Hello,

If valuations are not allowed then I apologize in advance. Also, this is not a thread intended for trolling, I'm trying to figure out what I have, what's the value, and what to do next.

What I believe have is a 1969 Seamaster 300. I believe it is 1969 per the date stamp on the bracelet. I have not opened up the watch yet, as there are a couple of things I need to think about first.

The backstory is as follows. The original owner died in Vietnam in 1970 and the personal items went back to his family. They have been sitting in storage at the family house since that time and the last remaining family member just passed away in February. There was an estate sale, I picked up a few watches.The Seamaster was one of them. I can also provide proof of the backstory if needed but that's for another time.

As far as I can tell (i'm a Rolex hobbyist) the case is prisitine and appears to have never been polished. The caseback has some scratches on it, but no gouges. As you can see in the images, the crystal needs a good polishing, but the dial is flawless and the patina is to die for. If this had been a DRSD then I'd say this was a museum piece with the exception of a hairline crack in the insert.

In any event, the watch is running and it is keeping great time. I know in my head I need to send this in for a movement service, and I probably will. However, when I bought this I had every intention to flip it. So, does anyone have any idea what a Seamaster300 would run for that has been sitting for 43 years in storage with it's original 1039 bracelet and 516 endlinks?

Once again, I am not selling this right now, so please no PM's. And If I have offended the MODs then please delete my post and email me and let me know I was in violation of such a rule (which I could not find).

Thanks,

Pete

 

$3400. with assumptions you gave made. all day. Don't take less.

 

It's all true. I couldn't make it up if I tried. When I saw the watch last week there was no interest in it. So I did a little googling and saw that they were quite valuable. I made arrangements to phone bid during the auction and we'd see where that landed me. During the course of the week, I started looking through the rest of the estate's belonging and noticed quite a bit of Vietnam memorabilia. It all belonged to a LTC G A Finter who died in Vietnam in 1970. I contacted the auctioneer and asked about the family estate and thats when I found out that everything had been sitting since 1970 and that the last Daughter just passed away (she was a bit of a hoarder I was told). In any event, I also purchased his burial flag with letters from Nixon, Westmorland, etc. And I purchased all of his letters and pictures from Vietnam in hopes I could find something with him wearing the watch. I just got the package a few hours ago but I haven't gone through it yet.....but hopefully I'll find something cool. Oh, and I picked up an Angelus Chronodato from his service when he was a younf officer in Germany, which is where he met his wife.

As a VET, I'm being very respectable with regard to the personal items. As a hobbyist, this is entirely too nice a piece for me to keep. I cannot stand to not wear a nice watch becasue I'm afraid of screwing it up. That's why I buy average pieces. But this.....this belongs to someone who will cherish it more than me.

My only concern is getting it serviced. I know the guys at Watchwerks in LA and they do great work on my Rolexes and they work on Omega's as well. The thing is, this watch is practiacly new. Things are stiff, and I bet the oils are a little gunky inside, but would I lose value if I get it serviced? Everything will remain the same, just a movement service.

 

As long as everything remained the same ,a service will not effect the value. Nice watch that is only going up in price and they range greatly. 3400usd sounds fare market but you could even fetch more from the right buyer. 3900usd is also not too far off mark.

 

Thank you. I have a lot of thinking to do now. I'm half tempted to sell my 5513 Sub and 1680 Red Sub and keep this a my new daily wearer since it looks so sharp.

 

Service would make more attractive to purchase
as long is nothing is touched except movement service.
Adjust price expected by cost of movement service exactly.
Lots want to wear these. $3400 was meant as a clearing price.
In the right auction conditions, could be higher, or lower.

 

Red Subs and 5513's are much more common than a NICE one
of these.Will do nothing but appreciate. It's the right size.
And the bezels glow just like the 6542. These have it all
as Sports/tool watch IMHO

 

Respectable Member pitpro

Generally, getting a good 5513 and the Sub red is much easier than getting an authentic SM 300 diver watch. The OP's watch is really in great factory-original condition and I am sure the price will go north, as per the opinion of MyVintageOmega.

Thank-you.

 

Is the insert Bakelite? I was unaware it would still glow. Tritium from my 83 Sub is all used up......not to mention forget the Red. I'm really liking this more and more, and yet, well........I have a lot to think about.

 

Mid 60's trit still glows on Rolex and also these.
I guess you could call it bakelite.(cracks the same ha)
Someone will have a better answer, but looks like bakelite to me.
The numbers were embeded in the plastic much the same way
and same look as 6542

 

It's common for the mid 60's trit to still glow on a Rolex, but mostly on the gilt dials. I also have a 1968 1675 MK1 GMT and the trit is dead on that as well. The 6542 was still using radium at the time which is why it still glows. the 6542 is my grail.......who wouldn't want a watch called the Pussy Galore?

 

I also collect Rolex. 1967 is last year that may still Glow.
These SM300 are tritium, as is the 1967 5512, and
they do still glow, trust me.

 

Well then.......I'll have to go into a dark room tonight

 

charge it with strong light

 

Respectable Member screwlewz

A top condition 6542 bakelite bezel alone will cost an arm and a leg.

Thank-you.

 

Not too far off.
Would have bid but I bought 3 last week and
got that feeling of...well u know
And apropas to the days topics, I already have exact watch.
Hope someone here got it!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-OMEGA-SEAMASTER-300-AUTOMATIC-VERY-RARE-NO-RESERVE-/310671472810?ViewItem=&item=310671472810&nma=true&si=UosJ%2FI%2BKLw1%2F9OfwTnnXo48yMfQ%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

prices for the big triangle at 12 are very different from the prices for the example we talk about here......kind regards. achim

 

achim I have seen plenty non- Big Triangle sell for this amount
and over. I don't think the the price differential is as big as you think from
my observations.

 

The highest price I have seen for a vintage sm300 was 6700usd........and it was not a big triangle.
Here's one for $5,111 http://www.chrono24.com/en/omega/se...-full-origin--id2076009.htm?picnum=0&tab=pics