I think is time to take my speedmaster to service, it was given to me by my dad - the watch has no water damage but would need a new glass and is running late every day. Do you think they could do something to fix the lume in the hands and dial? I wonder if anybody could give me some price reference for the service and the lume repair which would be helpful before I go visit the store.
Personally I would just have it serviced. I wouldn't let them touch the Lume. Why mess around with the originality of the dial for a very small benefit and risk reducing its potential vintage value. Of course others will have differing views. Modern lumes, in my opinion, aren't anything too special in terms of sustainable luminosity. Tritium had the additional benefit of turning a beautiful butter yellow colour over the years. Real patina. I don't know in which country you are located in, but a full service in Australia would be between AUD500 to AUD800.
I just saw that you're in London. If your going to have it worked on by the Omega Service centre then I suspect you will pay at the top end, but it makes sense to have Omega service it if you don't have a trusted service person you can take it to. More qualified and experienced people on the forum will guide you better and I am sure others will have trusted London sources.
I understand the issues around new lume / value - this watch has a deep sentimental value and I would never be selling it It would be Interesting to know what omega do, if anything, to fix the lume - being an old watch, would they have spare hands/dials? Or if they would they apply new lume somehow
Spare hands? Dials? Yes but...noooooooooo! I imagine they would scrape off the remaining Lume and recoat it. Someone on the forum will know better. I once had to send my vintage military 1957 IWC back to the factory in Shauffhausen for some serious work. It had been in the family since '57 and the hands had corroded and broken and the dial wasn't in the best of shape. They were ok with replacing the hands, no choice really, with New Old Stock but talked me out of touching the dial and the tritium Lume which I could have had scaled off and replaced with a look alike. I am forever grateful for that. BTW they lovingly mounted what was left of the hands on faux dial and shipped it back with the watch.
Take a look at this link regarding the cost of a full spa treatment. Based on my interpretation of the chart, your watch would come in at a minimum of about $US 700. http://www.omegawatches.com/customer-service/watch-intervention/complete-maintenance-service-prices
Check out Swiss Time Services based in Essex - http://www.swisstimeservices.co.uk They are the UK Omega approved vintage watch centre and will do as much or as little cosmetic work as you need.
I would only take it if the offer a dial/hands replacement, if the price was reasonable enough but then again I don't know if they would stock part for this old speedy. Thanks for the link, I have an Omega store here close to my work in London, any advantages if I send it directly to Swiss Time Services?
Omega may strongly suggest you have a number of items replaced, taking away part of what makes it your dads watch. Their goal is to return the watch as close as possible to new. STS on the other hand are well versed in sympathetically servicing vintage pieces and striking a balance between function and the history of the watch. Many UK members here, including myself have used STS and have nothing but good things to say. They are also the UK approved service centre, SwissTec is their vintage division.
STS via phone would like to see the watch before providing a quote - which is fair enough as they would inspect the watch and see if there is any major work needed or just the "full spa". Will take it down to Omega first, just to see what they say there face to face, I am actually not sure what sort of watch/model/ cal. I have in my hands! it would be cool to get the serial numbers and then the report from the Omega archives. I totally want to respect the history of the watch, the glass would need replacement for sure but the watch looks great otherwise - will report anything I learn about the watch itself, dial and hands.
Hi No brainer IMHO.... My recommendation is to use STS versus the Omega Service centre....which would probably involve it going to Bienne. Costs & Warranty will be exactly the same. You will not be disappointed & turnaround will be much quicker too ! Best - Neil
Hello xman. I reckon I have had about 20 vintage Omega watches serviced or service/restored in the past 10 years. At first I wanted watches to be restored 'as new' and sent them back to Switzerland for a full restoration including case refinishing, new dial, new hands etc. As the years went by I realized that vintage original was more pleasing on an old watch than restored to new. Coincidentally this light bulb moment came when I was having some difficulties with Omega/Switzerland who can be very dogmatic and the whole experience became hard work. I turned to STS who were like a breath of fresh air and would not hesitate to recommend them as others here have already done. They have access to all the Omega parts you are likely to require but bear in mind that dials and hands are current Omega replacement spares and not identical to those used in the 1960s/1970s. In answer to your question regarding advantages of sending to STS direct I offer the following. The big, big advantage is that STS care and understand about vintage watches and the differing views of their owners. The Omega London service centre will probably not do the work - either sending your watch to Swatch UK or Switzerland. You will not get to talk directly to the watchmaker. The Omega service operation can be a bit like a production line and sometimes they want to impose their views on you. Assuming that you will not become a collector and this will be a one off experience for you why not take the watch to STS yourself. A nice drive into the Essex countryside. Some gorgeous watches to look at in their reception area and a direct conversation with a watchmaker. They will probably be able to show you some watches that have had either full restoration or a sympathetic servicing which will help you in your decision making. Hope this helps. Regards, Jack