and under normal circumstances this would be a straight return, but as this is the one your dad picked out to start your vintage watch collection I'd be inclined to keep it.

padders

In this era, Omega fitted countless dials to a given case number so it is tricky to be sure what a redial would have looked like. One thing is certain though, yours is certainly not true to any original black dial variant, if there ever was one.

It is a rule of thumb that seasoned Omega collectors follow that it is best to assume any 50s or 60s Omega dress or dress/sports watch you see, (by which I mean Constellations, certain Seamasters and SMDVs) are redials. if you start with that assumption, you will be safer than if you assume it is right until it is proven otherwise since the proportion of legit black dials you will find is vanishingly small, like a few %. Only very hardcore collectors have the knowledge to buy one of these and get it right every time. Your seller was actually pretty open, not many are.

If it is going to annoy you and your dad you should return it if the seller accepts this. You didn't get it cheap so you shouldn't have to put up with something that isn't spot on.