# Seamaster F300hz



## colinryan (Jul 8, 2007)

Right. The original _raison d'etre_ for me joining this forum was to find out of Watches of Switzerland / Swiss Time Services were bullshitting me. The original thread is here.

I just got a call from Watches of Switzerland in Glasgow who gave me the price for getting my old Seamaster restored. Here is what they said:

Full service (includes crown and crystal) - Â£330

Bracelet - Â£175

Dial - Â£140

Hands - Â£50

*Total - Â£695*

After this, my watch (without papers or box) would have a resale value of _"at least"_ Â£1,400.

As I said before, my own research led me to discover that my watch in NOS condition with original box and papers would be worth Â£300-450 at the very most.

I love that old Seamaster dearly but I think it can languish in my desk a while longer.


----------



## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

colinryan said:


> Bracelet - Â£175
> 
> Dial - Â£140
> 
> Hands - Â£50


Is that for new items? Â£140 for a dial









No way is a hummer worth Â£1,400...if they were, I could retire tomorrow....and it's not even a Megasonic.

F300 Â£300 tops for a good one. IMHO.


----------



## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

Colin, suggest they take it off your hands for Â£700, get the work done and sell it for Â£1400


----------



## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

I think I said in the previous thread but some models can (and do) go for more than Â£300, especially in NOS or mint condition, but the model you have isnt the most desirable of the f300s, its more the middle tier - and sadly (for you) I think Pauls estimate is sound. These arent mega money, and its that thats making them steadliy rise in price I think - ie. these are about the cheapest Omegas on the market that arent quartz or boring small gold models - Omegamania has also lifted awareness of f300s and hence prices too.

I think the dial and hands prices are not far off for items ex Omega at UK list price plus vat plus a little uplift for their handling. The bracelet seems a little expensive but will include the inner ring as well I suspect and vat of course. It might be interesting to ring your local Omega AD and ask how much a replacement bracelet is if you give them the model number off the clasp and the inside back of case.

As to the service... hmmm.... crown and crystal are about Â£40 tops from Omega. IMHO theyre replacing the movt I suspect - it would take them too long and need expertise (ie training etc) to repair it. case refinishing is a moot point - we all know STS doesnt have the machine to do the sunburst case graining... only bienne have that.

I think you will find Omega at Bienne will be pretty much the same numbers as listed here instead think in USD. If you need the info to send the watch in to them, its on the traditions website, or drop me a PM.

Alternatively you can find dials on ebay (not that expensive at all at times when no one else needs one  ) and you may find a better bracelet there too... its a nice little project. Then just get it serviced (there are a few people who do it see another recent thread) and get a new crystal fitted. you would have a nice watch - worth Â£200 tops without the refinishing (possibly more with box / papers). Or buy a cheap runner and swap the bits over...

Good luck!


----------



## colinryan (Jul 8, 2007)

JonW said:


> I think you will find Omega at Bienne will be pretty much the same numbers as listed here instead think in USD. If you need the info to send the watch in to them, its on the traditions website, or drop me a PM.


So basically, in your opinion, Omega would charge about half the price of STS? I would probably spend the Â£350 or so on it, but definitely not Â£700. The watch has huge sentimental value but there comes a point when it's just not clever to throw such an amount of money at something.

I did email Bienne, back when I posted my initial thread, but they never bothered to reply to me. I'd be very grateful if you could PM or email (you already have my address) me the details of whom I should contact over there for further information.

If they give me a reasonable estimate, once I'm working again I may well get it done. But not for 700 notes.


----------



## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

colinryan said:


> JonW said:
> 
> 
> > I think you will find Omega at Bienne will be pretty much the same numbers as listed here instead think in USD. If you need the info to send the watch in to them, its on the traditions website, or drop me a PM.
> ...


Colin. Well thats my view... I think WOS and STS have both uplifted the charges and Bienne will be cheaper.... but im not Omega and of course they may charge slightly differently, im just applying my expereince with what ive heard. Have a look at Gary's thread and drop him a PM about his Mk2 restoration (im sure he said Â£295) and also chat to Russ about his Chronostop. that should give you a good idea as to what to expect.







Also... Omega will provide an estimate for free, so its just the price of the postage.







They takes ages to do it, but they are the best.....

Ive dropped you an email to save you some time but for anyone else looking to do this, have a look over on the Omega Traditions website as it lists the expected charges as well as the addresses etc.


----------



## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

colinryan said:


> Right. The original _raison d'etre_ for me joining this forum was to find out of Watches of Switzerland / Swiss Time Services were bullshitting me. The original thread is here.
> 
> I just got a call from Watches of Switzerland in Glasgow who gave me the price for getting my old Seamaster restored. Here is what they said:
> 
> ...


Colin did you get a price direct from STS? I have always found them to be reasonable ... looks like there is a big WoS mark-up on that estimate.


----------



## colinryan (Jul 8, 2007)

Well I just received a call from Watches of Switzerland in Glasgow telling me that my Seamaster has been returned un-restored and is ready for me to collect.

It was the manager himself who called me and, to his credit, he said that he'd been looking at the breakdown of the bill and it was a ludicrous amount to spend on an old F300, and that he'd never seen one even in perfect condition fetch more than Â£500. So at least he was straight with me.


----------



## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

Cool. thats good to know Colin. Seems you finally got to speak to someone who knows something about watches.









Good luck with Bienne


----------



## strange_too (Feb 19, 2007)

Yeah someone who doesn't believe the hype of recent antiquorum auctions.


----------



## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

JonW said:


> Cool. thats good to know Colin. Seems you finally got to speak to someone who knows something about watches.


And whats even stranger...he is a retailer!


----------



## Guest (Aug 10, 2007)




----------



## Agent orange (Feb 11, 2006)

Hi Colin

Sorry a bit late in picking this thread up. As Jon mentioned a Bienne restoration of my MKII Speedmaster from 1969 cost me Â£295. This included a full service (they replaced most of the movement from what I can see), new dial and handset, new crown and pushers, new crystal, case refurbishment and return postage. Their work is guaranteed for 2 years and you get a certificate of authenticity and an Omega glasses style case.

Link to my original thread is here:

http://www.thewatchforum.co.uk/index.php?s...peedmaster+MKII

When I was originally getting prices on this project STS quoted exactly the same as Bienne but as Jon said STS don't have the machinery to refinish the cases as well as Bienne. I've seen a few examples of their refinishing and I can't say I've been impressed TBH.

As your watch obviously has a strong emotional value to you it might be worth sending it to Bienne for a quote. At worst you'll just loose the postage cost, at best you might be pleasantly surprised. If you need anymore info about the proceedure with Bienne just drop me an email to garyandlucy[dot]co[dot]uk. I've had a fair few enquiries about the MKII restoration so I typed a more detailed account of my experience.

Hope this helps and good luck with your watch.

Cheers,

Gary

P.S. Forgot to add that in real monetary terms I'd say your watch is probably worth no more than Â£150 as is, Â£350 tops fully restored, however this is irrelevant really because of emotional connection. Also if it's going to be a keeper and a possible heirloom, todays prices are made even more redundant.


----------

