I am not a fan of polishing original watches and prefer everything as ordinal as possible. However, I have the opportunity to purchase a NOS case for a piece in my collection. The movement is currently being completely overhauled and crystal replaced so it is already apart. Of course I will retain all original parts for the future. Any thoughts? Go for it, or live with the scratches?

 

Can you buy the case but not use it right now? Always handy to have a spare.. if the price is reasonable, that's what I'd do..

 

Hahaha, certainly no safe queen. Lol. Definitely going to have it in the wrist rotation. Just thinking it may be a good opportunity to make it look like it is.

I'm thinking the final price may be less than my watchmaker charges for a polish, and this particular watch is rather tough to polish. So a good value to use as a spare or now maybe. Kind of feels like cheating though...

 

Depends on the model. Some NOS replacement cases on some Omega models depart from the original factory cases, including how the case back numbers are configured, and so you need to factor this in. So if the NOS case is to exact original factory specs, there's no reason why you can't substitute the case.

Another thought, a pristine case doesn't look all that good on a watch that has some dial patina: makes it glaringly obvious that it's a swap.

Cheers

Desmond

 

Good advice. I didn't think of it but I have seen pictures.

 

Yet again a secret watch post. Advice will always be easier to give if we were to know the age and type of watch. No need to hide what watch type.

 

I had a reference 14700 overpolished by a CMW (what?). I replaced the case with a 14700-1 (fit a bracelet better). If I'm going to wear a watch, I want it to look nice unless there is some sentimental reason it won't.

Tom

 

Thanks all for your input, I do value it. It is a bit of a general question, as I'm sure I am not the only one to consider this. Of course I have a specific case in this case (no pun intended), but I was curious what others think of doing this with 40-50 year old pieces when an opportunity arises. I certainly don't want the watch to look like an odd mismatch. New case or not, I'm wearing it proudly.