Davidt
·Anyone that’s familiar with my watch collecting knows I love Seamasters with black dials and finally, I’ve managed to find a Seamaster 166.010 with original black dial. Now I’ve been after one of these for a while, but they’re extremely hard to find in any condition.
This one came from the original owner who bought it at the NAAFI in Singapore in 1966 and wore it around the world for 20 odd years.
The dial has suffered serious degradation and the case back gasket has melted to a goop that’s leaked out everywhere so safe to say a clean and service are in order. It also needs a correct crown which I’ve hopefully got a lead on. But it will look wonderful when it’s been sorted.
All examples of this black dial variation appear to share the same characteristics;
1. Black dial with gilt text
2. Swiss Made T dial (ie single, not double T)
3. Hour markers inlaid with luminous strip (not a lume dot).
4. Many seem to show degradation of the dial surface.
5. Although a very limited sample size, all seem to come out of East or South East Asia.
6. Standard 166.010 case, caseback, crown, crystal and bracelet as shared with common silver dial version.
There is a limited number of this variation, I can only find one previous example on OF, a beautiful example sold by @tomvox1
https://omegaforums.net/threads/vin...-w-original-black-dial-on-bor-bracelet.79292/. Quite honestly, this is the best one I’ve ever seen and I regretted not buying it.
So, do any other OFers have one of these rare birds or have any links to other examples?
Here’s my one:
![B580979D-DEA4-4CEC-A5CC-4A6C48849E6E.jpeg B580979D-DEA4-4CEC-A5CC-4A6C48849E6E.jpeg](https://omegaforums.net/data/attachments/1638/1638929-2102da48d1291c60d00208233d24a683.jpg?hash=IQLaSNEpHG)
The one sold on OF linked above
![1AE02601-89C6-4029-ABD7-9E3EA2EAFDA3.jpeg 1AE02601-89C6-4029-ABD7-9E3EA2EAFDA3.jpeg](https://omegaforums.net/data/attachments/1638/1638930-e691455c23baca079a71a694a618c7ae.jpg?hash=5pFFXCO6yg)
A couple for sale/sold by TimeAnagram in Japan:
![1F32DFFB-90D5-43AA-8FFF-4EC1E014EEE7.jpeg 1F32DFFB-90D5-43AA-8FFF-4EC1E014EEE7.jpeg](https://omegaforums.net/data/attachments/1638/1638935-b78330939de9eaa0db126b472266fd35.jpg?hash=t4Mwk53p6q)
One currently for sale on eBay (again from Japan):
![B51B3D8E-1042-4B7E-9B8A-74BA69E2863E.png B51B3D8E-1042-4B7E-9B8A-74BA69E2863E.png](https://omegaforums.net/data/attachments/1638/1638936-64d423f4f17965305dc4874df7e9cf20.jpg?hash=ZNQj9PF5ZT)
This one came from the original owner who bought it at the NAAFI in Singapore in 1966 and wore it around the world for 20 odd years.
The dial has suffered serious degradation and the case back gasket has melted to a goop that’s leaked out everywhere so safe to say a clean and service are in order. It also needs a correct crown which I’ve hopefully got a lead on. But it will look wonderful when it’s been sorted.
All examples of this black dial variation appear to share the same characteristics;
1. Black dial with gilt text
2. Swiss Made T dial (ie single, not double T)
3. Hour markers inlaid with luminous strip (not a lume dot).
4. Many seem to show degradation of the dial surface.
5. Although a very limited sample size, all seem to come out of East or South East Asia.
6. Standard 166.010 case, caseback, crown, crystal and bracelet as shared with common silver dial version.
There is a limited number of this variation, I can only find one previous example on OF, a beautiful example sold by @tomvox1
https://omegaforums.net/threads/vin...-w-original-black-dial-on-bor-bracelet.79292/. Quite honestly, this is the best one I’ve ever seen and I regretted not buying it.
So, do any other OFers have one of these rare birds or have any links to other examples?
Here’s my one:
![28EA1B05-78B0-4AD9-99E1-8AF7B7558643.jpeg 28EA1B05-78B0-4AD9-99E1-8AF7B7558643.jpeg](https://omegaforums.net/data/attachments/1638/1638928-751f6fc7b2556d819c55869192a6d3cd.jpg?hash=dR9vx7JVbY)
![B580979D-DEA4-4CEC-A5CC-4A6C48849E6E.jpeg B580979D-DEA4-4CEC-A5CC-4A6C48849E6E.jpeg](https://omegaforums.net/data/attachments/1638/1638929-2102da48d1291c60d00208233d24a683.jpg?hash=IQLaSNEpHG)
The one sold on OF linked above
![1AE02601-89C6-4029-ABD7-9E3EA2EAFDA3.jpeg 1AE02601-89C6-4029-ABD7-9E3EA2EAFDA3.jpeg](https://omegaforums.net/data/attachments/1638/1638930-e691455c23baca079a71a694a618c7ae.jpg?hash=5pFFXCO6yg)
A couple for sale/sold by TimeAnagram in Japan:
![1FD2DD34-91FD-4AA5-BF6B-949313E48145.jpeg 1FD2DD34-91FD-4AA5-BF6B-949313E48145.jpeg](https://omegaforums.net/data/attachments/1638/1638934-ec720adc0838fe93ac11430a6d7993d7.jpg?hash=7HIK3Ag4_p)
![1F32DFFB-90D5-43AA-8FFF-4EC1E014EEE7.jpeg 1F32DFFB-90D5-43AA-8FFF-4EC1E014EEE7.jpeg](https://omegaforums.net/data/attachments/1638/1638935-b78330939de9eaa0db126b472266fd35.jpg?hash=t4Mwk53p6q)
One currently for sale on eBay (again from Japan):
![B51B3D8E-1042-4B7E-9B8A-74BA69E2863E.png B51B3D8E-1042-4B7E-9B8A-74BA69E2863E.png](https://omegaforums.net/data/attachments/1638/1638936-64d423f4f17965305dc4874df7e9cf20.jpg?hash=ZNQj9PF5ZT)