Seamaster 300 from Watchco...., now bidding and no BIN anymore....

davidswiss · Sep 25, 2016

uwsearch
True story? My father in law worked for Gameo, You all know Gameo, right? He got retired long ago when gameo moved to Bienne but kept a real treasure in spare parts.
He gave me some true new old stock seamasters from the 60-70ies he made himself including a big blue with wrong hands. As he couldn't get the original ones I tried to source big blue hands... nothing on the web at that time and I checked locally.. an official service center did it for me and did some more things for me like that 166.0324...

No never heard of Gameo. Google tells me that it's the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online, but I guess it was really something to do with watches. I'm intrigued please explain.
Back to the subject at hand it seems that your father had a lot of NOS parts to build a SM300 and a friend who worked in an Omega service centre who could build the watch for him. We could probably source the parts but not the friend in the service centre to do the work. So I don't think this is going to work for us is it ?

watchyouwant · Sep 28, 2016

both fetched around US$ 4000. kind regards. achim

LaurentBxl · Sep 28, 2016

so that is US$1400 ish for the documents proving the movement is from a SM300, but not actually the one you buy.... it is still a Watchco no matter what, and should be considered as such. I hope people will not start cheating by showing those documents in a few years (and i know some will....)....

Edward53 · Sep 28, 2016

watchyouwant
both fetched around US$ 4000. kind regards. achim

Not that surprising a result. A bit on the high side but these have become very scarce. With the bracelet it would IMHO be about the going rate for a Watchco.

sydneywatchguy · Sep 28, 2016

Even though I don't agree with what happened in this auction (I mean, who gives a sh!t if it came from an original 300), im tempted to get an archive extract for mine *just in case* the movement on mine also happened to come from an original.

ChrisN · Sep 28, 2016

davidswiss
Back to the subject at hand it seems that your father had a lot of NOS parts to build a SM300 and a friend who worked in an Omega service centre who could build the watch for him. We could probably source the parts but not the friend in the service centre to do the work. So I don't think this is going to work for us is it ?

I don't know if Watchco are still selling kits in general but, you can get all the parts from Cousins for the date version. Not for much longer, I'd imagine and they are not going to be 1200 $/euros, more like 1800 (the weak pound helps though and depending on where you are, you can save the 20% VAT). You can then use your own Watchmaker to assemble them, if he's willing as he might baulk at that if he's linked with Omega. Still, with a movement and service, it's going to be 2500 all in as an estimate just for the head. I have the list of necessary parts if you need it.

As Omega aren't going to be resupplying Cousins, Watchco, Otto Frei and so on in the foreseeable future, I can't see them getting any cheaper.

Cheers, Chris

VetPsychWars · Sep 28, 2016

mozambique
I can't really agree that a watch costing around $4k can really be considered a 'tool'. A $50 Timex from Walmart, now that's a tool. I do like your bubble wrap accessory though. Does that come in blue?

The more precise the tool is, the more it costs. You'd be surprised how much seemingly simple tools can cost "merely" because it's higher precision.

Tom

padders · Sep 28, 2016

VetPsychWars
The more precise the tool is, the more it costs. You'd be surprised how much seemingly simple tools can cost "merely" because it's higher precision.

Tom

Not sure I fully agree with this logic. No one buys a recreation of a 1960s dive watch using a 50 year old movement because it will be a 'more precise tool', they do it for the aesthetic. If you want to spend £4k on a more precise dive watch then you would get a new Rolex sub or Omega PO which will keep way better time and likely need less maintenance. Lovely watches though SM300s are, lets not pretend they are the last word in timekeeping.

VetPsychWars · Sep 28, 2016

padders
Not sure I fully agree with this logic. No one buys a recreation of a 1960s dive watch using a 50 year old movement because it will be a 'more precise tool', they do it for the aesthetic. If you want to spend £4k on a more precise dive watch then you would get a new Rolex sub or Omega PO which will keep way better time and likely need less maintenance. Lovely watches though SM300s are, lets not pretend they are the last word in timekeeping.

Of course not. No mechanical watch is currently the last word in timekeeping and I'll bet you two donuts that almost no serious divers use a dive watch as anything but a backup or an amusement. They're using dive computers.

But it is indisputably true that more precision in the tool, almost always some sort of measuring device, costs more for greater precision and especially greater repeatability.

Tom

Archer · Sep 28, 2016

VetPsychWars
But it is indisputably true that more precision in the tool, almost always some sort of measuring device, costs more for greater precision and especially greater repeatability.

Quartz watches pretty much shatter this paradigm...you can get a very inexpensive watch at Walmart that will be more accurate than mechanical watches costing hundreds of times more money.

VetPsychWars · Sep 28, 2016

Archer
Quartz watches pretty much shatter this paradigm...you can get a very inexpensive watch at Walmart that will be more accurate than mechanical watches costing hundreds of times more money.

Certainly technology is a factor. The Walmart watch won't be a horrible timekeeper... but it's nowhere near as accurate as an Omega X-33 or its decendents. A watch with a very good quartz crystal and temperature compensation and perhaps a radio to sync with NIST's master clocks is the best yet.

To summarize, greater precision and greater repeatability in quartz-based timekeeping, pretty much going to cost more.

Tom

Archer · Sep 28, 2016

VetPsychWars
To summarize, greater precision and greater repeatability in quartz-based timekeeping, pretty much going to cost more.

Tom

I agree...not what you said previously though.

Cheers, Al

VetPsychWars · Sep 28, 2016

Archer
I agree...not what you said previously though.

Cheers, Al

I didn't have leaps of technology in mind, so thanks for pointing that out.

Tom

WatchVaultNYC · Sep 29, 2016

Back to topic. Now that all of the 4 watches were sold I'll share my thoughts:

At what point does a SM300 stop becoming an SM300 and instead becomes a parts watch? Is it still an SM300 if the hands are replaced? Dial? Case? Who makes the rules? Could it instead be a real SM300, just heavily refurbished?

Actually discussed around 2000 years ago (before the advent of online forums for the young 'uns) :

Archer · Sep 29, 2016

WatchVaultNYC
At what point does a SM300 stop becoming an SM300 and instead becomes a parts watch? Is it still an SM300 if the hands are replaced? Dial? Case? Who makes the rules?

All these watches are SM300 in my view, even those that use a movement from another watch - SM300 is a model, and even the Watchco versions are of that SM300 model. The difference is that they all have varying degrees of originality. No one person makes the rules, and it's up to each individual to determine what amount of originality is worth what amount of dollars (or Pounds, Euros, etc.).

watchyouwant · Sep 29, 2016

agree 100% ! we should be happy, that enough parts are still around to get/make one of these iconic divers watches. and it will not be the case forever.... kind regards. achim

WatchVaultNYC · Oct 7, 2016

I picked one of the 4 sold, and wore it to have the question answered for myself. I've had a vintage SM300, a Watchco with a non-SM300 movement, and this.

Does it feel to me that this watch still has the "soul" of the original SM300 that left the factory? Yes.

From a scale of 1-10, 1 being a Watchco with a non-SM300 movement, and a 10 being a "never molested" SM300 how does it feel? I'd say "9".

Do you like it better than your vintage SM300? Yes, because the vintage could not function as a daily wearer.

Will it be as valuable as "original, never molested" vintage SM300? Of course not.

Lapanouse · Oct 7, 2016

I tend to concur. I took an immediate liking to mine. I like it nearly as much as my sub, and that is very high praise.

LaurentBxl · Oct 8, 2016

Same for me, I like it very much, maybe not a 9 but close.... I tend to consider it as an alternative to a new watch with the charm of the sixties: hands, case, dial, what a nice design. I wear it more often than my SD now...

ffej4 · Nov 11, 2016

uwsearch
Find yourself a 565 movement and an Omega official service Center and ask for a case, dial, hand, and you'll be astonished how cheap they can build it for you...

Sarcasm, or is this actually true? For some reason, it doesn't seem like Omega would be cool with getting a movement in the mail and building a brand new watch around it.

Seamaster 300 from Watchco...., now bidding and no BIN anymore....

davidswiss

watchyouwant

LaurentBxl

Edward53

sydneywatchguy

ChrisN

VetPsychWars

padders

VetPsychWars

Archer

VetPsychWars

Archer

VetPsychWars

WatchVaultNYC

Archer

watchyouwant

WatchVaultNYC

Lapanouse

LaurentBxl

ffej4

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