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Omega Seamaster 120 vintage 166.027 Help!

J
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Hello Omega Community,

This is my first post so please let me know if I do any wrong or should be posting this somewhere else.

I have vintage Omega Seamaster 120 I was gifted by my grandfather when I was young. He has since passed away and I want to wear it. I was hoping to gain some more insight on its authenticity. I had the case back opened and noticed it has been serviced at least once in 1997 according to a marking on the inside of the case back.

17 jewel, 563 caliber to avoid tax on higher jeweled watches

Upon inspections I notice that the crown is not original and the bracelet fits with the 1968 production year that I was able to determine using the serial number. Though I feel it may have been changed out given the missing “1069” marking commonly found on that bracelet. Instead it has the No. 12, Omega, and says stainless steel.

The dial is in extremely good condition and I even notice some tritium lum that may still be present. I have had this watch in my jewelry box for the past 15 years and it sat in his for a number of years prior.

I was hoping anyone could provide some help on whether it seems authentic or provide some piece of mind on my theory regarding the changed parts during the servicing.

Any insight helps, thank you.

I also have struggled to find a link to make the bracelet longer. It is sadly too small because I have a slightly larger sized wrist. I can get it on but can’t close it. I’ve checked eBay, chrono24, and a few other sources. Swatch group wanted me to buy a whole new bracelet that doesn’t have the lines.

regards,
Jay
 
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JwRosenthal
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Welcome @Jaystrab

Better pics always help us determine condition (take it outside and zoom in on it) but I see nothing glaring on this as incorrect. The crown as you suggest looks like a clover style which was for the earlier Seamaster’s- so you are correct that it is not a appropriate for this watch. But crowns are commonly changed out at service as they are a wearable part so it’s not a big deal. Getting the correct service crown would be the only thing I would change in this watch- when you get it serviced next.

As for the bracelet, it is indeed a 1098- some were stamped with the number, some weren’t (mine isn’t stamped either).
67C7FB17-9DAA-43C5-9B42-430256BD4767.jpeg


You are in luck though as the 1098 was made by JB Champion for Omega and this bracelet was also used by other companies at the time, so finding a JBC stamped version of this bracelet can yield extra links if it is long enough (that is how I got my extra link).
7AF03B6A-297F-4446-AB41-6550017F24B6.jpeg


Search for “JB Champion bracelet” on eBay and eventually one of these will pop up. You may get lucky and find someone selling links, but most likely you will have to buy a whole bracelet.

An alternative in the mean time is to find a longer clasp. There are modern made cheap extensions for clasps, but I have found the holes commonly don’t line up with Omega or JBC clasps, so finding a longer clasp cover could hold you over
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Edited:
 
J
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Hello JwRosenthal,

Thank you for taking the time out to write your response. It was really helpful and I will make sure to take some better pictures next time with the tips you suggested.

I will definitely look at JB Champion to see if that will provide me any better results. That was very helpful to know and I do appreciate that a lot. Thanks for also providing some pictures to illustrate what you were saying.

Regards,
Jay
 
JwRosenthal
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J Jaystrab
Hello JwRosenthal,

Thank you for taking the time out to write your response. It was really helpful and I will make sure to take some better pictures next time with the tips you suggested.

I will definitely look at JB Champion to see if that will provide me any better results. That was very helpful to know and I do appreciate that a lot. Thanks for also providing some pictures to illustrate what you were saying.

Regards,
Jay
Also, if you let us know where you are in the world, we may be able to recommend a watchmaker you can take/send it to. Movement parts are still available from Omega (even if it’s working “fine”, there are still wearable parts inside and the oils are probably long dried out), but the watchmaker who does the work will either need access to factory parts or have an Omega parts account themselves- which narrows the pool on an already narrow pool of tradesmen.
 
J
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Shabbaz Shabbaz
Good luck Jay. What a great heirloom. Fantastic watch. And fantactic advice from @JwRosenthal
Thank you I really appreciate it. I agree JwRosenthal provided fantastic advice that was very helpful and hopefully I’ll be able to enjoy wearing it sooner than later.
 
J
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JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
Also, if you let us know where you are in the world, we may be able to recommend a watchmaker you can take/send it to. Movement parts are still available from Omega (even if it’s working “fine”, there are still wearable parts inside and the oils are probably long dried out), but the watchmaker who does the work will either need access to factory parts or have an Omega parts account themselves- which narrows the pool on an already narrow pool of tradesmen.
You make a very good point. I’m in Northern California in Humboldt county right now. I looked around my area but was unsuccessful in finding anyone that could do a proper service. I was previously living in San Jose in the Bay Area. I make trips down there pretty frequently to visit family so if you know of any tradesmen in California or someone I could send it to in the USA that would be really helpful.

I appreciate all the help.
Regards,
Jay
 
Shabbaz
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Bumping this one. Anyone know a good watchmaker?

My watchmaker is a bit far away (Netherlands).
 
JwRosenthal
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Our California friends should be waking up soon so hopefully they will chime in.
 
Nepomuceño
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Hello, fellow California resident living in the bay area. I recommend Paul's Watch Repair in Sacramento. I've used him and can vouch. @wagudc can probably also chime in as well as he is around where you are from. I've also heard good things about World Time in San Jose but have never used them.
 
JwRosenthal
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J Jaystrab
Thank you I really appreciate it. I agree JwRosenthal provided fantastic advice that was very helpful and hopefully I’ll be able to enjoy wearing it sooner than later.
As for the bracelet, you can wear it on a leather or canvas strap or use an aftermarket bracelet until you find the correct links for your 1098.
Before I tracked down the correct bracelet for mine, I wore it on an Uncle Seiko 19mm Holzer bracelet. It took a little tweaking of the endlinks for it to lay flush to the case, but was an excellent fit
A7963D18-99A5-48ED-A57A-AC421305B6E0.jpeg


https://www.uncleseiko.com/products/us-mexico-holzer-omega-speedmaster-bracelet-19-20mm
 
wagudc
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@Jaystrab great watch and the family connection makes it priceless! I have used Paul's Watch Repair with positive results. They are honest, quick turn around, and have very reasonable rates. However, they don't have an Omega parts account. I mail my Omegas to Kelly Hunter at Art of the Watch in Portland, OR. He is great with vintage watches, honest, but has long turn around times and is not nearly as affordable as Paul's. His prices are fair, and he will give you a quote before doing any work. He also has patience and willingness to take on challenging jobs.
 
J
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Nepomuceño Nepomuceño
Hello, fellow California resident living in the bay area. I recommend Paul's Watch Repair in Sacramento. I've used him and can vouch. @wagudc can probably also chime in as well as he is around where you are from. I've also heard good things about World Time in San Jose but have never used them.
Great! Thank you I will definitely check out Paul’s watch repair and I think I’ve seen World Time but I’ve never gone in there. I’ll definitely walk in next time I’m in San Jose. Thank you for the suggestions.
 
J
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wagudc wagudc
@Jaystrab great watch and the family connection makes it priceless! I have used Paul's Watch Repair with positive results. They are honest, quick turn around, and have very reasonable rates. However, they don't have an Omega parts account. I mail my Omegas to Kelly Hunter at Art of the Watch in Portland, OR. He is great with vintage watches, honest, but has long turn around times and is not nearly as affordable as Paul's. His prices are fair, and he will give you a quote before doing any work. He also has patience and willingness to take on challenging jobs.
Thank you for attesting to also using Paul’s and describing your positive results but also mentioning that they don’t have an Omega parts account. Also, thank you for introducing me to Art of the Watch. I’ll definitely look at their website and see if I may use them in the future for a servicing. Thanks for your input and help.
 
JwRosenthal
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Glad this is all helpful @Jaystrab

If you haven’t dealt with servicing a mechanical watch before, think of it like getting a car serviced. Any qualified mechanic can do an oil and filter, flush the fluids and preform general maintence. If they discover while they are in there that your shift forks are binding, pressure plate is on its last legs, master cylinder is leaking, rear main seal is leaking, and alternator is on its way out- without access to factory parts, the best they can do is clean it up and get it back on the road as it is. You may get many more miles out of it before things go sideways, but it’s not getting it back to factory spec, and a matter of time until things fail.
That said, some watchmakers, although not Omega trained and certified, may have access to a network by which they can source factory parts. So it’s always best to ask the question if an independent that doesn’t have a parts account- if you run into issues, do you have access to factory parts
 
J
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JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
Glad this is all helpful @Jaystrab

If you haven’t dealt with servicing a mechanical watch before, think of it like getting a car serviced. Any qualified mechanic can do an oil and filter, flush the fluids and preform general maintence. If they discover while they are in there that your shift forks are binding, pressure plate is on its last legs, master cylinder is leaking, rear main seal is leaking, and alternator is on its way out- without access to factory parts, the best they can do is clean it up and get it back on the road as it is. You may get many more miles out of it before things go sideways, but it’s not getting it back to factory spec, and a matter of time until things fail.
That said, some watchmakers, although not Omega trained and certified, may have access to a network by which they can source factory parts. So it’s always best to ask the question if an independent that doesn’t have a parts account- if you run into issues, do you have access to factory parts

Thank you so much I really do appreciate all the input. I definitely get what you mean and I think finding a good watchmaker to service it will be the best thing to maintain it’s longevity while keeping it made with original parts. I did find everyone’s suggestions helpful in the post so I’m truly grateful.

One other question, more so pertaining to obtaining parts. So I did originally try to reach out to Omega and was forwarded to swatch group I’m kind of curious because I talk to somebody from swatch group and they offered me a bracelet that was their replacement to the one I had but it was manufactured in 2007. Which I found out after I got some more information from one of their representatives it looks slightly different but I was curious about what/if any the experience is sourcing parts from them? I did consider purchasing it for the mean time. Any thoughts?

After doing some online reading I wouldn’t send the watch to Omega or Swatch Group for any kind of servicing though. I feel the type of servicing they provide is not something I would want to have done on this watch since it holds sentimental values and I worry they would probably change it a bit to much for my liking to bring it as modern as possible.

I’ll included a photo of the bracelet.
 
9F6BEC41-C8DD-4787-BB0F-0EB314F2274F.jpeg
J
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Thank you! Are you using something on it now? Like a strap? Or waiting till you find a bracelet?
 
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