Seamaster, the genuine article

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Hello Everybody, I am new to the forum and was hoping for a little advice.
I am looking to buy my first vintage Omega wristwatch, the model I have in mind is the seamaster with the black dial, produced I believe in the 50's and 60's. I am afraid I do not know the model number, but mostly automatic It seems and there is a chronometer version obviously more expensive.
I really think this is a beautiful watch, I can find several for sale at widely varying prices across ebay and the various dealers but without the knowledge to spot a fake or "re-manufactured" watch I am a liitle stumped. I have read a little and done as much research as I can from helpful websites but are there any sure ways of buying a genuine article? I am prepared to pay the value of the watch I am not looking for a bargain I am looking for a good genuine watch. Any tips on websites, dealers or publications would be greatly appreciated, thank you so much, Steve Heaney
 
U
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Hi Steve. Are you talking about the Seamaster 300m dive watch? Please ask the Google to give you images and post one here so we know.
 
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This is the 'kind' of watch I am looking at and I am sure there are many variants. I would just like to be more informed
 
Tim Mackrain seamaster.JPG
dsio
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Oh! A Seamaster dress watch with black dial... Don't spose you saw it on Mad Men recently? 😀
 
dsio
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I'm moving this to the vintage forum btw 😀
 
Matty01
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I really like them too, very classy, with a touch of sinister thrown in... like cold war international man of mystery
 
U
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Be very wary of black dialed vintage Omegas because most of them are refinished dials. We'll help you on a case by case basis. Post links to the watches you find and we'll vet them. Most of us absolutely hate to see anyone make a bad purchase, and there are a lot of shenanigans going on with the brand because it's so popular.
 
MSNWatch
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U ulackfocus
Be very wary of black dialed vintage Omegas because most of them are refinished dials. We'll help you on a case by case basis. Post links to the watches you find and we'll vet them. Most of us absolutely hate to see anyone make a bad purchase, and there are a lot of shenanigans going on with the brand because it's so popular.

Agreed. Unless it is a dive watch like the seamaster 300, 99% of the black dials are refinished dials. The black dial seamaster chronometre is almost impossible to find in original condition with the black dial. The same situation exists for vintage constellations where there an original black dial is only slightly easier to locate.
 
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Thank you both for the reply, I wonder then why so many black dial seamasters are redialled is it because the original deteriorates or are we really surrounded by people determined to deceive us. Is there a dealer or resource that will admit the changes made to a watch and charge a fair price for it ?
I mean if 99% of black dials are replaced I really dont see that I have a choice! I must focus on at least getting a good example of a re-dialled seamaster. Your guidance will be a great help here , thanks Steve
 
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S stephen Heaney
Thank you both for the reply, I wonder then why so many black dial seamasters are redialled is it because the original deteriorates or are we really surrounded by people determined to deceive us. Is there a dealer or resource that will admit the changes made to a watch and charge a fair price for it ?
I mean if 99% of black dials are replaced I really dont see that I have a choice! I must focus on at least getting a good example of a re-dialled seamaster. Your guidance will be a great help here , thanks Steve

You can find original ones. Omega made a lot of watches so there isn't just 3 or 4 black dialed pieces out there. It just takes a little longer to find them and a keen eye for what's correct to get a decent one. Personally, I prefer a black dial and have owned a few.

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Mike, here's an interesting SM chronometer that Kyle and I watched sell for over $3K last year:

80668_1.jpg
 
MSNWatch
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I believe that black dial SM chronometre hit close to 4k if not a bit over. I watched it closely and thought about going all out for it and in hindsight perhaps I should have but if I recall correctly I had just gotten 3 or 4 pieces when that item ended that I felt somewhat inhibited. That was a true rare piece since it had an original black cartouche dial SM chronometre. I actually recently obtained 2 uncommon SM chronometres which I may post here in the forum once I get back from vacation.
 
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MSNWatch MSNWatch
I believe that black dial SM chronometre hit close to 4k if not a bit over. I watched it closely and thought about going all out for it and in hindsight perhaps I should have but if I recall correctly I had just gotten 3 or 4 pieces when that item ended that I felt somewhat inhibited. That was a true rare piece since it had an original black cartouche dial SM chronometre. I actually recently obtained 2 uncommon SM chronometres which I may post here in the forum once I get back from vacation.
 
MSNWatch
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Which connie are you referring to?
 
MSNWatch
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Yes, have a few of them.
 
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