Vintage Seamaster De Ville, To Service or not?

[Jaackil]

Hi
I am a new member. My Father Just gave me his Seamaster De Ville which was given to him for his graduation from Medical School in 1967. I do not know alot about vintage watches so any help I can get would be appreciated. I have always loved Omegas, I like automatics, I own a couple of others, this is my first Omega. I have already tried to search information on Vintage Omegas but there does not seem to be a lot of good reliable info just alot of Ebay Listings. So I came here.
First question, is this watch worth anything at all? The reason for that question is I went to the Omega website and they want $700 to service it. I have no idea if the watch is even worth that much. Second question, Can it be serviced by a Local watch maker rather than sending it to Omega? I do understand that if I send it back to Omega they are going to bring it back to "New Condition" and replace part that need to be replaced with new ones which may reduce the value of the watch, but dont know if that even matters. I'm in the Boston area so I am guessing there must be capable people that could service the watch. The current condition of the watch is running but running very fast. Its gaining about 5 seconds per minute. The crystal is acrylic I think and it has some scratches. One good size one that is noticeable at about 3:00 you can see it in the pictures. The case itself could use a good cleaning but is not in bad shape. Looks like normal wear. I know this watch has never been serviced. My guess is my father stopped wearing it in the late 70's when it stopped keeping accurate time and it has sat in a drawer ever since. There is a black leather strap that is falling apart that was on it but shows no signs or logos of Omega so I am not sure that is original. I have no interest in selling it, I want to keep it for purely sentimental value. My Father has Alzheimers, the watch even though it might not be worth much means alot to me. I really want to know if it is worth servicing to wear. (I think it is a pretty cool watch) or should I just keep it as is, to be a piece to look at. Any thoughts are welcome Thank you

 

[Dan S]

It's probably worth almost $700, but that's irrelevant given the sentimental value. Whether or not it's worth servicing to wear is your own personal decision, but there's no reason not to do it, it's a high quality watch. A local watchmaker can service it. Search the forum for recommendations, it's a common question.

 

[SOG53]

Your best option is a local watchmaker with Omega parts account who has interest/ experience with vintage watches. If you can’t find one locally it’s also ok to send it out for service to a number of known watchmakers across That OF members have recommended.

 

[DON]

Don’t think you need a watch maker with an Omega account. Unless a part is needed and discontinued. It’s just a service and many part supplies carry Omega parts.

Also. If most parts suppliers are don’t have the part and discontinued. Could be that Omega may not have the part

Then the watch maker checks EBay to see if available.

Last. You bought it at a garage sale or antique show. Nothing else. Don’t mention that it belonged to your father or Alzheimer’s.

 

[nkhandekar]

I have worked with European Watch Company on Newbury Street in Boston to have watches serviced, including a Seamaster deville, like yours. Albert, Tony and Josh are great and understand the value of patina and old watches. I don't think they are the cheapest, but I trust them (I have bought lots of watches from them and they solid and straighforward). Just know what to ask for with your service..e.g. .keep original parts, no case polishing etc. Good luck with it.

 

[Jaackil]

Thank you! Do you have any knowledge of Watches etc in Wellesley? He is Omega certified.
Can you expend a little more on “know what to ask for”? As I have absolutely no idea what to ask for. I think I want to keep the dial it appears in good condition. Is case cleaning but not polishing ok? What about Crystal replacement? I know it’s not worth a lot but I would like to keep it in as original condition as possible. Any advice you can give would be appreciated. Thanks.

nkhandekar

I have worked with European Watch Company on Newbury Street in Boston to have watches serviced, including a Seamaster deville, like yours. Albert, Tony and Josh are great and understand the value of patina and old watches. I don't think they are the cheapest, but I trust them (I have bought lots of watches from them and they solid and straighforward). Just know what to ask for with your service..e.g. .keep original parts, no case polishing etc. Good luck with it.

 

[nkhandekar]

I don't know about the place in Wellesley, but you will get a sense from talking to him about your watch. I think you said a lot right there about what you want...case cleaning but not polishing, keeping the original crystal if it is still functional, return the original part if it needs to be replaced, keep the original crown, keep it as original as possible...others from the forum will offer their suggestions.

One last thought, take some photos before you get the service done in case there are concerns when the watch is returned.

 

[Jaackil]

nkhandekar

I don't know about the place in Wellesley, but you will get a sense from talking to him about your watch. I think you said a lot right there about what you want...case cleaning but not polishing, keeping the original crystal if it is still functional, return the original part if it needs to be replaced, keep the original crown, keep it as original as possible...others from the forum will offer their suggestions.

One last thought, take some photos before you get the service done in case there are concerns when the watch is returned.

So I just got the estimate back. $760 for service includes replacing the crystal. They said because of the size and depth of the scratch the crystal needs to be replaced. They also mentioned low amplitude and balance wheel needs to be replaced. Does that seem like a reasonable price? Is the watch even worth spending that kind of money on it?

 

[Syzygy]

This is a decision only you can make. Personally, if my father had a quality watch such as this, I would absolutely service it, get a new strap, and wear it, fondly remembering him every time I set and wound the watch and checked the time. If $760 is a concern on the budget, put it in a safe place and set some aside for awhile until you have the funds...at least that's how most of us do it when we find a piece that is more than our comfortable spend. You may never make a return on your investment, but as you said, selling is not your goal with this one, so your return isn't coming in money form, it's paid in emotion with this one.

 

[impalla62ss]

As said above, it is your decision. It is a great watch, with a good dial, nice case, and an original crown. If you are interested in originality, do not let whomever you take it to replace the crown. If you have no luck finding someone local. I had good luck with shipping stuff to OmegaAddict in Phoenix, as I no longer have a local watchmaker. That watch is a keeper, but the choice is yours. Be advised that he is not the same person as the Omega Addict who was on this forum.

 

[Jaackil]

Syzygy

This is a decision only you can make. Personally, if my father had a quality watch such as this, I would absolutely service it, get a new strap, and wear it, fondly remembering him every time I set and wound the watch and checked the time. If $760 is a concern on the budget, put it in a safe place and set some aside for awhile until you have the funds...at least that's how most of us do it when we find a piece that is more than our comfortable spend. You may never make a return on your investment, but as you said, selling is not your goal with this one, so your return isn't coming in money form, it's paid in emotion with this one.

Thanks for the input. The money is not the issue, the issue is really 2 things 1) Is the watch worth spending that kind of money on? Apparently the general feeling is yes the watch is worth it. If the answer is no I can be just as sentimental with it sitting in my watch box unfixed. To me it is a piece of my history whether it works on not. The second consideration, is $760 a fair price for servicing that watch? I do not like to over pay for anything. I do not expect the lowest price because that always comes with risk. But I expect to pay a fair price for the work or service delivered. In my business I know what fair prices should be and I know when an estimate is too high. Here I am flying blind. I know nothing about the watch making business other than a full service for that watch from Omega directly is $700 as published on their website. I also know there are pitfalls with that, namely replacing with all new parts, dial hands crown etc. I would also expect that in most cases a local service would be less expensive than dealer or manufacturer, not always, but that is the expectation. If you take your car to a BMW dealer for repair you expect to pay alot more than if you take it to a local competent mechanic. I dont know if that holds true with watches that is why I am here asking the questions. Thanks

 

[Dan S]

You keep asking "if the watch is worth spending that kind of money on." We can't answer that for you because it's subjective. Financially, no it's not worth it in the sense that the value of the watch will barely be increased by that expense, and won't be worth $760 even after the service (or maybe barely worth that amount). Sentimentally, maybe it's worth it. You have to decide for yourself. For example, do you like the watch enough to wear it (personally, that model has never really appealed to me)? Will you enjoy it a lot more if it's running properly as opposed to just running?

As for the cost, it depends. Is the replacement crystal an Omega branded crystal or a generic, that's a significant price difference. What is required for the service? A lot of new parts, or just clean-oil-adjust. My gut feeling is that you could have a good job done for $400-$500, but since you don't have a lot of knowledge or contacts, it may not be worth your time and energy to save a few hundred dollars. For many of us who have a dozen watches serviced each year, we try to be careful with our expenses. If I were just going to have one watch serviced in the next decade and I knew I could get a good job done for $760, I'd probably just suck it up and pay for it. How much time do you want to spend researching and shopping around. Of course, for some people it's a matter of principle, they don't want to feel like they overpaid, and I guess I can understand that also.

Edited: Sep 11, 2024

 

[Jaackil]

impalla62ss

As said above, it is your decision. It is a great watch, with a good dial, nice case, and an original crown. If you are interested in originality, do not let whomever you take it to replace the crown. If you have no luck finding someone local. I had good luck with shipping stuff to OmegaAddict in Phoenix, as I no longer have a local watchmaker. That watch is a keeper, but the choice is yours. Be advised that he is not the same person as the Omega Addict who was on this forum.

Spoke to Tim today, He said the average price to service these watches is $400-$500. Was more than happy to answer all of my questions and concerns. Thank you!

 

[impalla62ss]

J Jaackil

Spoke to Tim today, He said the average price to service these watches is $400-$500. Was more than happy to answer all of my questions and concerns. Thank you!

He did a great job on my constellation, and his turn around time was impressive. Glad to be of assistance.

 

[Laneside]

As a vintage watch collector, this is a common problem you experience, i,e, do you spend money on an expensive service/repair on a relatively low value watch. E,g, I bought a 9k gold manual Baume watch dated 1965 for GBP192 and spent GBP150 getting it serviced. I wear the watch occasionally and enjoy doing so.
To me it depends on whether you look on the watch as an asset or as a possession to be enjoyed and looked after. In your case, I believe it is the latter.