Omega

Hi everyone,

I inherited this watch a long time ago but I never paid close attention to it as I felt too young to wear a gold watch.
I have rediscovered it recently along with its green box and after some research, I believe it is a solid 14k gold case 2520 with a 352 calibre and a pie pan silver dial (maybe a 354 calibre but omega database doesnt list any seamaster 354 in solid 14k case) feel free to correct me!
What do you think of the unusual seamaster placement, what about the crown, does it look original?
Unfortunately the strap and buckle are not original and need replacement, not sure what I ll do about it yet that but I might go for a deployant like Dr No beautiful constellation as I don t think I ll be able to source an original buckle.

I m about to drop it at omega's shop to be restored, any advice or suggestion on what to ask ?

This message has been edited by hazy on 2011-11-24 15:46:24

For service:
Full movement service with replacement of parts as needed
Light case polish
Leave dial alone

Shorter hour and minute hands with a black second hand would be nice.

 

 Best.

in its past, the minute and second hand (at least) have been replaced - the hands should just touch the chapter ring.  Personally, I would restrict restoration to a good clean up of the case and movement with the latter serviced as needed and a new crystal and crown.  I would just have the dial gently brushed - but that would be all. 

I would have thought that all of the above could be undertaken by a local watchmaker - I wouldn't send it to Omega.  Just my opinion.

Cheers

Andrew

Hi,

I suggest to do as little as possible (and necessary ) to the watch.

1) Cleaning and re-lubrication of the movement

2) removal of scratches on the crystal and polishing it afterwards

3) replacement of the wrong winding crown (not difficult to obtain)

Thats it - and you will have a fine watch.

These works can be done by a good local watchmaker - no need to send it to Omega (far too expensive!).

Do not touch the dial - under no circumstances!

just my thoughts

erich

thank you all for your very appreciated contributions, I was a little hasty and have already left it at omega for a restoration estimate which is gona take a couple months... I insisted that I wanted the dial to remain untouched. If they end up being too expensive (they couldn t give me a ballpark without having it sent out) I ll fall back on a local watchmaker.

This message has been edited by hazy on 2011-11-25 07:00:46

Hi

Hi

That is one of my favorite omega dials.  The patina of the dial is also stunning... I have seen that style only a few times before...


Please let us know what happens

Best

BIll Sohne

I just received the estimate for Omega's "full maintenance service" with replacements of parts as needed,  quoted at 800ish € with a 16 weeks delay.
the estimate list the watch serial as 12280XXX and the calibre as 354
I m a bit puzzled as according to the database that should date the watch to 1950, maybe 1951 and I read that calibre 354 was introduced in 1952.
what do you guys think, could they have listed  the wrong calibre number?
I m going to contact a couple local watchmaker to see what I can expect to pay there.

This message has been edited by hazy on 2012-01-27 03:56:14

they have quoted the number from the inner caseback and not from the movement.  I have yet to see a cal. 354 movement with a serial number under 13 million.  On the other hand at this time of production, the inner caseback number is lower by ~1 million compared to the movement number.  It was only the gold cases that featured that added number in the inner caseback which was imprinted in addition to the 4 digit case reference number - the steel and gold plated/capped models did not have it.

So the watch is on the way back from Omega and I m going to have a local shop do the work you guys suggested.
Is the consensus to replace the hands for shorter ones? which colors should the sweep seconds be? It s hard to tell from the pictures I posted but the current hands have a pink hue to them (looks like pink gold to me but I m no expert), so I m considering replacing the crown with the proper model but in pink gold and to get a pink gold buckle on a black strap. The case color is also more reddish than the 18k and 24k gold I could compare it with although It s not quite pink gold. Is that due to ageing?

In the meantime I have looked at the case serial I could find on the web but I haven t been able to find one higher than 11 million...
The dial looks exactly like the steel SM 352 chronometer Kyle L has posted on another forum with a 12 million calibre serial.
forums.watchuseek.com

My best guess is that they didnt list the right calibre on that estimate, (Has anyone ever seen a OJ 2520 / OT 2520 / OJ 2577 / OT 2577 certified chrono with a 354 calibre and a 12 million case serial?)
I ll find out for sure when I get the local guy to open the caseback, I ll be sure to take pictures to post them here.

This message has been edited by hazy on 2012-01-31 15:38:52 This message has been edited by hazy on 2012-01-31 15:43:52

I was hoping with the update, it would be finished pictures after the restoration. Looking forward to seeing how this one turns out. The sentimental value that it belonged to your grandfather, along with the great condition of the original dial is a double bonus.

Finally got the watch back from Omega... brought it to a local guy and asked him to open it and here s what I found... 354 with AR system a 12M serial and I think deluxe finish wheels??? it s a 2520 case with an 11M serial. I bought a deployant from omega and I m gona have a custom strap made. The crystal will be replaced (current one isn t signed I m told)
I need to source the crown now as the local shop can t get it from omega
is ofrei the place for that, even from europe?
I think the crown ref should be 8100/1016 

The rest of the movement including the serial is ok for a cal. 352 except for the piece with the cal. 354 stamped on it.  Yes, crown can be sourced from ofrei - these are easy to get there.

Hi hazy,

It looks like a "put together" movement.

For ref 2520 a cal. 352 would be correct.  Special finished parts (ratchet wheel, regulator) are OK for the cal 352.

But what the heck is with the plate with inscription "354"  - somebody must have swapped this part for an unknown reason...

I would recommend to request an extract from the Omega archive to see if the movement number is correct for this case,

might give some more information about what happened to the watch.

regards

erich

www.oldwatch.club.tw
If you look at the watch on this page the case number and movement number are both a single digit away from mine so without requesting an extract I think the case and movement match.
I guess the most likely explanation is that the "pont de barillet" (which bare the calibre number?) was replaced at one point or the factory had a boozy day some 60 years ago... This watch hadn t see daylight in the last 20 years. Who knows what happened to it before that...

Couple more questions for you experts:
Are the omega crystals sold by ofrei signed (CRY-637)? If so I might as well get it from there along with the crown.
Anyone know what the reference are for the original hands? Luminous dauphine, but in what size? What about the seconds hand original color and size?
Do you think I should look into replacing the mislabeled part ?

Crystal and crown for this watch easily sourced from ofrei.  Hands a different story - you'll have to measure (from center right to the edge of the minute track to get the minute length hand correct.  And even then you'll have to match the lume.  Frequently, the modern replacements are not quite an exact fit for these vintage models. 
And yes, I would try and get the correct part with the cal. 352 imprint - at least for me, that will make the watch much more desirable to the serious vintage omega collector.  This is probably the most important thing to replace (and the most difficult). 

. . . that's my recollection, at least, from one of Bill's earlier postings . . . 

Not all of 354's were manufactured as chronometres,  lots of non chronometre 354's were used to power the seamasters, too.

. . . cal 354s without chronometer rating than with, but wouldn't the acknowledged existence of some chronometer rated 354s tend to validate this example?

is that other parts like the regulator are from a cal. 352 and not from a 354.  The movement serial number which is in the 12 million range also belongs to a cal. 352.  So a 354 mark in the movement is incorrect.

Here, I have another one.

Hi Hoi,

I don´t think that Omega made a mixture of 2 calibers, it seems very unlikely to me.

kind regards

Erich

Totally agree with Mike. The most difficult thing to do is to find that part that has 352  on it.  This message has been edited by hoipolloi on 2012-02-25 07:59:55

This crown tube opening is too big so another one is on its way from ofrei, it is still missing a 352 barrel bridge, and It will look better on an Omega gold deployant than on the steel one I have...

But it s finally on my wrist so I m very happy today!

For those who are curious the strap is from Rios1931, it s an "art manuel" to fit omega deployant. I have seen quite a few OEM up close and I m very pleased with its quality.

I m not sure I ll change the hands, I like those pinkish oversized ones, so we ll see.
And out of curiosity I ordered an extract from the archive...

Sorry for picture quality, only have my cell atm...

Wear and enjoy it in good health!

Best.

René

But, as i,m sure you know, its not a pie pan dial.