Vintage
jlc.thomsen's acquisition of a tropical dial Omega Speedmaster Professional offers a compelling look into the world of vintage collecting, particularly the allure of unique patinas. His experience highlights the challenges and rewards of sourcing and servicing a vintage timepiece, especially when dealing with delicate components and the pursuit of originality. This article delves into the nuances of tropical dials, Omega's service approach for vintage pieces, and the community's shared passion for these iconic chronographs.
You hear all these horror stories about how sending your vintage Speedmaster back to Omega is the last thing you want to do. However, from what I can see, they did a great sympathetic restoration on your beautiful tropical dial Speedy
My vintage watchmaker, which I trust a lot and who happens also to be certified Omega workshop just didn’t want to take the risk with the hands and we ended sending it to Omega. What experience have you had?
I think that in this case the watchmaker sent it with a precise instructions from me not to change anything. I also feel that Omega has become more aware of their heritage in the past few years.
I think Omega realised the vintage market continues to grow and they have been missing out on lot of business. Although sending your vintage watch, especially a Speedmaster, is expensive and time consuming to send back to Beine what better place to have it restored?
When I saw the watch I loved the dial but observed some irregularities in the movement and sub dials as I was testing it. I agreed to pay the price and put an 80% deposit if he would make it undergo a service, pressure test and lubrication at the watchmaker’s workshop. Eventually the watchmaker just couldn’t get the watch hands off to perform the service, being afraid to break the hands if using more heat and force. So he ended up sending it to Bienne.
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