Hello everybody.
I bought Omega Speedmaster Professional on Ebay about a week ago.
When I inspected the watch upon arrival, I noticed a few dark spots on the dial that looked almost like touch-ups. I took it to an Omega authorized dealer and had the watch looked at by repair people. They told me that these spots are moisture spots and that most likely the watch took in water at some point. Their recommendation - to send the watch to Omega for service.
What was supposed to be an inexpensive and in a good working order watch, it is turning into a nightmare. The watch repair people quoted me $450-$750 Omega service charges for the overhaul.
The seller claimed that the watch is in a good working order and well cared for. He told me that the watch was cleaned and lubricated a few years ago by a jeweler.
The irony is that except for spots one the dial and slight discoloration on the small seconds hand and the large seconds hand, the watch seems to be working fine.
So what should I do? Is there any way (short of sending the watch to Omega) to determine if the watch sustained water damage and just an overall condition? Is it possible to replace hands and the dial on the watch without doing a complete overhaul? Could the dial be cleaned of those moisture spots? Can the full service be done by a qualified watch repairman or should I follow the advice and send it to Omega? Would it be cheaper? Is the Omega service charge really that high?
Also would anybody know what year was this watch manufactured? Its serial number starts with 3558.
I would appreciate any information.
Thank you in advance,
Andrei
