I'm in the process of buying a used SM 300M (210.32.42.20.04.001) with serial number 83,373,xxx. I'm trying to find out the year of manufacture (no warranty card.) There are several online sites that say a non-Speedmaster with this s/n is from 2007. But that's nuts since it is the latest caliber 8800 wide-numeral-bezel model that was introduced in 2018. So can anyone tell me the manufacture date of this watch? Or point me to a good online resource to answer this? TIA, Ken.
I don't think that's the correct serial number. My 2220.80 SMP Casino Royale was made in 2012 and sold in 2013 (I have the warranty card). The serial number is 853XXXXX. Are you looking at a fake Seamaster?
I certainly hope I'm not looking at a fake! But I have seen multiple other Seamasters online which have s/n beginning 82 to 84 that are 2018- present. For example: https://omegaforums.net/threads/ome...-oem-rubber-nov-21-warranty-brand-new.139310/ https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-seamaster-diver-300m-box-and-papers.139262/ https://omegaforums.net/threads/ome...al-210-30-42-20-04-001-white-complete.138345/ https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-seamaster-diver-professional-300m-white-extras.138257/ https://www.chrono24.com/omega/seamaster-diver-300-m-omega-seamaster-300m-white-dial--id23533504.htm (hope these aren't all fakes!)
If the seller still has the METAS certification card you can pull the test results of the movement from the Omega site by using the serial number and access code. If not, calling an AD would probably be the easiest way.
You can’t date a modern Omega watch based on those online serial # charts — as you saw, they are generally wrong! All you can tell is the sold date if you have the warranty card AND it’s filled in properly. A lot are left blank by the seller. Assuming you are sure the watch is real, then the best you’re going to do is it was manufactured sometime between 2018 and yesterday.
Actually there are discernible patterns that can be used to date even modern Omegas but they run within a model line so unless you have lots of data points to use you are flying blind. SMP Seamasters have serials in the 80-83m range going back as far as year ~2000, prior to that they used 55-61m serials and there was a jump between the ranges. If you have seen enough you can extrapolate a date. There was a similar pattern with Lemania and F Piguet based Speedmasters, those sat between 77m to 79m for a similar ~20 year period of time but recently jumped into another range. Those too can be roughly dated by where in the range they fall if you have enough comparables to work with. I realise that is contradicted by the 2220.80 datapoint above which has a higher number but there are always wrinkles to account for!
Thanks @Donn Chambers , that confirms what I suspected. @dstfno I doubt this comes with a METAS card. I don't have a relationship with an AD; I'm not sure if they'd be willing to look it up for me as a freebie.
A little follow-up. I did buy the watch and it arrived today. I love it! The watch actually did come with the Metas card and I was able to access the test results. Although this system doesn't indicate the test date, it does confirm that this serial number is legit. Although I'm not able to resolve the age to between 2018 and now, it no longer really matters to me. Thanks for the responses.