Mint Seamaster Is It Possible

[cib0rgman]

This could a good buy a 1970's watch in brand new condition

Edited July 28, 2006 by cib0rgman

[cib0rgman]

Sorry it looks like is not NOs, they restored the watch with original omega parts

[retep]

I don't know enough about it to give you advice but;

No stubbies present and that is.............................................................................g

ood

The second hand is long enough and that is............................................................good

The luminous area of the second hand is big enough and that is...............................good

The 6 and 9 are not closed ad that is.....................................................................good

The date window has a white line around and that is................................................good

The hour hands look correct and that is..................................................................good

The tekst swiss made is below the 6 o' clock marker and that is...............................good

The A in waterproof is flat at the top and that is......................................................good

The tekst certified is spelled correctly and that is....................................................good

If the triangle and the numbers in the bezel insert also lights up in the dark..............good

Price ?................................................................................

................................good/wrong

Member ubiquitous has one and can probably tell you more about this one.

Hope this helps, good luck.

Edited July 28, 2006 by retep

[ubiquitous]

retep covered all the points of concern on the checklist. The watch does look like it's been restored to like new condition using new or new old stock parts.

A couple of things to look for- Indicators of updated parts etc. (which initially made me suspect my watch as original and confirmed with Omega):

-Is the crown screwdown? If it's not... It's original. Mine is not screw down, and the profile of the crown is the shorter one that was initially issued with the watch as original.

-If you look closely at the crystal, it should be signed right in the center with an Omega Ω character.

-There are a few other indications of wear, age, etc. that just cannot be erased from the watch as well... Unless it's been replaced.

Anyhow... Aside from those items, I don't really know much more about these. Arthur (Panerai153) would most likely know more about it than I

[retep]

Ubi, yours is so beautiful i really envie you. Yours also looks it`s age rather then the one cib0rgman posted.

[panerai153]

That is a very nice example of a SM300. I would say that it is a NOS parts watch. Remember these were "Tool"watches from the 1960's. they were used and abused. Fortunately, up until very recently parts were plentiful and cheap. They are still available, but not cheap.

I have one almost identical to yours. It's in Bienne now getting the movement fixed. Ziggy did a lot of work on it, and did a wonderful job, however these old 562-565 movements have a really quirky second hand setup. If they aren't just right, the second hand jumps like a quartz watch. Doesn'rt affect the timekeeping, but it was driving me crazy?

Also mine was original, and it has a screw in crown. Omega made so many variations of the SM300, some had screw in crowns others didn't, some had the "squared off triangles" at 12 O'clock with a number at 12 some had a big triangle with no number at 12 O'clock, some have white date wheels, some have black, and then there were tons of watches that were sent back to Omega or were rebuilt by watchmakers who used available parts, which confuses the issue even more. The nice thing about these is the parts are still available, and you can send your watch back to Omega SA in Bienne, and they will literally send you a "new" watch back., along with a certificate which is as good as original papers to establish authenticity.

Depending on the price, it could or could not be a good buy. But I'll tell you from experience, if you buy one that is in average condition and want to get it to where this one is, you will easily have North of 1500 dollars in the watch!!

I bought mine for around 900.00 added a NOS Dial,bezel(can't change the inserts on these like you do a Rolex) Hands,crystal and bracelet. the sum of the parts was over 500.00 plus having Ziggy do all the work, brought the total for mine to aver 1600.00, but it's really nice.

A final thought, the price of these watches has been steadily climbing for the past couple of years. 2 years back, you could get a very,very nice SM300 for around 500-600 dollars. the same watch now is going to cost you 900-1200 dollars.

[panerai153]

Ubi,

thanks for the accolade, but my friend, you are the expert, I'm just a student of horology studying at the feet of the master.

After looking at the SM300 photos more closely, that is definitely a NOS Bezel hands and dial. Unless the watch was kept in a safe, never worn and never exposed to sunlight, the dial and hands would have a patina. Check out the lume. hold it under a bright light for 30 seconds see if it really glows. Old dials/hands that have been exposed to lots of sunlight for 35-40 years just don't glow like that. look at the photo of mine . 30 seconds under a desk lamp, then I probably took another 3-5 minutes getting ready to shoot the photos and it still had lots of glow. i tried that trick with my genuine Rolex GMT master 87 model. 1 minute under a bright light, zero glow!!

@cibOrgman,

What price was this watch offered to you, if you don't mind me being nosy?

Arthur

[ubiquitous]

Arthur... You're just being modest!