... And I am left crying. Went for a swim on the North Shore of Kauai, and took with me my Watchco SM300, the rugged "new vintage" that I love to use for swimming because I don't have to worry, as I do with my real vintages, about how watertight it really is. That to me is the beauty of the 166.0324: the admirable look of a SM300 ready for worry-free water adventures. But not today: when I walked back to the beach and checked the time, something looked different on my wrist. It took me a few seconds to realize the bezel insert was gone. I rushed back into the water, tried to retrace my swim, looked around for 1h... Gone, gracing the floor of the Pacific with its superluminova glow... Now here is the most enraging part: about a year ago, at the very same beach, probably within a 50ft radius, I lost the bezel insert of my red Rolex 1680. It was a perfectly weathered, slightly ghost bezel... I curse you beach!!! What the hell is going on here?? The rest of the bezel is still there, giving the SM300 a different, yet still strangely attractive look. I looked around and found that this superluminova insert apparently does not sell separately from the bezel assembly. Oh. No. I look at the price, and... Wait, this has got to be the serial number? What??!!... Anybody knowing where I can find one if these new luminous bezel insert will have his name engraved in my heart with eternal gratitude. Please help me defeat the curse of the bezel eating beach!
eBay? New old stock vs new and I guess if NOS its not superlume. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ORIGINAL-...706?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43dd4260baPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network
That blows chunks! I'd hate to think how we'd feel if a spring bar broke, I've envisaged hanging around till low tide with a torch looking for an expensive piece many times, that's convinced me not to take my Seamaster into the surf ever again, don't feel too bad though as they have trouble finding a Boeing 777 so a bezel is small fry.
Thanks mates! This is the right bezel buddman, but I'd hate to buy a whole bezel assembly when I really only need the insert. This blows!!! I know, Thou Shallst Not Wear Your Diver Watch Near the Water, that's what anybody fixing a watch always says, but I can't help to think that the safe should not be where they belong!
We had 2 weeks in Princeville back in May, and although we are reasonably good swimmers, the strong surf and huge rip tides that predominate that North sore was enough to keep us well away from the ocean for the whole time, apart from below the knee paddles. even so, i,d complain gently to Watchco, and you never know, they may have a replacement lying around, or at worst, offer a replacement at cost price Best pf luck regardless
I would call that a manufacturing fault, why not contact omega customer services and see what they say?
Just FYI that is not NOS - well maybe by the Watchco definition, but not by anyone else's I suspect. If you look at the back side photo, the date of manufacture is on the package...02.13, so made the second week of 2013. This is why the "NOS" parts Watchco sells are often out of the package... This is simply just a new replacement part made by Omega. I have recently ordered new dials from the factory that are older than this. And you can get it cheaper than this eBay sale at Otto Frei: http://www.ofrei.com/page663.html And to the OP, sorry, but you need to get the whole bezel. Sucks but it is what it is with Omega not selling bezel inserts separately for most watches. If you found an insert by itself, I would be very suspect of it's origins... Cheers, Al
Thanks all! And special thanks to Al, who as always has the definitive and trustworthy answer (even if it hurts). One idea: there are a few people out there who love their Sm300 beautifully aged insert but are tired of their old, free turning, or plain stuck bezel. How about a joint purchase? You get a brand new bezel and put your nice vintage insert on, et voila? Deal anybody?
Where exactly did you lose the insert. I'll be Scuba diving in Kauai in a few weeks and will keep an eye out.... ;-)
I feel your pain (sort of). I had the exact same thing happen to me with my new Seamaster 300 several years ago. I had been diving and doing cannon balls off of a dock for several hours, and when I checked the time later on I realized my bezel insert was missing. I went home and checked prices, and had the same reaction that you did. I thought about it all night, and I decided to go back to the beach the next day to dive for it. The dock was in about 12 feet of water, with a sandy, seaweedy bottom. I dove with a mask and snorkel for over an hour, and to my surprise, I actually found it! It was missing a small amount of paint, but I managed to repair it and put it back in. I used a lot more glue than Omega did the first time!
The future, you are right, I'm going to go back and try to find it. Slim chance, but hey, got to try..! Keep in mind that 100% of lottery winners actually... bought a ticket! No try, no win
Might be a fairly good chance that bezel insert could eventually wash up on shore, based on it's high surface area to weight ratio. Maybe post 'Lost Bezel' signs along the shore with a pic (makes sense to us WIS's, but maybe not to your average Kauai Islander ...). Beautiful watch, BTW, even without the insert!
sorry to hear that. now thats a real definition of a "ghost bezel" sorry just had to say it. good luck in finding a replacement!
I had a past owner of A Rolex 5508 still sitting at the bottom of a oil rig somewhere. The man sold me the box and anchor to me years ago.
There but for the grace of God go the rest of us. The worst part is knowing that it will just be lying there and not going anywhere for the next thousand years. I suppose that doesn't make you feel any better. I wonder if the guy who dropped the Antikythera mechanism 2,000 years ago into the sea also didn't feel a bit p1ssed. You never know, someone In a 1,000 years might find it and write it up in history as "this mechanism appears to have been a device for calculating the motions of stars and planets or something like that". Seriously though, Sucks much, I know.