Really want one of these as my next vintage purchase, but feel I am still too uneducated to make a confident decision.

Saw this one today and thought it looked great, but too chicken to pull the trigger. Looked later, and it was gone - so did anyone here get it, and/or can anyone share their insights into what is right/wrong with it?...

http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/321983692691Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

Thanks as always to learn from the experts here...

Glenn

 

I'll take a shot, but I'm not that good at these..

No stubbies behind the hour plots.
Open 6 and 9
Holes at 12 and 6 in the lume
Dial and hands look original (or at least authentic?). Opinions on state may vary.
Case looks ok
Bezel, hmm... original? What happened to the '20'?

Seems like a decent buy (says the guy who has owned none of these).

 

Except for the missing lume in minute hands and second hand, which can be fixed, the watch is in good shape.
The bezel does have a mark by the 20 but overall is good, as is the dial. Compared to the other $3250 165.024 on eBay, this is a much better example,
http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/262199731234Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

The hand and dial lume match.
The seller includes an Omega mesh bracelet, 1171/575 bracelet and an extract. These 3 items are a $1,000 value.
Seller states the watch had a recent service. the caliber 552, 24 jewel movement looks very cean
States case was previously polished but doesn't look too bad.
With all the NOS 165.024 put togethers floating around, the extract is a nice addition.
Seller has an eBay rating of 100% for over 300 transactions.

The bezel is an "E" type bezel. I believe this version is seen less often than some of the others.


And that is why I bought it

 

It's all slapped together with new NOS parts 1970-80 ????. Not a factory original from the 60's. Save your money and find some one selling a Watchco
cheaper. Perhaps wait it out and find a real 60's original for that money! Also very odd is I clicked the same link 3 times and got a different page each time. The one that first appeared is a goodie but not an oldie... pass at that price. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Omega-Vintag...d=100011&rk=1&rkt=10&mehot=pp&sd=321983692691Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

Thanks for this compilation @gemini4 !

 

Congrats. All correct, condition can be argued as always.
The bezel with the "horizontial 1" is no. 3 on the 2. generation SM300's (#B3 in the guide to be;-)... and it is actually quite common. Seen on '66/'67 productions, typically with serial 24x, so you are all good on that one ;-)

Mine (on the right) says heello...

 

Extremely helpful info here (as always), and congrats @gemini4 !

It looked great to me, and I regret not grabbing it, but oh well.

(@MyVintageOmega , can you share what you see that appears to be from the '70s-'80s?)

Thanks, all...

 

Wait around, good ones pop up more often than you think.

Study the dial and bezel as others have said. The beauty of the 300 is that there plenty on old ones out there, and sellers don't know the value because they are not a Rolex!

And sometimes, collectors sell them for fair prices too.

 

I think the only way to find a SM300 this nice is to wait for @kox in a dark alley.

 

Would love to hear how it looks in the metal, when you receive it.

Funny, I know tons of people here want a - or another - Speedmaster, but the SM300s really don't come up for sale here much at all. Speedmasters are for sale here pretty often.

 

Would love to hear how it looks in the metal, when you receive it.

Funny, I know tons of people here want a - or another - Speedmaster, but the SM300s really don't come up for sale here much at all. Speedmasters are for sale here pretty often.

 

Since, back in the day, they were diver tool watches, there are less vintage seamasters available.

 

I found this a handy article and I made myself very familiar with some of the things pointed out here before I purchased mine http://thatwatchandmore.blogspot.ca/2013/03/buying-vintage-omega-seamaster-300.html?m=1

 

Yes, I found that and bookmarked it last week. Very helpful.

 

Yes......... in the info on the watch from the E-bay seller listed below.

Brand: Omega Band Material: Leather
Gender: Men's Age: Vintage (1971-1983)
Style: Luxury: Sport Styles Movement: Mechanical: Automatic
Features: Date Display: Analog

 

Still have my beauty........ all day one original, outside of the 1171 bracelet.

 

Once I got my Seamaster 300, I put the Speedmaster away. Easy to read, automatic, stellar lume (it's a Watchco). My new favorite.

Tom

 

Yes, many had a hard life being used as dive watches. IMO, thats what gives them character

 

And some vintage ones have not had as hard a life 1966 HF case with original Naiad crown on bottom, and 1967 CB case with replacement crystal and Naiad crown. Both of these came from ebay in the past two months for under WatchCo money...patience and a bit of good luck and you can snag one.