Hello Omegoids,

Some of you might have recently seen my posting about buying a ref 750 just because I thought the strap was as valuable as the head......this one



A few of you you hummed and hawed and sucked through your teeth at my purchase from Oz.
After going 7km down to the customs depot and paying the 19% excess I unwrapped and came home with this.


It did indeed have a 1170/604 bracelet....(whew)


I decided to start off with some industrial vinegar extract on the outside.. the kind they use to remove chalk from kettles .
Upon my soul, the black stuff all over the dial was what I suspected...a perished ring gasket....what a mess!

The movement pretty much fell out cos the stem was done and I spent a load of time scraping out (with those tiny cotton buds women use for their mascara..first again with vinegar , then with white spirit.
The big surprise came with the dial. I started first with just a dry bud and the grime kept coming off , going trough one bud after the next. Then I tried with a little bit of vinegar at the edge to see if it would take off the varnish, and more grime came away.
The inside of the crystal..with the lovely cute omega logo was filthy but ok.
and the dial and sunken surround inside came up a treat!
At this point the watch obligingly starting running and the amateur in me pinged off the top of the rusty second hand. (we're not perfect!).
I finished by poly watching the crystal outside a little bit bit will need more..

I'm still very much a newbie, but it's nice to know that a hunch can sometime work out. sometimes you have to take a chance on bad eBay photos. I took a chance that whatever that black stuff was originally on the dial at the start was not a result of the dial finish failing. Gasket gunk gets everywhere. Likewise my guess on the bracelet based only on the end numbers seems to have paid off. The current market value would appear to be about 275-300 dollars minimum. This was my reason for originally buying as it technically would pay for a watch which whilst not mega rare, is a little unusual for Omega.

So here we've arrived at the dilemma stage.
The watch works, but needs a revision, a new stem, gasket, and an, ahem, replacement second hand (bumbling fool!)

What should I do:

1) Sell the bracelet, replace it with a green 22mm Corfam I have kicking about I couldn't bring myself to put on my speedy and use the money to get it working
2) Bite the bullet, put it in for revision and parts making the final price of the watch somewhere around 450 Euros and then just add it to the collection and assume it goes up in value.
3) Sell bracelet and head separately for double what I paid.
4) Put it in the pending someday biscuit tin worry about it another time.

I wish I was a bit more heartless in the watch collecting malarky, particularly with Omegas I seem to find something in every one I get my mitts on.

Any thoughts appreciated..

 

become nicer

 

Eh?What did I say.? I thought the vinegar tip might be useful and insightful to those worried about using more astringent fluids..
.and if it was about the the cotton buds. I specified it for those tiny buds you can get online from Asia and China that are exclusively used for clearing mascara blobs off eyelashes. Which generally is a woman's purchase...it certainly wasn't meant to come over as a sexist comment, but they're are a lot of blokes on here that might not know the difference. Normal sized buds are clumsy and often leave trails and threads.

 

If it's any consolation, I don't understand that comment either.

 

It looks pretty good after the clean up.
I'd probably sell the bracelet and put the funds towards a service.

 

Oh, I think he meant “became nicer”...as in – good job it looks better. Let’s assume that! Looks great.

 

Is the cleaned up dial actually one of the sparkly finish ones? How interesting if so! When you bought, you weren’t just going after the bracelet, were you? If that was your original thought, I’d probably keep it and put that Plan A into action. I totally understand that instinct to rescue this old girl, but unless you really think you’ll wear it, I’d probably move it along. Someone else will really love it now that you’ve revealed its potential. And you’ll reap a reward for your effort and faith! Very nice! You and the watch!

 

I knew it was a sparkly but I wasn't sure if it could be saved and vintage replacement dials are very expensive, (almost as much as the whole thing cost me , and that's if you can even find them). This sunken model dial with the large case was only around for a really short time in the 70's and the diver ones with yellow chapter rings and the yellow flower like centre, (the banana ?) ones are real collectibles.That said, this appears to have a screw down crown!! I was thinking about the bracelet primarily as a failsafe if the watch should've proved to be wholly knackered. I have a 1039 on my 69 speedy mark 2 ,but strangely the buckle array doesn't appear to be original , so there was also a case for a possible swap out there. ......I'm getting the feeling that my core collection is homing in on a certain period. The Speedy, the Chronostop, the Dynamic, the SM cal 1012, , the SM Cosmic and now this one, are all larger cased models (except the Cosmic) from around 69-72. I'm not likely to overdo it with chunky monkeys like the speedy mark III or the Flightmaster, but my eyes have been drawn to the Mnemonic of late as a possible round off to this collection. TBH my interest in all things vintage Omega seems to tail off around 1974....I am pleased it cleaned up as well as it did, and am simultaneously bit annoyed I pinged the rusted end off the sweep hand...oh well, another lesson learned!!

 

That cleaned up nicely!

 

My tastes are unexpectedly skewing toward the late 60s/70s as well! I don’t know why because I pretty well detest the aesthetics of that era on everything else...clothes, cars, architecture. Hmmm.

Given what you wrote, I’d get the service, a new second hand, and keep ‘er! That sensation of being Prof. Henry Higgins is irresistible!

 

wow, this cleaned up a lot nicer than I would've thought

 

You're undecided at the moment, so my suggestion is...........




And when you have the readies, get it serviced and enjoy it. It's a great catch.


Acknowledgement: M&S

 

and done!

 

Looks great now! Did you try and source a replacement seconds hand?

 

I'd suggest selling separately and using the funds towards something that makes your heart race and not something you bought because you thought the bracelet was valuable.........and wear your Speedy in the meantime!

 

Great job. As others have said, i wouldnt wear it until its had a service - if the seal junk got onto the dial, its definately in the movement too.

 

Love the results. Beautiful even patina ... that a fine looking Seamaster!

 

Absolutely bravo. I was considering doing a clean up job on a watch I have my eye on. Your post has given me some great tips and confidence to go for it. Thank you for sharing.

Based on the last photo I would take Sherbie's advice.

 

Done means it is back from a service! The movement was almost beyond saving, but as I was getting aDynamic serviced at the same time, the watch guy was in a generous mood. .....I'm going to wear it in my rotation and see if we bond!