Omega Seamaster 176007 Chronograph (Blue Dial)

Hello fellow OMEGAN's from the land "Down Under". Cut a long story short.. I finally found my lost watch when cleaning my fathers house out and not in the condition I expected it to be in. Mister Tinkler had a got to it!!!
An Omega watch store quoted approx AUD $2500 - $3000 for a repair ( all parts and labour ), which had to be done in Switzerland. This may be more than the market value of the watch?. One thing I noticed but forgot to ask was there doesn't appear to be a "part" where the serial number appears. I would like to wear it for sentimental reasons, but at the same time have it as an investment. It needs a new dial. If this model did have the "serial number part" will the value decrease?
Open to suggestions.. Regards

Hi

Congratulations on finding your watch although it must have been a bit heartbreaking to find it in it’s current state.

Good news, as you have already found out, is that the watch can be rescued if you send it to Omega. They will replace pretty much the entire watch except for the case, caseback and maybe some of the movement. This makes sense ONLY if you are holding on to it for sentimental reasons. You will never get your money back if you sell it.

Sourcing original part with be a long journey but can in theory be done. But it will likely also cost more than what the watch will be worth in the end.

A good original 176.007 can be had for around $2500 and even fully restored with service parts yours would be worth significantly less as ‘original’ watches are much more sought after than watches with mostly service parts.

The serial number on the 1040 movement is located in the rotor, which is missing from your watch. That is why you can’t find it.

My advice is that if you are keeping it for sentimental reasons then have it restored by Omega if you can afford it. Otherwise sell it as parts and put the money towards something else you will enjoy.

I don’t know what parts Omega has in stock to restore that watch, but I can say that good examples of his reference sell for much more than $2500–especially if they include an original 1170 bracelet in good nick with the correct end links.

$2,500 would be what you would expect to pay for one with cosmetic issues and with a non original band or bracelet. They also seem to be appreciating fairly well.

Wow, that watch has seen some things!

Omega is probably the easiest and most expensive way to restore your watch. They'll replace the dial and hands, and what you get back will look nothing like the kind of vintage 176.007 that would command much more than the repairs. So it is a personal decision and certainly worth it if you plan on wearing it and the sentimental value exceeds the repair bill.

If you are patient and know what you're looking for you could source used parts on eBay that will have a more vintage vibe than the Omega Service would offer. From the pics I'd say for sure you'd need hands, a dial, a 24 hour disc, and maybe a crystal and bezel.

And then there's the movement. It looks pretty bad but I'm always amazed at what a competent watchmaker can do. Your rotor is missing - cal. 1040 rotors show up on eBay pretty frequently so replacing that part won't be a challenge. Looks like you need a crown too. You'll need to take it to a watchmaker to determine what of the rest of the movement can be salvaged (and they'd have to clean, repair, and service it - not cheap on a cal. 1040), but they may need to source many replacement parts. In the end a DIY approach would probably take longer and cost just as much, but it would look more "vintage".

Hi, have found this old thread searching the forum for info about 24 hour disc of caliber 1040, I can't find a serial part number to buy a replacement for mine
@Andy K when you wrote
did you mean is it possible to find only the disc with a specific part number? I have found on the web just the wheel, part number 1564

Hello. I am wondering if you’d like to sell your case and band? You can email me at [email protected]