Speedmaster service

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Hello,
this is my first post on the forum. I just wanted to report on my experience with Omega service. My watch is a Speedmaster 3592.50 Hesalite sandwich purchased by me in 1997. I believe based on the serial number that this watch was manufactured in 1996...one of the last Tritium 863's. Watch was getting a little beat up and had stopped running while on the shelf. Had struggled a bit on what to do with it when I started researching some on this forum. When I discovered the prices these watches were going for ( my purchase price new was $2000.00 in 1997), I decided to get it "fixed up".
I had my local Omega dealer send it to Omega for the $750.00 service deal. This was back in April. They warned me it was going to take a while. Two months later I got a call telling me that Omega USA couldn't do the work and needed my permission to send it to Switzerland. I of course said go for it. So today I got my watch back and am very pleased.
Have attached photos of the results. (sorry for the less than professional quality). Looks like they replaced the crystal, hands, crown, pusher's, and a bunch of gears and stuff. I was very impressed with the 'refreshment" work they did on the case. I think they were able to take out all of the dings and yet retain pretty crisp edges. This watch had endured many years of banging around while working on cars and such. The watch still has some kind of minor dings in the SS Bezel but I guess Omega thought that it was okay. They didn't give me the option of purchasing a replacement. I guess dings sort of match the patina look of the yellowing Tritium dial markers.
Anyway I'm happy...took a while but I guess that's how it is these days.
 
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Welcome to OF, and many thanks for sharing your experience.
 
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Welcome to OF. It looks like they did a nice job refinishing the case and bracelet. If the original tritium hands were returned to you and are in good condition, you might want to consider having them reinstalled as they will better match the dial markers than the superluminova service replacements.
 
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Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear you are happy with the result, as the Omega service is not for everyone.
I would agree with everyone else about putting the old hands back in, but in all reality it may not be worth the trouble for you.
That would have to be your call...
 
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If you don't reinstall the tritium hands, you might want to consider selling them on eBay or a similar platform. They are fetching crazy prices these days.
 
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If you don't reinstall the tritium hands, you might want to consider selling them on eBay or a similar platform. They are fetching crazy prices these days.

hmm, how much do they fetch?
 
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hmm, how much do they fetch?
Anywhere between $500-$900 USD are the current asking prices on the US eBay site for a full set. Depends upon condition, but they seem to sell pretty regularly.
 
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thank for all of the positive feedback guys!!! Omega did send back the original tritium hands. I haven't opened up the little vial they were sent in to examine condition yet. I know that when I sent the watch in some of the tritium was starting to look darker and looser in places. I think I heard somewhere that Omega replaces them because when the old tritium breaks off, they don't want it to foul the works. Sounds reasonable. Don't think I'll put them back on for now. Wow! cant believe people are selling them on ebay for those prices but I looked it up and it's true. Wonder if anybody is buying...ha
 
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thank for all of the positive feedback guys!!! Omega did send back the original tritium hands. I haven't opened up the little vial they were sent in to examine condition yet. I know that when I sent the watch in some of the tritium was starting to look darker and looser in places. I think I heard somewhere that Omega replaces them because when the old tritium breaks off, they don't want it to foul the works. Sounds reasonable. Don't think I'll put them back on for now. Wow! cant believe people are selling them on ebay for those prices but I looked it up and it's true. Wonder if anybody is buying...ha
Yes, there is a market for the tritium hands, particularly among collectors who want to restore vintage Speedmasters to their original condition. Not that you did anything wrong by sending your watch to Omega for service, but you are fortunate that Omega chose not to replace the tritium dial with a superluminova service dial that would have significantly devalued the watch. If you decide to restore the tritium hands to the watch, and assuming that the hands are in good condition, you’ll need to find an independent watchmaker who can stabilize the tritium lume to prevent it from flaking. This is typically done by coating the back of the hands with a binder. Whether to proceed with that step is entirely up to you, but I would caution you to avoid Omega service in the future if you want the watch to retain its tritium dial because Omega will almost certainly choose to replace it at some point.
 
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If you don't reinstall the tritium hands, you might want to consider selling them on eBay or a similar platform [...] there is a market for the tritium hands, particularly among collectors who want to restore vintage Speedmasters to their original condition
If I may pose an opposite suggestion to the OP, it would be to the keep the hands. Should the OP decide to sell the watch in the future, they will have the complete original watch (and can ask more for it being complete vs incomplete) and the next owner wouldn't have to source hands to restore it 😉
 
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If I may pose an opposite suggestion to the OP, it would be to the keep the hands. Should the OP decide to sell the watch in the future, he will have the complete original watch and the next owner wouldn't have to source hands to restore it 😉
A good thought. I agree.
 
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Yes that's what I plan on doing. I do have a complete watch (with the original hands un-installed). I'm the original owner with all boxes, receipts, warranty card papers etc. and just serviced by Omega Switzerland...2 year warranty. Will be a good buy for someone ....someday.

But I'm keeping it now.