Hello all, Many years ago I inherited my grandfather's watch (https://www.omegawatches.com/en-us/watch-omega-seamaster-omega-ba-165-0003) he got for his 60th birthday in 1969. Last year I took the watch for maintenance and the watchmaker said that the watch is missing the bezel (see the attached photos). Unfortunately, he wasn't able to source a replacement and he said that it should be custom made (his estimate was $800). Would anyone here have any ideas where I could find one? Thanks a lot!
Yeah, a used case would be perfect. Finding one might be difficult as I haven't been able to find even full watches for sale. I'm sure that I don't know the right sources.
If the case is made out of 18k, it might be more cost-efficient to have a replacement bezel made rather than finding a spare case. I'm sure if you do some searching you can find some better options than the $800 quote. Just a heads-up, this case reference is 165.003, and the top surface of the bezel should have a sun-grained/sunburst brushed texture to it. If you search up 165.003 or 166.003, you'll see what I'm referring to.
It looks like 166.003 is way more common than 165.003. That is, there are actually watches (18k case) available for sale. Is the date feature the only difference between 165.003 and 166.003? Maybe I could get a bezel from an 166.003 watch. Thanks!
A pic of ref 165.003 with bezel I borrowed from NET. Hope that helps. Good luck in your project to restore a nice heirloom.