Omega

flightmaster71
136

• Show profile
• Show other posts

Thanks Art.

I was nervous about the case restoration as nothing would have been worse than to send it away and receive it back in a worse state with rounded edges etc.  But rest assured Omega Bienne can work wonders with their CNC machines etc.

Here is a pic of it before the restoration:



Which really doesn't show the extent of the bad refinishing because consciously I tried to make the watch look as good as possible in the photo (as the shot was taken prior to making the decision to send it away not as a before and after type shot).   Regardless the end result was a huge improvement. 

I would not hesitate (on the grounds of the quality of their work) to send a flighmaster or other significant 70's watch to Bienne now that I've experienced their work.  Hesitation caused by cost, time away from the watch and possible customer service difficulties maybe, but not due to the quality of the work performed.

While these big 70's pieces are not every bodies cup of tea, there will never be any more of them produced and there is a dwindling pool of them out there.  So to me (and I know several others here on PuristS) there is definitely an appeal for keeping the ones we can get our hands on looking good but still authentically vintage.  If you see examples out there that have good dials, hands and movements I wouldn't let a little case over polishing put you off.   

One thing that I haven't really had a chance to photograph well that amazes me is the treatment on the corners of the hooded lugs on the case.  You can kind of see it in this shot here:



If you look in the far right of the photo, at the lug where it meets the bracelet they have polished a uniformly triangular section to a mirror finish (matching the underside of the case) on each lug corner which contrast to the sunburst finish on the front side of the case.  This triangular section was evident (but not nicely polished) on the watch prior to the restoration but I assumed it was a ding from being dropped or hit against things due to the shape of the case.  These contrast triangles are also present on my cal. 911 flightmaster case now that I look at it.  A very nice and detailed bit of case making for a tool watch and show great attention to detail by Omega.

Regards,

Zac