Hey all,

Looking at a piece from @The Master of Speed, and the movement has a weird oxidation pattern. Have you guys seen anything like it before?

 

Looks like parts were cleaned in some chemical during service. Interesting..

 

I guess salt water etched it.

 

Oxidation? I'd call that rust!

 

Thanks guys, maybe @Archer can give some insight into his professional opinion?

 

Looks like the parts were attacked by rust but have been cleaned in a rust neutraliser solution, and probably cleaned again in normal watchmaker fashion.

 

@JimInOz Is it a red flag that there is no other evidence of rust in the movement/case?

 

If rust has attacked the steel parts you can see, what has happened to those you can't see. Is there any documentary proof of other parts being replaced?

 

Hard to say. The case is SS so would not be affected to the same degree.
Not knowing what was used to clean the rust off would concern me, wrong solution could cause hydrogen embrittlement.
Without seeing the rest of the watch I can't offer further advice.

 

I see some other red flags... the SN is a different color then the bridge and regulator..

 

I'll be really interested in what the learned watchmakers have to say. It doesn't look like regular rust to me, but different metals oxidize and such with a different appearance. Weird stuff!

 

Have you asked @The Master of Speed before reposting his photo for speculation?

 

@Darlinboy I have, but no response as of yet.

I would think it would be ok to get neutral third party assessments if you're planning on spending a lot of dough on a watch, but if it this is frowned upon, I understand and will remove the post.

 

Ahh, didn't realize it was for sale.

Assess away.

 

Probably condensation found its way to the under side of the steel back, and found its way onto the steel parts.

 

Bumping once for the morning crowd. Any additional input guys?

 

It certainly looks like the after-effects of rusted parts to me...note that some of the affected parts are no longer available from Omega...

 

Looks like parts were soaked in vinegar or some thing similar ..the " oxydation" looks typical of acid effect on steel.

 

There are various methods to clean up rust on parts...even if the rust is just physically removed as shown below, the effects of it are clear on this hammer where I have cleaned it off:



As you can see there was a lot of rust to cause this damage. Parts can be salvaged as long as the working surfaces are good.

This is what the movement looked like initially:



Cheers, Al

 

Thanks all for help! Looks like a pass.