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SERVICING CAL. 269 SEAMASTER

N
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I am interested in a Cal 269 Seamaster which, although apparently working, from pictures looks as though it could do with a complete strip and clean. I am in the UK can anyone give a rough idea please on what this is likely to cost please.
Thanks in advance for any helpful comments or suggestions.
Nigel
 
Davidt
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£200-700 depending on parts and whether the watchmaker has an Omega account.
 
Archer
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Davidt Davidt
£200-700 depending on parts and whether the watchmaker has an Omega account.

Unfortunately the Omega account isn't going to help a great deal, as very few parts are still available for these. Some are, but not many.

Some parts for these 30 mm movements are quite expensive on the open market.
 
Hetcins1
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Where in the UK are you I live in County Durham I get my vintage omega watches done in Darlington £65 full strip a clean run perfect . Bargain. 😉
 
Davidt
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I used a local guy a few times who typically charged £80 for a manual and £100 for an automatic. After having a few issues with lint and dirt under the crystal after service I grew concerned he couldn’t possibly be doing a proper service for that price and haven’t been back since.

Maybe it wasn’t justified but out of 4-5 watches I don’t think any needed parts. Coincidence?
 
N
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Very many thanks davidt, Archer and Hetcins for your quick and very helpful replies. To Hetcins, I live in Taunton, Somerset but would obviously be prepared to post an item.
Considering the watch is apparently working well then one would assume that parts might not be necessary, so it should just be a strip and good clean.
 
padders
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Hetcins1 Hetcins1
Where in the UK are you I live in County Durham I get my vintage omega watches done in Darlington £65 full strip a clean run perfect . Bargain. 😉
Yeah. Good luck with that being a thorough job. The guy at Ryte time used to charge like £75 but there were sometimes issues with the work so to skimp can be false economy on an expensive watch. For a £50 Seiko then yes it makes sense, but for something with real value not so much.
Edited:
 
Davidt
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What I’m saying is if you pay botttom dollar, chances are there’s no real time spent on inspecting individual parts for undue wear or damage. It simply a quick (partial?) strip down, clean and rebuild. Might be fine but any watch I care about, especially where parts are hard to come by, I’d rather have a full, thorough service.
 
N
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Thanks, Hetcinsq1, noted. Thanks also, Davidt, point well made, thank you. So with these older (Omega) movements, and considering the possibility of getting spares, are they really worth going for as collector's items, particularly if there are going to be issues finding good and responsible people to service and/or repair them?
 
Archer
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Davidt Davidt
What I’m saying is if you pay botttom dollar, chances are there’s no real time spent on inspecting individual parts for undue wear or damage. It simply a quick (partial?) strip down, clean and rebuild. Might be fine but any watch I care about, especially where parts are hard to come by, I’d rather have a full, thorough service.

I do see a lot of "freshly serviced" watches come to me that have worn parts inside. I do think some (not all, before someone gets their knickers in a knot) of these "budget" watchmakers don't even bother to check, or they do and say "good enough!" and put it back together.

The watch might even run okay right after the service, but for how long? Well sometimes not very long, and some of them end up on my bench.

When you look at a part that has signs of wear, there's a judgement call to be made. Omega has standards, but even those require some interpretation. Some may look at a part with a slight bit of wear and say "that will be fine when this goes together, and it won't affect performance." Personally, I look at it not just when I put the watch together, but what will this part look like 5 years or more down the road.

You don't want to replace parts prematurely, in particular with vintage parts in short supply. But you also want to make sure that the part in question isn't the thing that will determine when the next service is required. Sometimes a pivot with minor damage can be burnished in the Jacot tool and used again, but that's not what I think these budget watchmakers are doing, as that is labour intensive.

Cheers, Al
 
Davidt
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Archer Archer
I do see a lot of "freshly serviced" watches come to me that have worn parts inside. I do think some (not all, before someone gets their knickers in a knot) of these "budget" watchmakers don't even bother to check, or they do and say "good enough!" and put it back together.

Cheers, Al

That probably sums it up @Archer. If someone is charging £80 for a service I feel the tipping point of ‘good enough’ isn’t where I’d like it to be.

If you’re on a tight budget I can see where this may be fine for many people but each individual has to weigh up the pros and cons and decide where they feel the cost/quality balance or ‘good enough’ point lies.
 
Davidt
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N Nigel Albright
Thanks, Hetcinsq1, noted. Thanks also, Davidt, point well made, thank you. So with these older (Omega) movements, and considering the possibility of getting spares, are they really worth going for as collector's items, particularly if there are going to be issues finding good and responsible people to service and/or repair them?

Absolutely and this is part of my point. I often don’t service my newly acquired vintage watches straight away. I see if they’re going to stick or whether I’ll decide they’re not for me and move them on.

The ones I keep I know i may have them for years so I want a good, thorough service to ensure they can be used well into the future.
 
N
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Many thanks, Al, very helpful. So are these older manual Omegas really worth collecting, particularly if one wants to see them in prime condition? Presumably one needs to have quite good market awareness. For example the watch I am interested in is going for £400 and there are examples of this calibre being offered at up to £1400. And if servicing, and presuming no replacement parts are needed, might be several hundred pounds then one needs to know what the market value is likely to be by the time a watch has been thoroughly checked and cleaned. That is if no recent servicing information is available.
 
Davidt
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Market value only really applies if you’re looking to sell in the short term.

For example I just picked up the Seamaster below. I probably paid towards top dollar for it (although I’m sure a dealer would ask significantly more). However, I love the look, it’s rare and I wanted it. As I’m keeping it, it’ll be getting serviced soon.

It won’t make financial sense as once I’ve serviced it, it will likely owe me around what I could sell it for or perhaps slightly more. But who cares, I love the dial and wanted it.

Don’t get me wrong, you don’t want to have your pants pulled down, but if you buy well in the first place (this is the key part), a good service shouldn’t tip you into vintage watch financial crisis.

3F57C5E9-CE41-4B54-8581-CE30F08359A2.jpeg
 
Hetcins1
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Hi Steve at s bowrons Darlington serviced my seamaster bumper had a worn wheel which was unknown to me he had a spare one fixed it full strip cleaned. The watch is not worth thousands so I was happy with his pricing but on the other hand my omega seamaster chronograph which was quite expensive I got serviced at Simon freese fantastic job had it from new never been serviced for 15 years worn everyday all depends on your budget and your particular watch.
Ern.
 
N
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Davidt. I take your sentiments completely. If I bought this one it would be because I particularly like it and it would not be in the first instance for selling on. However, it just seems sense to me to have some awareness of value in relation to servicing costs, partly because you don't want to spend serious money on a bum item.
 
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