I thought I would make a thread to show the results of my foray into restoration, since it might be useful information for anyone else considering it. This is not something I normally do, but it was an appropriate opportunity to give it a try.
As background, I have been interested in the various SM300 references for some time, but never had the opportunity to handle any of them. At first, I was drawn to the the curved lug pieces (165.024/166.024), but over time I found I preferred the earlier straight lug cases. When I had the opportunity to make a trade for a 165.014, I decided to take the plunge, even though it wasn't a collector-quality piece, because I felt it would give me the chance to experience it in person and find out if I liked it.
As is commonly the case, the bezel inlay was completely obliterated, and the case/lugs had a lot of wear and tear, such that the chamfers were barely visible. The lume on the dial was thin, but still complete enough to be attractive to the naked eye, especially given that it had aged to an color that I particularly like, and was very well-matched to the hands. Otherwise, the watch was correct, and the movement was in good shape and running well. So overall, a decent "wearer" that a collector could appreciate as an honest and solid piece.
Well, long story short, I really liked the reference a lot, and began to toy with the idea of restoring it as a wearer, and perhaps also adding a better original straight-lug example at some point in the future. Since the watch really wasn't collector-quality in its prior state, I didn't really see much harm in a restoration. And I went into it eyes wide open with respect to the fact that it was not a logical decision from a financial perspective.
I found many references to a restoration specialist in Italy (Aldo), but also learned that he has a very long backlog. I also came across @of_golden_times on IG, who was also mentioned in a Fratellowatches blog post (
https://www.fratellowatches.com/my-pub-find-omega-seamaster-300-ck2913-and-restoration-process/) as well as at least one OF thread (
https://omegaforums.net/threads/165014-62-dial.94012/#post-1219579). Based on that thread, I reached out to
@ndgal, who indicated that he had a positive first-hand experience with Rene. So I decided to give it a shot.
Rene indicated that he could completely restore the Bakelite bezel inlay, and also gave me the option to restore the case using his "lapidizing" machine, which he said would refinish the case to near-original condition with minimal loss of metal. He also warned me that not everyone wants an old watch with a case that is obviously restored. I gave it some thought, and ultimately my curiosity won out, so I asked him to restore the case as well. He originally indicated that it would take 2-3 weeks, but because of a problem with his machine, which needed a new part for a repair, it took somewhat longer. Nevertheless, the watch is now back in my hands, and the difference is really extraordinary, as shown in the photos below. One can obviously tell that the bezel and case are restored, but the quality of Rene's work is really excellent, and he takes a lot of pride in it.
