Dear all,

In awe have I been reading this forum for a while now. This is my first post and it regards a Seamaster that I am strongly considering to buy.

I invite you all to scrutinise this decision and provide you opinion on the watch below. I've added photos provided by the seller and taken by myself (amateur photo quality, sorry).

My considerations on this watch:
- I absolutely love this watch. Humble and beautiful design. Reason for me to buy vintage is because I simply find it more beautiful than modern watches. I would get different wristbands, to wear both casually and with a (navy) suit.
- Price is 2250 euro including boxes and papers.
- Seller is friendly and trusted, with a physical store in my city. They can also arrange maintenance/service. They only sell vintage watches.
- Watch has been serviced by them and they're willing to show me details of what happened in that service. No further knowledge on maintenance history.
- Seller provides a 1 year warranty on the mechanism.
- They are not willing to open the watch to showcase the mechanics inside.
- I find it very important that all parts are original and if replaced, are of the exact same design as the original. Not an expert on this.
- To me, condition seems great, I wonder if the steel has been polished.
- I have caliber nr. and ref. nr.
- What's your estimate on maintenance frequency and cost and how high are the chances that if parts need to be replaced, similar parts are still available.

My general considerations:
- First "proper" watch - I've noticed I am now paying attention to watches anywhere but I hope to not buy too many of these nice ones, so this Omega should be one that I'm happy with for a very long time.
- I've narrowed my selection down to this one but I am slightly worried that over time I may start liking a steel coloured Constellation Pie Pan better (was only able to try on a gold capped one, would only buy steel one and haven't found that to try on and see how it looks).
- Having kicked off absorbing as much knowledge as possible about watches, I've only really focused on Omega. I wonder if I should research other brands also and perhaps consider buying a watch that is just a little bit more costly but then also more iconic.
- I have an occasion coming up soon where I want to wear a nice watch. I don't want to lose the opportunity to buy this one for that. Simultaneously, I want to endlessly research before buying my first very nice watch, which I want to be very versatile.

Very much looking forward to your thoughts:
1. Should I/would you buy it?
2. Thoughts on my considerations.

Many thanks in advance to all of you,

K.

(if this is not posted in the right section feel free to move, I checked the sticky threads and this seems like the spot).

 

Hi K.!

Very in detail going first post, thank you!

This is a usual Seamaster from the beginning of the 60ies, case is obviously polished.

You really shouldn't pay this amount of money, you should get a good Seamaster from this time for about 500€.
2250€ is simply a joke.

Even if you have to let a 500€ watch been serviced this would be around 200€.

Stick around here for a while and take a look in the "Private Watch Sales" and on Ebay.

Good luck!

 

Thoughts?

It’s very nice
The dial looks original, but it could have been case polished.
It’s very expensive, like by a factor of 2x or even 3x.

 

In my opinion, 2250 is really expensive.

I'd only pay that sort of money for a near-NOS, one-owner watch—and it would be a Constellation, not a Seamaster.

Anyway, the case has clearly been polished, although not terribly. It's not in NOS condition. Also, I'm not an expert in this reference, but it seems to me like the crown may have been replaced. If you can get a shot of the logo on it, then we will be able to tell.

Do you know if the box and papers are a definite match to the watch? Is that photo of the papers the only information given? Even if the seller is reputable, there's still a chance that the papers aren't a match as some sellers purchase blank papers online and then fill them out with the pertinent information. Your seller may even have duped. Most, as far as I know, don't place a premium on papers unless there's something objectively reassuring about their authenticity.

This watch probably has a 562 or a 565 movement, and parts for those are still pretty plentiful. Servicing shouldn't be a concern—it's a fairly simple automatic, and the only real complexity might be the opening of the reversing wheel.

Finally, most collectors will find it a dealbreaker to not be able to see the inside of the watch until after purchase. After all, you should be able to check the serial movement number with the caseback reference stamping to see if the periods of production match up.

I wouldn't buy this.

 

That seller is NOT to be trusted and he is bloody well not your friend.

That last sentence is one of the most outrageous things I've heard in the vintage watch world.

Don't contact him again, ever. If he is willing to extract that amount of money for a common Seamaster with a highly polished case from an unsuspecting novice, he has no conscience whatsoever.

EDIT: just for kicks, what did the seller charge for the gold-capped Constellation?

 

I find it pretty odd that you have apparently read the forum for a while and don’t find the price ridiculously high yourself.

Seamasters in this condition and of this ‘rarity’ are posted all the time, often with the price mentioned. And never do they ever reach these levels.

 

I sold the same Ref. for under 500 a month ago.
This one has indexes showing some damage.
Price is a joke, and this watch is just a noob trap.

 

Those of us with long memories would be very hesitant buying a watch from this seller, even if it was at a reasonable market price (which this one is definitely not).

As to the watch, the cyclops is enough for me to ignore it.

 

Who is the seller?

 

Woops! Wrong city. I thought it was our mate in Vienna.

 

No, I would certainly NOT buy it if my life depended on it.

Not only the price is outrageously high, like 3 times being generous, but his not being willing to open it to show the inside, a 5s operation, would make me run away as fast as I could and never ever get near that part of town.

Grand Theft.

 

Welcome @Kbr
As others have said, the watch is highly overpriced, even for a bricks and mortar retailer.
With a bit of patience, for €2,250, you could get a really nice SS pie-pan Constellation and still have several hundred euros left over.
(You might even be able to find a dome-dial Constellation, not too dissimilar in style to the Seamaster, for half that asking price)

 

This photo shows the gold capped constellation (ref 168.005) , which has a price tag of €2250 also.

 

The Connie for 2250€ is too expensive.
Look at this Connie in the OF Sales Section for 1500€, with box and papers.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/ome...eter-14381-box-and-papers.98759/#post-1295730

I have no affiliation with the seller.

 

Many thanks for your expansive response, very interesting and helpful. Why do you personally prefer the Constellation?

The crown has the Omega logo, attached the most accurate photo I have of it.

I haven't the faintest idea whether the papers are original... I would be very surprised if they lie about this though. They've been around since the early 2000s. Any idea how to verify originality?
They mentioned the movement is indeed 562. Very reassuring to hear that parts for this one are plentiful!

Thanks again.

 

It is to be expected that prices will be high at a brick-and-mortar retail store, and you should expect to pay a bit more to get a warranty and box and papers. However, even with these considerations, the price is outrageous. If the asking price was half the amount, I would say that it was still expensive, but perhaps worth consideration because of the warranty, B&P, and local connection. There are several watches available in the Private Sales section that are very nice, for less than 1,000 Euros.

 

Nice dial, heavily polished case, wrong crown.
Too expensive by at least 1250 euros.

 

I find myself liking & quoting you a lot today, Crouch

The Constellation linked to above used to be owned by me and it is in fantastic shape. As full a set as you could wish for and no funny business either.

 

Thanks again all for your thoughts.

Let me give you a follow up question. Assume the price for this Seamaster would be what you believe would be a fair price. Would you then buy it?
What would be aspects you would like about it and aspects you would dislike?

 

It faces up nicely because the dial and hand-set are attractive. The case is a bit soft (polished) for my taste.