Did these come with a click bezel?

I didn't think they did. But I was looking at an example that the dealer was adamant it came back from an Omega service - everything (except the movement) had been replaced - and the bezel was a click bezel. Thoughts?

He was asking around £2k, which seems okay - but then pretty much nothing was original anymore.

 

Yes, click bezel.

 

+1 click bezel

 

Appreciate the help!

Also - would omega ever service a watchco sm300?

The seller has a recent service paper but does that guarantee it isn't a watchco example?

 

Yes they will...

 

For £2 I'd still buy it

 

Hah - now corrected

I'm assuming there's no way to tell a watchco one apart from an original one that has had everything replaced, is there?

 

There never is really a need to replace EVERY part. Dials, cases, hands and movements (less some parts) all could last the life of a watch.

 

That's what makes me think it's a watchco or something similar version of the watch, which just had an omega service. The dial is the newer luminova version and the bezel, hands, crystal were all replaced. The caseback and case also looked pretty minty, which again to me would suggest it's watchco to me.

 

Only real way is to open the back, check the number.
Mid case will look the same, harder to tell.

 

I'm clearly missing something but how would you tell by the serial numbers? weren't these just nos stock components, so wouldn't all the numbers be the same as vintage version?

I know the reference number changes from 166.024 to 166.0324, if it's the watchco - but wouldn't an overhauled version have the same reference number as new components would have been used?

 

Not serial numbers, just the case number.
You have the correct numbers below.

 

Yes!

 

If I remember well, vintage case and watchco case can be identified by the lugs shape ... But I am not expert here so I will say how exactly ...

 

Yes, there is a difference in the lug thickness. (Image borrowed from the Web)

 

I'm assuming the main bit to check would be the caseback? but if this has been replaced during service, would they ensure to use the "166.024" instead of the "166.0324" caseback?

Baz, thanks for the case reference pics as well. These are really helpful. I just wonder whether the dealer will just say it was replaced during service but it was an 'original' non-watchco watch.

 

You can still purchase a 166024 case back. So if the entire case was replaced, it would likely be a 1660324, but if it was just the case back replaced, it could still be a 166024. When I look up the replacement case back on the Omega Extranet, the example they show is even dated - 166024 - 67.

Not sure that's what you would get if you ordered one, but it shows that even dated case backs are still around as new parts at least. So I'm not sure that opening up the watch and seeing 166024 inside would tell you anything conclusively. Now if it had watchmaker marks inside, or some pitting on the sealing surfaces, you could at least conclude it was older, if not original.

If you were to use the movement serial number to obtain an extract of the archives, that would tell you if that movement came in an SM300. Of course that costs money and isn't fast...

Cheers, Al