Hello everyone! I have used this forum as a reference multiple times, but this is my first time posting. I was recently helping my dad clean out his old stuff and came across an early/mid 1970s Omega Seamaster. Upon doing some research I learned that it is a gold plated Seamaster ref. 176.007. I fell in love with the watch and would like to restore and keep it. The watch is in pretty bad shape externally, but still runs despite sitting in a drawer for almost 15 years. The story my dad told me was that he was working on a car engine when the watch dropped into the engine, hit the engine fan which deflected it back up to hit the hood and finally drop to the ground. Amazingly the movement was unaffected! I am posting pictures of the watch to see what steps you guys think need to be taken to restore the watch. I took it to Omega, which sent my watch to Seattle for a quote. They quoted me at $905 for a full overhaul of the watch, which according to them will make the watch brand new EXCEPT for the case which cannot be refurbished due to extreme signs of wear. Because they could not tell me the exact condition the watch would be sent back to me, I decided not to go through with it until I get the case refurbished. I am curious to know: 1) Whether the case can be refurbished. If so, to what extent? 2) Does he gold plating need to be redone? Is that even possible? 3) Is the $905 quote from Omega reasonable, or would I be better off finding an independent watch restoration shop? 4) Is it even worth restoring? NOTE: I am not interested in selling the watch. It has too much sentimental value as it was given to my dad on his wedding, and now passed on to me 40 year later.
That case might be too beat up to restore. It is possible to have it stripped and a new finish put on, then replated. However, you might be able to find a replacement case for less. WatchCo of Australia has a lot of odd Omega parts from this era and I swear I saw them offering replacement cases for that exact model. Check them out on eBay. Oh, and excellent heirloom!
Thank you very much for the response! I just checked out WatchCo of Australia and they didn't have the case which is compatible with the movement in this watch (Caliber 1040). Or where I would be able to find the part number for the case of this particular watch? I am really considering the strip/finish/replate. Any suggestions as to how I would be able to reputable/reliable place to get it done? All my searches for gold plating result in plating for rims and bumpers. Sorry for bombarding so many questions! I just love this watch and want to figure out a way to make it perfect.
Try sending them an email! Not sure how it would look with a replate - from what I heard people have tried but they haven't gotten a satisfactory result.
Yeah, the replate does sound a bit sketchy. Especially since I'm sure the quality won't be anywhere near that of the original Omega plating. Emailing them is a good idea. Thanks!
Yep, they had a few things I needed that never hit eBay and an e-mail pried open the vault. Then again, they couldn't find the correct size dial for my Genève, but they ended up listing it a month later. Yeah, sometimes it's just "flash" plating - VERY thin and wears off VERY quickly. Good thing is you're keeping the watch, so just do a saved search on eBay and check once or twice a week to see if new results come up.
They emailed me back pretty fast. Unfortunately the case is discontinued from Omega so it's extremely difficult to find :/ Exactly why I want to make sure I do it at a reputable place IF I end up doing it. Since I plan on keeping the watch, I'm not in a rush. Hopefully a case will show up sometime.
