Omega Seamaster 300 165024 on an auction!

Greetings OF!
It has been a long time since my latest post, so why not make this one with a BIG splash?
🙄


But Wait, What…?
A vintage SM300 - the Forum has been flooded with questions about this reference for many years,
and it seems to be one the most troublesome references?
Watches with relumed dials and hands, incorrect parts/frankenwatches, and also lots of fakes…

So why should I dive into this?
Well….some of you might know that I have a Great Love for Speedys (and maybe a bit unhealthy Love...😁),
and the ongoing journey is fun and amazing, so why not try it with SM300´s?

I had the opportunity to buy a nice one from a dear Forum member a couple of years ago, and I am really pleased with the watch and the reference!

I have followed SM300´s for some time, but most of them are riddled with problems,
and the beautiful ones that come up for auctions always gets a high price!
And I actually did a post on one that was nice a few years ago.

This one here came up for an auction roughly two months ago, the auction house had only one picture, so I had to ask for more.
It took some time, I had to ask again, and I finally got some pictures.
These showed a used, dirty watch with a very scratched crystal.
The dial and lumeplots could be very promising, and I received more pictures that made me very positiv about this!
The bezel had a small split, and a few dings and cracks...
The case and caseback had lot of scratches, dings and marks, but the brushing was visible on the sides.
The edges still retained some sharpness, but polished or unpolished - totalt impossible to see!

Can we call the watch an honest used tool watch?

The hands…
the minute hand had been color adjusted, and the second hand looked a bit weird.
Not the best work done, but they are what they are.

The crown was not correct, and had come loose from the stem.
No movement pictures, but the watch must have been serviced (or worked with) before.
The auction house had the serial nr, 2422xxxx, so this could guide me regarding the correctness of the parts.
But not giving me any pictures of the movement made me a bit nervous, so I had to have this in my valuation.

The watch was working, but impossible for the auction house to set the time etc because of the crown.

And there was the bracelet, a 1039 with 516 endlinks.
But that one was a real mess…missing springbars/sprints, lots of links with tired springs etc etc…

Auction day came up, the lot came up, and since the estimate was silly low, lots and lots of bids!

But in the end, I managed to win the biding - YAY!

I actually went one bid over my Masterplan, but WT Fluff!
I had a good feeling about the watch (except for the movement), and hoped for the best!

It took a couple of weeks for me to receive the watch, and once it arrived - time for some serious assessment!

I got the watch opened, and the movement was a bit of a disappointment…
There was a large ”crater” on one of the plates, and the same kind on the inside of the caseback.
Screwheads had been abused, and there were small scratches here and there!

The dial and lumeplots are in my opinion very nice, so I am happy with this (please please not a relume....!)
The case and case back are actually in a better condition than I thought - also happy!

So now it comes to the Forum - I have a few questions regarding how to proceed:

The movement, it is disturbing for me to know that there are the cometic faults, but is it worth changing these parts..?

The hands are going to be adjusted.
The watch is going to Simon Freese, and he can do the job, but is it worth to get them perfect and send them to James Hyman?

The bracelet - the same question here - renovate and search for the parts?
This one came with the watch, and should be the original one, it is stamped 1/67,
and the serial nr could indicate a very late 1966 or early 1967 watch production.

The crystal - should I source a NOS, or settle with a new one, or maybe even see if it could be polished?

I have a period correct crown, so I am fine there.

And of course - the most important question - Did I assess the watch correctly?
There are many skilled SM 300 collectors here on the Forum, and I have a few dear Forum friends who could have helped me with the assessment,
but I did not want to bother them with this watch….
I have got so much help before with other watches, and this time I thought it would be a bit more exiting to do this myself…

Going through tons of posts and pictures here on the Forum.
And also using the nice website https://www.omegaseamaster300.com/
even though there has been some ”disturbance” with the author.

So…. Is it time to throw the Swede under the bus…!!??

Attaching pictures with some comments/notes.

Enjoy, and your (kind) feedback and comments are always very appreciated!!

It is Saturday - so Cheers, Yamas and Skål!


A few pictures from the auction house:



Pictures of the movement and caseback, with the "craters"!
😕



After some polywatch and some easy cleaning....In the Sun!



And the shoddy bracelet...

Welcome to the "NO DOT Club"

Bracelet; I’ve seen worse.
If the hinges on both sides of the clasp pieces are intact it’s an easy fix. A pin, a few springs and it is back in business.

If the hinge is broken off it’s debatable on what you would want to do but would be tough to keep 100% original then.

If you were in the US I’ve got the parts. But maybe I’ll see you in Nov. 😉

Thanks for the advice - sanding the crystal would do the job,
and the hands might go to James H, I will see when the dial and hands are out of the case.

And Simon - the coms works well (for me), I have a watch that I left with him in June, and it is ready for pick-up now.
And I am very pleased with the others that I picked up at the same time.

The hinges do look intact, and I love an easy fix!


DM incoming for you in a few minutes...😊

I kinda like it.

I’m going to go against the grain and say from what I can see from your pics (which aren’t great Hans!!) I think the hands are original. The hour hand shows the typical dark mould starting on the periphery and the thinner minute hand seems to have succumbed much more. But, this is typical.
I will caveat this by saying I’m reading on my phone, in bed, in the dark with the brightness on night mode so it may look different on a well lit big screen, but I wouldn’t rush for a relume just yet.

I also wouldn’t bother sourcing a nos crystal. My aim for this watch given the bezel isn’t perfect, the movement has seen a bit of abuse and the hands are darkened would be to make it an attractive daily wearer. A nos crystal isn’t warrantied here imo. Polish the one you have or just get a modern service one.

Finally, for me a sm300 (in fact all divers) should be on their bracelets. A 300 on flatlink looks stunning. I’d try restoring this one as it seems a good one to try and learn on yourself. Alternatively send it away to one of the specialists. I would just double check there are no cracks in the tubes as one of them looks like it’s starting to go.

Such brave people these Swedes 👍👍
Nice watch Hans and i especially like the case, showing its age but with all lines intact. All parts do match nicely together i think and a crown you already have. A nice watch to restore which will give a lot of improvement.
I dont mind the "craters" but it puzzled me how and why you make dents on that bridge.....

This is a nice catch Hans. The dial looks lovely and the case is good (which is fairly rare with these.) I’d echo what @Davidt said about the hands, perhaps leave them for now unless they really bother you (in which case JHyman will do wonders.) Fix the bracelet and polish the crystal, or find a nos one, but my advice would be to not fit a service crystal as they have a different profile which looks a bit odd once you’ve seen it. I also wouldn’t bother changing the bridge, you can’t see it and it’s original.
Looking forward to seeing it after service!

I think there may be a Swedish word suitable for this watch: Lagom ??
Balanced. It all works, it fits. The bracelet too. I wouldn’t do too much to it.
Congrats

Thanks everybody for the kind words and suggestions for my watch.
This is one of the lovely things with the Forum, you ask, and you get answers!
😀

I am always a little nervous after winning an auction without feeling/looking at the watch in person,
and even though I had a nice feeling on this one, there could be stuff that pops up (like the movement)!

So my plan will be:
Servicing the watch, and change the crown.
Depending on the condition of the hands when they can be assessed on ”the bench”, either keep them, or a relume/adjustment.
Sand and polish the crystal, and keep it.

I think that the bracelet should go to somebody who has done work with these before, not really my cup of tea with this kind of work….

It might take some time, but pictures will come in the future!

Cheers OF!

Thanks David, you could have a point regarding the hands, and that would be nice!
Sorry about the pictures mate, but the crystal is really scratched up...😁

And thanks for the heads up regarding the condition of the tubes/hinges!
👍👍👍

Ron - I think that I have some Viking blood.....😁
And the case was a nice surprise!

Thanks Mate!

Thanks, I did compare with other SM300´s with serial nr closely to mine, but you never know!?
And I will keep the parts, they belong to the watch, and as you wrote - just cosmetic!

I was first thinking about changing the crystal, but if there are no cracks or major damages, I will restore it.
This one will not go in the pool or the shower.
😬

Thanks Ash! Really pleased with this one!
You are one of my GoTo guys, but I knew that you had your hands/plate full!
And Congrats on the book, it is on my waiting list!

Exactly - Lagom is the word!
😀
Thanks Mate!

Makes sense, something that got stuck would just stop the rotor and not cause uch deep dents i think. But removing it without care or knowledge......
Vikingmaster you are !!