WATCH POP

Hello all,

I recently inquired for some help on an Omega Seamaster I bought on eBay - this story keeps getting more and more convoluted, and so I thought I'd ask for more help.

Background: I bought what is purported to be a ~1956 Omega Seamaster, gold fill, screw back with the sea monster/hippocampus logo, purportedly original dial with numbers at the 3, 6, 9, and 12. Photo from the eBay auction above. The movement was noisy, and the hour hand was slightly "off" (it eclipsed each hour marker at about 15 minutes past each hour), but I was happy. Unfortunately, the crystal came off the first time I wore it. I took the watch to a jeweler who has sent it off to a watch repairman who has told me the watch needs a new crystal (he says plastic is more correct on this watch than sapphire) and a new crown and a total overhaul.

The latest wrinkle is this: he has told my jeweler, who has now told me, that the watch's movement is not the correct movement for the watch, and that someone must have replaced the original movement with another Omega movement that does not fit the watch properly, hence the noise. The watch was advertised on eBay as having a 471 movement. Unfortunately, I have no photos of any markings on the movement, and I don't know anything about movements to know what I'm looking at, and I don't have the watch with me to look for anything in particular, and I wouldn't know how to remove the caseback anyways. The repair man has said that he happens to have the right movement for the watch, and will remove the "wrong" one and replace it with the "right" one for free, as long as he can keep the replaced movement. I've asked the jeweler to ask the watch repair guy what movement he will be taking out and what movement he will be putting in, but I haven't heard back yet, and this all sounds very, very fishy to me.

Ultimately, the question is this: Does anyone know if the 471 is correct for this movement? If not, what is? And is it possible that someone might have made this switch? Is it possible that the guy who sold me the watch just *thought* it was a 471 because that's what it was supposed to be, but it was actually another one?

Does any part of this make sense, or hold water?

Any and all expert opinions are appreciated. Many thanks. There are numbers engraved on the inside of the caseback which will help you identify which movement is correct for this particular Seamaster model. Ask the watchmaker to get this for you.

Once you have this information, you can register here:

http://www.omegawatches.com/cu_vintage/

A quick look at this database shows several Seamaster models that originally had the caliber 471 movement.

Omega used many different movements in Seamasters during the 1950's, some of which were entirely interchageable with each other. Without the case reference, there is no way to tell which movement is correct.

Hope this helps,
gatorcpa