Is the bracelet that’s on it the correct one? If so it may be easier to to a full refurb on the current bracelet?
I’ve just purchased this from sales corner.... and it clearly needs some love.
I’m no Omega expert ( actually fairly clueless ) so does anyone know what the correct bracelet is and if they are available in ‘good’ used condition?
This one is clearly shagged out
I’m planning to restore the whole watch - it probably deserves it after 40 years or so.
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Is the bracelet that’s on it the correct one? If so it may be easier to to a full refurb on the current bracelet?
I’ve just emailed the chap Who re pins my Rolex bracelets to ask if it’s possible... we shall see!
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It says ‘175’ on the endlinks.
Joy of joys the rotor is knocking ( which I hadn’t noticed until now ) so chances are it will need a rotor post too
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Taking a guess I think it might be a 1171
There should also be a number in the inside of the clasp. It will have 4 digits and will be below the stainless steel markings
This should help you id the bracelet
This thing is such a mess I might send it back.
I’m going to send it back to the seller.
These are the problems not mentioned in the listing on sales corner:
Rotor knackered
Case far worse than it looked in the photos. See photo above
Bracelet is knackered
Glass glued in not chipped like it said in the listing....
I’’m very disappointed.
Especially as he’’s just said ‘’you’ve had it a week’’ when it arrived RMSD yesterday!
I’’ve asked for a refund.
J.
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I’m not sure if your thread title refers to its condition or the type of watch. But this is definitely not what was originally referred to as a Jedi, although it is often incorrectly referred to as one.
When I looked at the listing the dial seems to have some damage to the edges too, although it might have been the shagged Crystal causing distortion. Good luck getting your money back, this looks like a money pit.
Looks like a different watch compared to the SC photos - either your crap photo makes it looks much worse than reality or Jimp's SC photos made it look much better (which seems odd as his photos were sharp). But, glass and rotor being misdescribed is solid enough ground for a refund. Can't say I'm surprised tbh.
My title was a bit of a pun on the fact that people are always calling these TV dial Seamasters ‘Jedi’
I think an auction house mis-described one as a Jedi and now it stuck.
I hope this gets resolved today and we can both move on.
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I think it is an 1171 as standard, 20mm, not flared like the Mk2.
The crystal glued in is a bit of disaster, I assume the rehaut is knackered?
The rotor on my old one was noisy too, like a Tudor Big Block. That may not be the noise you're hearing though.
The cases on these do get shagged, here's my old one:
I'm not trying to defend the seller, I'd have bought the watch had I had the money.
A thought - is it worth calling STS to find out how much it would cost to restore and if they have the blue dial and rehaut and hands available? I prefer the cases on these to be left original (they are tool watches, they do get knocked) but they do look good perfectly sharp. The downside with that is it won't take long before it's scratched up again. This case looks original, not messed with. If it's not an 1171 you might have to pay a few hundred for an original replacemet but they are available.
"A man of little significance"
From the Omegamania auction catalogue of a few years ago:
"A man of little significance"
Just with my basic estimate of what it would be to get it looking sharp and having the movement serviced / rotor fixed... I’d basically be buying it twice.
The listing makes no mention of a lot of these issues.
I just don’t really want to get into a big project. From the advert it’s looks like something you could use... it’s not.
I’m not going to make any further comments on this as I’m sending it back special delivery today.
It won’t do either of us any favours if we keep this going unnecessarily.
Hopefully it will be concluded to everyone satisfaction.
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On closer examination of the seller's pictures the dial looks to have damage on it so while you're having a correct crystal fitted correctly you'd be looking at rehaut too and may as well do the dial, and then the full movement service and then...
Good move sending it back.
"A man of little significance"
I must admit I looked at the watch a few times with regards to buying but any older Omega chronograph is going to be a money pit if you want to bring it back to new looking.
Personally for the right price I'd have worn it (occasionally) with a wobbly rotor and all its faults.
Unless you pay a fortune for these watches they are going to have the sort of faults mentioned and more IME.
Going for a cheap "doer upper" is folly with these sorts of watches IMO.
At the end of the day they are a gamble which is probably worth remembering when dealing with 50 odd year old chronos.
Cheers,
Neil.
It's coming back to me, I'm refunding it, then if anyone wants this I'm open to offers.
That’s what I assume to be a Jedi too; yesterday I thought I would look at the old chronomaddox references page, the only photo on that page is:
Maybe there is more info hidden away on that site but it is archaic at best and doesn’t have a search function I could find.
Jedi refers to any 145.024
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
I’ve just taken delivery of the “Not Jedi” from Jim. Using my trusty watchmaker’s caseback remover (big ball of Blu Tack) I managed to get the caseback off and take a look inside. The rotor had become dislodged from its bearing but I pushed back on with some gentle persuasion and now it sounds like all the other old Omegas I’ve owned. The bearings don’t seem to have that much play in them. Not sure why it had fallen off (maybe a knock) but it seems to be fixed pretty firmly now. I’ll see what the time keeping is like over the rest of today.
1171 175 bracelet is correct for watch too which is nice. It’s a bit sloppy but fine for me and again similar to the other vintage stuff I’ve owned.
The big question now is, having never removed a movement before, do I risk changing the crystal myself?
Incidentally, the serial number dates the watch to 1973 and the papers say it was sold in 1981 so it sat unloved in the window for long, long time!
Last edited by benny.c; 9th November 2020 at 12:09.
So not all hope is lost then!
It would be good to see it back working in regular use.
It does need a good service though looking at the amount of dirt in the movement. re the crystal, if it is glued on, I suspect the removal will damage the chapter ring. Any solvent used to loosen the glue will likely damage the dial printing, so you will need to be very careful.
Please keep us (me) updated, i like these sorts of threads.
Will do. Now I know it’s functional I’ll probably just wear it for a few weeks before deciding how far to go.
Well done Benny I think you have something decent there.
As mentioned previously a service would be good later on and perhaps get the crystal/chapter etc done at the same time?
Cheers,
Neil.
Yeah, I'm very happy with. It's running at -60s/d at the moment so will need a service at some point but will be fine for now. The crystal (plus gasket) seems relatively easy to come by but I've not found a silver chapter ring yet - there's plenty of blue ones though.
The dial is really good so I won't change that. Jim's photos were very clear and zoomed in it looks a little untidy, but with the naked eye it looks great.
Last edited by benny.c; 9th November 2020 at 16:16.
Well done.
It's always nice when a bit of a punt works out.
Hello
I don’t post here at all now but this thread was pointed out to me ... It satisfying that it has a new owner who appreciates it for what it is , not what he thinks it should be.
This was my watch , Jimp sold it for me along with a couple of others.
This watch has had a tough life. It has a story....it has soul ... It has lived!
If you’ll indulge me.
I was a technical apprentice in the steelworks and when I qualified at 21 , my first pay packet went on a coach holiday to Spain , my second I took to Mr Glogowski , our local jeweller . and asked him what He could get me for £200 ... My first ‘proper’ watch.
He sourced me the Omega from Holland .. pre owned but NOS ... It cost me £180 in 1981. The bracelet is original .. it came on the watch.
I used it in the steelworks as a tool .. timing the pouring of molten steel in to ingots, start /stop or hundreds of times , it’s been dropped , hammered , burnt , abused, stood on, drowned , but she never gave up.
The crystal was replaced after I smashed it against a steel railing when running away from out of control molten steel spillage ... It looked like it had a bullet hole at the 7 o’clock position!... the second time it got replaced was when it got splashed and part melted .. I made the mistake of taking it to a watch repair butcher in the local shopping centre.
I stopped using it after about 6 years when cheap digital stopwatches came on the scene.
It was shot in a drawer in exactly the condition it’s in now ... not touched for 25 years.
I wouldn’t have swapped it for any ‘high end’ chronograph... they are pretty useless as tool stopwatches.
If you need to actually use a stopwatch function as opposed to play around, then your Speedmasters and Daytonas are pretty useless.. as is any chronograph with ‘sub dials’ .. coz you’ll guarantee the main minute & hour hand will obscure the minute timer just when you want to read it.
My preference for Lemania 1340 .. Omega 1040 calibre type movements have continued well after I started driving a desk.. The minute register on the centre drive,
Enjoy your watch ... she's been around!
Graham
Here’s numbers 2 & 3 of the collection.
- - - Updated - - -
Last edited by chronocollector; 24th November 2020 at 15:35.
That’s superb Graham, thanks for letting me know the history of the watch. Given the life it’s had, it really has stood up well to the abuse. A proper tool watch.
Last edited by benny.c; 24th November 2020 at 18:39.
I am now very happy to be the proud owner of Graham's 'Steelworks' Seamaster Chrono.
Had it on the timegrapher as soon as it arrived, and now running at -7s per day. Amplitude is at 259, beat error 0.5ms, so running pretty well actually.
Will send off for a service at some point, but happy to wear as is for now.
Hi
Congratulations on acquiring her .... she does deserve some ‘care in the community’ ..
You say you’ll send her for a service... would you mind telling me who you use?
I have a Wakmann “Regate” ... the old Omegas younger replacement after a short ‘affair’ ... now she needs a bit of TLC
She has the same Lemania 1341 movement as the old girl but i’ve had trouble getting her sorted using my regular guys as they cite difficulty getting spare parts ..
Any info would be appreciated,.
Regards
Graham