Help me find a watch, I'm thinking of an Omega Seamaster

[Mark from Plano]

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

I'm not quite sure I understand this. So if I buy a gray market seamaster, I can still send it back to Omega for warranty service? Will they charge me for it? I always thought they would only accept and perform maintenance of watches from AD's with the paperwork filled out properly.

Also, what is the typical useful life of a seamaster? I noticed there are many people who have vintage seamasters that date back to the '70's. Is this unusual? How much does a used seamaster depreciate over time (5-10 yr timeframe)?

Lots of questions.

He's refering to after-warranty service. Omega (and other watchmakers) has taken the position that if they identify a watch as being grey market, they won't do service on it, even if the customer is paying for the service. This is intended to dissuade grey market purchasers. Since serial numbers can be traced back to the original dealer, some dealers who sell wholesale to grey market retailers will remove the serial numbers so that Omega can't trace the watch back to them and revoke their dealership. Omega WILL NOT work on a watch where the serial numbers have been removed, but if the serial numbers are there they are less likely to be able to prove that it was a grey market (lots of customers lose their paperwork, after all).

Life of a Seamaster? Who knows? The first ones were made in the '50's and lots of those are still in use and running strong. So my best guess is that one that is well maintained could last 200, 300, maybe 400 years. No reason that it shouldn't last virtually forever as long as there is someone around with the expertise to keep it in working order.

Final question is unanswerable really. Used Seamasters will usually sell for 30-40% less than the cost of a new one. From there, it's all about condition. Good condition, more money. Bad condition, less money.

 

[iridium7777]

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

I'm not quite sure I understand this. So if I buy a gray market seamaster, I can still send it back to Omega for warranty service? Will they charge me for it? I always thought they would only accept and perform maintenance of watches from AD's with the paperwork filled out properly.
back in the day, either omega dealers or the grey market dealers would remove the serial numbers from the watches. this was done so that the watch couldn't then be traced back to the original authorized dealer and they wouldn't get any crap from omega for dumping the watches into gray market. last time i looked into gray chains some of them kept the serial number on the watch but they would not give you the official warranty card from omega because those were stamped with the dealers name and in return could then be traced back to the original dealer. in stead the greys would give you their own warranty, equivalent to that of omega. i'm not sure what the case is no, if you get a warranty card from omega or not. point was that the watches without serial numbers were obviously grey watches in omega's eyes and they wouldn't want anything to do with them. this shouldn't be a problem now.

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

Also, what is the typical useful life of a seamaster? I noticed there are many people who have vintage seamasters that date back to the '70's. Is this unusual? How much does a used seamaster depreciate over time (5-10 yr timeframe)?
just get the friggin' watch already, it'll outlast you in every aspect.

 

[leon12]

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

I'm not quite sure I understand this. So if I buy a gray market seamaster, I can still send it back to Omega for warranty service? Will they charge me for it? I always thought they would only accept and perform maintenance of watches from AD's with the paperwork filled out properly.

Also, what is the typical useful life of a seamaster? I noticed there are many people who have vintage seamasters that date back to the '70's. Is this unusual? How much does a used seamaster depreciate over time (5-10 yr timeframe)?

Some gray market sellers remove the serial number and a lot of companies will never work on a watch without a serial number, even after the warranty period. You could still have it serviced by any other watchmaker. Most gray market sellers will give you a warranty through them, not from the manufacturer.. a manufacturer's warranty is not even an option.
Useful life could be a long time if it's taken care of..
I recently saw a seamaster from about 10 years ago sell for $700.

 

[leon12]

I need to type faster.

Regarding useful life, you're more likely to run into a situation where the company stops stocking replacement parts so that your old watch can no longer be serviced. Some older Rolex models are having this problem. The seamaster being based on the most widely used movement should help, but bets are off 100 years from now.

 

[appolyon]

I may be in need of correction here, but with the research I was doing before buying my seamaster, I was told that the older, non-coaxial, movement would require servicing every 4/5 years whereas with the new coaxial movement servicing will be required every 8/10 years. I was also told that servicing will cost about 10% of the value of the watch.

 

[billiebob]

Originally Posted by appolyon

I may be in need of correction here, but with the research I was doing before buying my seamaster, I was told that the older, non-coaxial, movement would require servicing every 4/5 years whereas with the new coaxial movement servicing will be required every 8/10 years. I was also told that servicing will cost about 10% of the value of the watch.

This is consistent with what I've heard. But an Omega "service" is essentially a thorough rebuild. If you go with the Omega service (almost $400 now) every 6 years, you will be fine. This is for CURRENT movements. Discontinued movements are almost 500 bucks, which is really high.

service details
http://tinyurl.com/4thd2v

Omega guarantees original parts will be available for 20 years from the last date the watch was sold. The usually have parts for MUCH longer, especially for watches they sell a ton of, like seamasters.

It's also a PITA to ship a watch to Switzerland. I could not figure out how to do it and insure it. Every carrier I spoke with (USPS, Fed Ex, UPS) said no. So I sent mine to new jersey and it was OK, but it takes MONTHS.