Omega

Hi, this will be my first try at posting photos, so please bear with me. This is the 343 that I found in a coin shop and I am asking for help with the dial. What if anything should I do with this dial? It is very presentable the way it is but looking at o...  

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I have the same exact watch with a 14k gold case, 343 bumper movement, and the dial finished exactly the same way (except for some minor differences with the luminous)! Here is a picture of mine:...  

Hi MSN, did you notice the serial#'s only 26#'s off! My is 12188946, sorry about the poor photo quality, Jim

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it looks ok to me especially as there is another one like it. i'm not up on dials, but can usually spot a redial. if your not thinking of keeping it long then perhaps its not worth the expense getting a NOS dial. having it refinished IMO is a bad idea unl... 

This is probably the original dial, as we have two examples of a similar dial on these movements. I seem to remember that there have been other instances where chronometers were not so described on the dials. if your considering offloading it feel free to... 

Hi Guys I was staring at both watches... The Seamaster Script letter forms are not the same between the two ... as an example look at the ending "er" in Seamaster . The counter of the e ( the shaped formed in the center of the e) is not the same... and th...  

Jim's on the left, Mike's on the right......  

Thanks it never occurred to me to do a side by side comparison, pretty plain to see now, Jim

i knew you'd know the answer Bill, the font of all Omega knowledge. interesting that the 19 jewel 501 was the chronometer and not the 20 jewel. Omega designs is not the best book in the world, but has some good movement pics in it. although both dials loo... 

Hi G This is the stuff that I find interesting.. I am glad you like it as well.. i would like to see a 20 jewel adjusted 5 positions 501 , i have not seen one as of yet. Good Hunting Bill sohne

Lots to learn around here. Still, it is quite amazing that these two watches would be so closely resembling each other, close in production numbers, yet different... Very interesting post! Thank you all!

Now that I have had time to think about this, many more questions come to mind. I bought this watch a few weeks ago and the only thing I did was open it up. The reason I posted the photos was the condition of the dial was so good and I thought someone on ... 

good luck with the research Jim, you'll need it to get a definative result. best Graham

No ifs, ands or buts Bob

Bob, the intent of my original post was to have people voice their opinions as to the validity of the dial, no its not.... doesn't cut it. Would you care to explain why you feel its been refinished? What are the basic parameters that keyed this decision f... 

I should have been referring to the watch you presented, not the both. -Yours has a very peculiar font especially in the word Seamaster -The writing is sloppily applied, including the minute calibrations on the outer track and the second calibrations on t... 

Hi Bob, thanks thats exactly what I was looking for in a critique, now everyone talks about "fonts" but I have yet to run across a source for for them. Would you point me to a reference or does this all come from experience and observation? Thanks, Jim

Thousands and thousands of watches examined. Still get it wrong, however. Bob

Jim, if you're interested in collecting Omega watches, you probably should get the Bible: Omega: A Journey through Time, by Mr Marco Richon, who is curator of the Omega Museum in Bienne. There you will see hundreds of examples of vintage Omegas, and will ... 

The Omega "bible" is a good book but as always: be carefull about what you read and see! Not everything that is printed must be "the right thing" as we all know - Omega is not very picky in chosing pictures and there may be well  some examples showing res... 

I agree with what Erich said. No substitute for self-study and consultation with forums and friends who have expertise.