Hi All, I recently received this watch which has been handed down in my family for around 70 years. The watch was purchased somewhere in Europe (probably Germany) in the 1950s and brought back to the US by my great uncle. Thus far, I have not been able to find any similar dial for a 1950s Omega Seamaster. From what I have found, I believe it could be a 2846 model. The watch has been serviced a couple of times for the gasket as well as a main spring replacement in the last 20-25 years, but I do not have papers for it's maintenance history before that. Any help in figuring out when/what this watch is would be much appreciated!
That watch plus a 501 movement could date to around 1956. Definitely a redial. The new text on dial is not factory printing (notice how the text is distorted and not linear) and has that quasi-amateur quality that is emblematic of many independent watchmaker redial efforts. I've tried those smooth crowns from that 50s Omega period, and they are difficult to get traction on with your thumb and fingers to wind. Wish they were knurled instead. The case is around 34mm and has an 18mm band. They are average size for the era, but now wear a little on the dainty side. They work well with a suit. Looks like it may have been polished. The casebook was sanded in the center. From the factory, the back was all polished, not brushed. Handset looks original. If you wanted to return it to more of a vintage look, you could find a vintage, original dial to swap in.
Thank you guys! I am new to the watch world and after looking at a lot of models of vintage watches online I suspected it might not be an original dial. My father received it in the 1970s or 80s so my great uncle must have been the one to get it redialed. As for me, I am not so bothered by the redial and will continue to enjoy wearing it around as it has great sentimental value for me.
There was a time when redialing the watch would have been more common/acceptable practice. Today it lessens the value of the watch to collectors but the fact that it’s a family heirloom would certainly increase its personal value to me. Agree with the others that the reference is almost certainly a 2846
I suspect there was an aftermarket company that specialized in redials and supplied them to independent watchmakers. I've seen a number of redials that have striking similarities in font. If so, it would be interesting to know what company was responsible for many Omega redials. I wonder if it was a dial "trade in" program, whereas your local watchmaker had a few on hand already repainted and he took yours as part of the sale. Kind of a swap. In the auto industry they call it a "core charge." The original dial is sent back to a repainter and eventually ends up on someone else's wrist.
So let's say your grandpa bought a Seamaster in the mid 1950s from an Authorized Dealer or Military PX, and sometime in the late 1960s Grandpa took it to get serviced by his local "Joe Watchmaker" at the mall because its running way too fast. Joe Watchmaker tells him that while he's servicing the watch he can freshen up his aging dial. Grandpa says OK, and Joe Watchmaker let's Grandpa pick out a new dial from existing redialed inventory in his stock. Joe Watchmaker makes a nice upsell and Grandpa gets a repainted, but somewhat inferior dial out of the deal.
Anyway, that's one possibility. The other possibility is the watchmaker upsells Grandpa on a repainted dial. Joe takes takes out the original dial, sends it off to a 3rd party for repainting and then reinstalls it. But the catch is: this scenario takes much longer. So Grandpa gets back his original dial but in 3rd party modified form after long wait.
Anyone know how these "Joe Watchmaker at the mall" redials normally occurred in the 60s and 70s?
