That's a beauty Paul - well done.
Having looked for a gold 1960s Seamaster Deville for approx. 3 years on and off, I finally found one at a sensible price!
Lots of these turn up in the USA, often 14ct gold-filled with inscriptions on the back, they were very popular as presentation watches and the cases were made locally in the States. 14ct solid gold models with the seamonster logo are rarer, more desirable,and expensive; factor in the import tax and the watch starts to get too expensive. Sourcing in the UK makes more sense but it's surprising how hard they are to find in good condition thesedays. They're either 18ct or 9ct, 18ct cropping up more often. I wanted a 9ct, to fit on a bracelet I`ve had for years, I used to have a 14ct gold-filled version so I know it'll fit perfectly.
This 9ct one came up on UK eBay last weekend, looked good on the pics, asking price wasn`t silly, it ticked all the boxes. My offer was accepted and the watch arrived this morning. The pictures the seller posted were good, I was confident the watch would be fine, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it's better than I expected. Although the case has been polished most of the edges are still defined, it's in very good condition and it doesn`t really need any more work. More importantly, the dial and hands are near-mint original and that's what I was looking for. The crown's wrong (I`ll replace that) and there's a small scratch in the glass that'll polish out. The caseback's in great condition with the all-important Seamonster logo still fairly sharp and no evidence of an inscription that's been removed. I haven`t looked at the movement because the watch is a front-loader, it needs the bezel and glass removing to get it apart, but it's running OK with reasonable amplitude although the rate's approx 70 secs fast. The hand-winding's a bit 'gritty' so it may need a new reverser, I`ve got a few new ones in the parts box so that's no problem. It'll definitely benefit from a proper service in due course!
To say I`m delighted with this one's an understatement. a worthy addition to the collection. As an added bonus the watch came with a 9ct gold Omega buckle and a period 60s Omega box that I wasn`t expecting.......and a new brown Hirsch strap!
Paul
Paul
Last edited by walkerwek1958; 1st February 2018 at 12:46.
That's a beauty Paul - well done.
It looks great, fantastic dial. At this age they always seem to look discoloured, whereas yours doesn't. I'll bet it's rarely been out the box.
Nice, just what you needed ;-)
Very nice - a great find!
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That really is a beautiful watch, enjoy!
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I bought one of those, in steel, new in 1967 . it cost me £36. 15 shillings. Had it twenty years as my only watch. Never serviced (I was ignorant) and I eventually threw it away when the hands fell off. Good watch, badly treated.
36? Wonder what was that worth back then? Salarywise ?
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Lovely watch, the dial and hands are in awesome condition for its age.
That's beautiful! The dial looks pristine, I'm very envious, enjoy wearing it.
Looks very nice. There are plenty of styles in the 50s and 60s Omega ranges so something for everyone to my mind. A great deal of rubbish on eBay which puts people off but I've done well on a few occasions. Easy to get burnt though...
Chris
What a lovely example - they don't come in much cleaner or better condition than that. Congratulations.
Fair to say it would be worth few grand in today's money so.
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Looks like a great find! Well done.
It's just a matter of time...
thats really nice paul, you are making me want one again!
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
A lovely looking watch.
May I ask what would the case diameter on this one be?
scooter
Smashing.
I am sooooo tempted to get something similar to use as purely a DJ watch, sports models just don't cut it, some of mine don't even fit under a cuff!
That's pure class.
Congratulations! It looks like it just came out of the factory.
34.3mmm. Wears nicely because it's all dial and it's slim.
Just fitted to my old 9ct gold watch bracelet and it fits nicely. Also fitted a new crown that's far better. Just as well, the seal in the old one had perished. Gleaves to the rescue again, I`ve used a crown I had earmarked for another watch and fortunately Gleaves had a replacement in stock. The Omega parts situation gets worse by the week, Cousins list a crown for these but it's not close enough to the original for my liking. The split stem makes things tricky too, I`ve had to replace that to match the replacement crown.
I`m wondering if it's had a replacement dial and handset at some time in the past. The dial's definitely not refinished, no doubt about that, and the hands are correct for the watch, but they do look very clean. On the wrist the watch looks very sharp, exactly what I like to see, exactly the look I was after.
Still can`t believe my luck in finding this one, the black/gold hands and batons is the combination I would've chosen and the non-date cal 552 would also have been my choice because the dial because I prefer the symmetry of the dial compared to the date versions. It's also something less to give problems, the cal 565 date movements with the quickset function are renowned for having issues.
Paul
That is a real thing of beauty.
That just oozes class. I can see what you mean about the dial, it looks nigh on perfect but replacement on not, i’d very happily wear it.
Stunning Paul, just my cup of tea. Hopefully we’ll see it at the MCGTG!
Timeless class (excuse the pun)
That is a lovely looking watch, hope you enjoy it.
That’s class
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Congratulations :-)