Vintage Omega Seamaster 200m Question

[Outoftimeman97]

Hello everyone! I need help with a watch I’m thinking of buying. Never bought vintage before so I need some advice and this seemed like the best place to look for it. By the looks of it everything seems to be correct but, I’m not sure about the condition of the hands. Looks like they have some sort of lume rot or oxidation going on. Is this a dealbreaker or is it harmless? The watch is listed for a good price and the seller is trustworthy so it is very tempting. Thank you for reading!

 

[padders]

The most important thing with the Pre-Bond (as this model is called) is the condition of the bezel. You just can't get replacement original bezels any more so that is crucial. The hands are a bit grotty as you say and you will struggle to find tritium replacements but if you replaced with the available superluminova version it wouldn't look any different there as the hands haven't faded beige like the dial plots and in fact might already have been replaced. Note the serial number on these is printed in black dots onto the inner caseback. There it is missing, probably because it can be lost when the case is ultra sonic cleaned (I've seen this happen myself). It wouldn't bother me to much but be aware that without a serial you can't fully verify it or date it accurately. The case number puts it at 1990 to 1993 by the way. The earlier versions had number ending 1042 and 1052.

 

[Outoftimeman97]

padders

The most important thing with the Pre-Bond (as this model is called) is the condition of the bezel. You just can't get replacement original bezels any more so that is crucial. The hands are a bit grotty as you say and you will struggle to find tritium replacements but if you replaced with the available superluminova version it wouldn't look any different there as the hands haven't faded beige like the dial plots and in fact might already have been replaced. Note the serial number on these is printed in black dots onto the inner caseback. There it is missing, probably because it can be lost when the case is ultra sonic cleaned (I've seen this happen myself). It wouldn't bother me to much but be aware that without a serial you can't fully verify it or date it accurately. The case number puts it at 1990 to 1993 by the way. The earlier versions had number ending 1042 and 1052.

Thank you for the detailed answer! Would the serial number being missing deter you from buying? Not being able to fully verify it kind of upsets me but I can't imagine this being a fake as it is a bit of an obscure model nowadays. Are the information at hand enough to call this an original piece?

 

[padders]

I’m certain it’s genuine and original. The lack of serial isn’t a deal breaker like it would be with a mechanical movement model but it is something to be aware of. Omega would still probably service it I suspect, they won’t with an auto with no serial.

 

[Outoftimeman97]

padders

I’m certain it’s genuine and original. The lack of serial isn’t a deal breaker like it would be with a mechanical movement model but it is something to be aware of. Omega would still probably service it I suspect, they won’t with an auto with no serial.

Thank you very much for the info, it is a great help. I’d finally like to ask your opinion on re-finished watches as opposed to original condition ones. This one looks to be polished to me as it looks very clean and without scratches. They probably polished it to a certain extent. Is a polished watch acceptable if other factors are good?

 

[padders]

If it's been polished, they did it well. The brushing still looks factory and the circular brush is present on the back. These are a pretty amorphous shape to start with and don't have super sharp edges to wear away. It looks fine to me, just don't overpay since these are pretty plentiful (the full size and auto are both less commonly seen) and while this one is good, it isn't one of the very best.

 

[Dan S]

I think you should look closely at photos of a bunch of these watches to make sure you are happy with the condition. The mismatched lume on dial (yellow) and hands (green) is not appealing to me.

 

[TIMElyBehaviour]

Probably service hands and have been swapped out at some stage but still original omega. That’s what gave the mismatched colours in lume from dial to hands.

 

[Donn Chambers]

I think those hands have been relumed, and rather poorly.