Hello, my Holy Grail needs some love, so i will ship the watch to Omega to get it serviced. The only thing i am not sure about is if i want the case to be freshened up. My last Holy Grail i sent to Omega for a service was beaten too, so i wanted a case refreshing and it came back with a top notch case. But this time i am unsure about a case refeshing. So what is your opinion? Looking forward to your opinions. Greetings
Yes, they do first class work and are sympathetic to originality where the factory are not, or at least didn’t used to be.
Whether or not to refinish is a tricky subject. I have an Ed White and wouldn’t dream of having the case touched but for a 1990s watch for example I wouldn’t think twice and would have it put back to factory finish. For a 1980s Grail I am not sure to be honest. There are good arguments for leaving it be and good arguments for putting it back to factory. Your call really.
Personally, I’d go with a sympathetic refinishing by someone experienced (certainly STS would qualify). I say that since I like my watches to present well to me on my wrist, and I have no desires to sell. Many collectors disagree, pointing to potentially lower resale values. Your decision and situation is the only one that matters.
I wouldn’t touch the case, but even more importantly I’d give Omega strict instructions to not change any visible parts without contacting you first.
No refinishing for me. Omega probably will want to replace dial and hands and pushers and crown, maybe bezel too. Be sure that you will have an opportunity to intervene . STS would be a better bet .assuming they do 1045s. Can we see a dial shot?
I will just leave it as is. It's part of the history of the watch. You can easily polish away metal but you can never grow it back.
So, just want to let you know that i decided to go for a case refreshing, since my other HG came back with a very good finished case. Looking forward to get the watch back in a few days, but i guess i will part with it. So what do you guys think regarding a rough price estimation (from - to)? I know, thats not the best questions to ask without pics, but i'm curious. The watch will come with original dial and hands in lousy condition, so when it comes to pricing i would rather take the service parts (will get dial and hands with the watch) as a base. No box, no papers, but probably the extract (i ordered it, but i'm not sure if it comes back with it). Prices on C24 seem to be not the most reliable...
It's your watch and your choice. Personally, I wouldn't refinish it. If you saw the beaten up watch on my wrist right now you'd be left in no doubt that I like my watches just to be themselves. However, if I did have a case that I needed to have returned to factory finish, I would talk to STS about filling (laser welding) and taking the case back rather than just polishing. It's going to be more expensive but it would be the route I would prefer.
@oddboy Excuse the late reply. Sure, but just the uninstalled due to service reasons atm. My local watchmaker (AD) deinstalled the tritium parts, since i didnt want Omega to mess with these, even though the parts are in poor shape...
If you are planning on selling it why on earth would you have the case refinished when watch nerds are obsessed with originality?
Cause its easier to sell the watch with the service warranty and Omega did a very good job on welding and touching up the case last time imho ! Can post some pics when i have the watch back in my hands if youre interested.
To each their own, but I am generally always in favor of leaving original parts in and leaving the case as-is. Part of the story for me.
Lots (and lots and lots ) of collectors would disagree but as long as you are upfront about it the market will decide. The prices on these are so crazy right now it will be hard to tell the impact.
