Hi, Well, I'm new to the forum, but a very well known entity on a few of the majors, so thanks for having me! Anyhow, I'm in the process of purchasing this Seamaster 120 and have tortured Kyle L (thanks Kyle!) already regarding if I should bother. Just thought that I'd throw it out to you experts on the forum to add to the conversation. The watch is a ref.135.027 and is completely original (from what I can tell), but is missing the bezel and bezel spring. I've already placed a WTB out there without any luck, so I'm a bit nervous that this may be a fools errand. Here are a few photos, so please feel free to throw in and let me know if this is worth the effort. Thanks in advance for any and all opinions. Thanks, Mike P.S. - What would be the "highest number" where it would be worth purchasing just for parts?
Finding a good bezel, or any bezel for that matter will be nearly impossible. I'd wait to find a complete one.
Hi X350 XJR, Thanks for responding! Is there a number where it would be worth purchasing for parts or is it a pass altogether? Thanks, Mike
Pass would be better. As said above finding a bezel will be almost impossible. And finding a low priced 120 in very bad shape but with a good bezel will be nearly impossible as well.
I'm sure there is, but I don't think anyone can tell you that number really - it will be up to you. All movement parts for these are readily available, so there's no real advantage to buying it for the movement. So the important parts you would buy it for are the dial, hands, and case. If you find a really nice example with a good bezel, but a crappy dial, maybe having a dial on hand is not a bad idea, but you would have to be comfortable with the number, knowing how badly you want the watch. PS - my auto version says hello... Cheers, Al
Thanks for all the responses guys, indeed! Anyhow, the price for the SM120 seems fair, so I'm really making an effort to justify whether I really need this possibly endless pursuit for a bezel. Anyhow, your opinions are very much appreciated.
Dials appear from time to time in ebay, but finding a bezel is next to impossible. I would begin by finding a bezel (I mean, a watch with an acceptable bezel) and then improve from there. Otherwise you will probably end with a full 120 on the one hand, and a bezel-less one on the other.
In case this helps, I failed to mention in my OP that the movement was serviced in February 2017, running +\- 5 seconds with a 40+ hour power reserve.
Well, buying, but from what I’ve been reading here so far, I’m feeling as though I won’t be buying anything, given the missing bezel issue.
After long and considerable deliberation, I've decided to move on the SM120, as it seems to be a great watch and worth the investment in both time and $. With that, if anyone has, knows or comes into the know of a bezel out there, please let me know, as I'm, obviously, interested. Again, thanks for all the responses guys, much appreciated!
If you have the money to sit on then buy it, but its likely going to be a long wait for a bezel, since there are likely dozens of others looking for the same thing.