I took a big risk on this watch on eBay recently - described as non-running with very poor photos - about all I could see was that the case appeared beat up, the crown was a hideous replacement, the dial was black and said Seamaster on it, and it had a big logo on the case back. I’ve wanted a big logo and a black dial so I took the risk.. turned out to house this beautiful damaged dial. The crown is stuck tight, and when I opened it up the rotor was missing entirely. Serial number puts it in line with the big logo (1958). The movement sometimes ticks for a second or so when moved.

So my question is - what should I do with it?

I don’t care much for the back dial / gold case combination to be honest, and the case is pretty beat up with spots worn through to steel. What I really want is to re-case it with a stainless steel 2846 case and keep the big logo case back. I’m hoping to be able to repair the movement so I can keep everything else as-is.

Is it an originality faux pas to replace it with a steel case?

Is the case back likely to fit any 2846 case? The case back is just marked 2846/2848 with no version number.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

 

So I confirmed that the case back fits on one of my stainless 2846 cases, so I’m assuming that would be fine.

What’s the consensus on do’s and dont’s of case swapping? When do you seek a donor case?

 

I saw that auction, I believe, and had the same idea of finding a different case, a stainless steel one. It went too high for me though...

It is a lovely dial.

 

Thanks! I’m going to try to salvage the movement if possible - we’ll see what my watchmaker says. Assuming I can salvage everything but the case, I’ll keep the old case with the watch. It’s not like it’s worth much anyway.

This one? I got it on best offer pretty quickly after it started.

 

No, it wasn't that one after all. It had a similar dial. It surely didn't have that funky bracelet. It ended up selling for about $1100US.

 

Personally ... get it serviced and leave it. The dial is nice even patina.

 

We’ll almost three years to the day.. I finally got around to completing this project. Had to source some movement parts (including a rotor) and a steel 2846 ref steel case (retained the original big logo caseback), but I am VERY happy with how it turned out.

Accents almost look rose gold?

 

Looks wonderful. Congrats on how it turned out, and dibs

I was headed out on my honeymoon one week after getting married when you started this thread.

 

Wow! Thanks for following up on the results.

Nicely paired with the bracelet!

 

@seekingseaquest
Nice one
Keep us informed on your beautiful project. Tks