I'm looking at the following watch as a gift for my son. He has become interested in 1950-1960's Seamasters. The seller is asking just under $1,000 for this watch. In his description he clearly states that the dial has been repainted and the case has been polished. Neither matter to me as long as those in the know on this forum think it's an "honest" watch and not a franken watch. I'd like to know the following: 1. Is it an "honest" watch and not a franken? 2. What do you think of the quality of the repainted dial? 3 What your overall opinion of the watch is? 4. Is it from 1956? 5. Is $1,000 a reasonable price? The seller's description is listed below: DESCRIPTION: 1) Dial: The Original dial has been repainted. 2) Dial Color: Nice Black Color dial with Steel & Radium Dot Index, Steel & Radium Hands. 3) Case: Stainless Steel Case has been polished. 4) Band : After market Black Band attached. 5) Glass : New Acrylic Glass attached to it. Brand Omega Ref. No. 26504 SC Code 140 Movement Manual winding Case material Steel Bracelet material Leather Year 1956s Condition Used (fine) Gender Men's watch CALIBER Movement Manual winding Movement/Caliber 420 Number of jewels 17 CASE Case material Steel Case diameter 33 x 40 mm Material bezel Steel Glass Plexiglass Dial Black Dial numerals Arabic numerals BRACELET/STRAP Bracelet material Leather Bracelet color Black Lug width 18 mm Clasp Buckle These are the pictures posted by the seller: Thanking all of you in advance for any insight you can provide. Sincerely, Dall
Refinished dial kills value (50% or more) plus the watch is in horrible condition, case is badly pitted movement tired. $100 parts watch at best.
It's a very poor redial and is worth around a quarter of the asking price at best. Prior to the "refurbishment" I'll wager that watch was a complete bag of shit. For that money you can get a lovely, original 50's Seamaster.
Hands a bit tired but otherwise ok IMO and wrong crown can be fixed. There may be others in the US but I only search the EU. Much easier if you don't insist on a black dial as they are mostly redials. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182785898282?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network
Most importantly, don't rush. You don't need to limit yourself to what's in the market now. Keep checking the same forum here if you're inexperienced. New listings come up daily and frankens/refills soon get weeded out.
FYI black dials, 95-98% of the black dial Omegas out there are refinished, which completely kills the value.
Definitely. If you have time to be patient you can find an original black dial. If not, consider white/silver dials as the chances are, in a given time period most of the black dials available for sale are wildly overpriced or refinished, whereas you're likely to come across an original white/silver dial for a reasonable price within a month or so.
Although I have been stalking this site for months, I just joined last night. Somehow I missed seeing yours.