This watch was gifted to me, but needs repair. Yesterday it got sent off to Omega. In a few weeks I should receive an estimate for the repair.

 

I would recommend a local watchmaker well-versed in vintage rather than sending it to Omega. For starters, it's usually cheaper.

 

I tried a few local shops, but after talking with them I didn't feel confident they would fix it right.

 

Dial looks original, case (I am assuming GF) looks wrecked. I wonder what Omega would do with this watch--I'd opt to not have the dial refinished (I'd also opt to not use Omega at all).

 

Possible sentimental value aside, the cost of an Omega service will exceed the value of the watch, perhaps by several times.

As already noted, an independent shop would be vastly less costly not only in $$$ but in the vintage integrity of the watch itself, something Omega is not particularly concerned with.

 

I should've asked before I sent it off, but I can always decline the fix. Now time to wait.

 

Probably a good idea. I’m interested in what they would do with the dial.

 

In y'alls opinion, what would be a decent price to pay for the repairs? The watch is an automatic and works, but the crown was broken off.

 

I had sent a complete watch with, I think, a 550 movement, gold-fill case with some small damage. They said, leave the dial as is, we can't improve it, and we can't economically repair the case, leave that as is, the quote was $670.

I declined it, and you know what? You pay for that. Now that Omega has it, just do it, they'll do a decent job.

Tom

 

For the record this is the minority, if not the only opinion. Having sent a vintage Seamaster with 321 to Omega I can assure you they don't care about requests, if they deem it necessary for the warranty.

 

I sended a Ref.166020 with the request to only service the movement and to ask me if they would want to change more pieces.
Result, Omega changed the Hands, Case and Dial without asking.

 

For the record, collectors are by far the minority user of anything, be it watches, cameras, radios, telephones, you name it.

Now, I said nothing about requests. The guy asked what he could expect to pay and I told him what Omega would charge me for a watch of similar age. Yes, they repair a watch the way most people would want it because they do not care about the same things you and some of the others here do.

I wish you people who care about originality would buy my Geneve with period bracelet. I can't give it away at $495.

Tom

 

If you decide not to have omega repair it, i would advise you to keep it in a box or some sort of enclosure as the crystal looks to have some hairline cracks and the last thing you would want is for some moisture to get in there. Secondly, don't cheap out on a service, try to get the most qualified watchmaker you can to have a look at it. I generally recommend Delraywatch.com as they have an excellent watch maker in hans, who used to work at Vacheron (but obviously its not going to be cheap). Good luck.

Dean

 

I appreciate everyone's advice. I've been reading a lot of good information here through the forum.

 

Today I got the estimate for repair. $725 for complete maintenance. Optional is refurbishing the dial and it'll bring the total to $925.

 

“Complete maintenance” means what? Did they send a detailed list of things included in the service?
Obviously the dial has to remain untouched.

 

Assuming it's Omega, just what it says. All parts cleaned or replaced, as necessary. Hands will be replaced. Case will be cleaned. You know, what is stated in 100+ posts about what an Omega service entails.

 

Also hands replaced? Thanks for pointing out, I never sent anything to Omega.

 

It is through Omega, and from reading the recommendations. I chose to leave the dial untouched.

 

Many here will sneer at that, but that's not bad. My local watchmaker, who is a Rolex guy, calls that reasonable, because Omega includes all of the parts, and it might well be a LOT of parts.

Hope it comes out as nicely as you want!

Tom