Hello Riza,
Thank you for sending in this vintage wristwatch to mearto.com for an appraisal. I shall try to that for you today.
TITLE:
Gent’s, stainless steel, mid-size, self-winding, water resistant divers’ wristwatch with date and a stainless-steel link bracelet with Omega adjustable folding clasp, “Seamaster 300" model, Ref. 166.024-67 SC, S/N 26958957, made by Omega, Geneva, Switzerland, circa 1967.
DESCRIPTION:
Case: 42mm diameter, three leaf, tonneau shaped case with faceted lugs, polished stainless steel, crown with logo (not shown) and inset into side of the case, and eight screw- screwed down case back which is engraved with the Omega Seamaster logo, and "Certified High Pressure waterproof Seamaster". Revolving black graduated bezel for the decompression times. The interior of the back cover has the Omega logo, stainless steel (in French), the ebauche S.A. supplier, 'Fabrique D’ Horologerie Fountainmelon', the reference number 166024 and the year ’67. The watch is integrated with a tapered stainless steel Omega bracelet, 17mm wide at the end link of one side of the bracelet, perhaps the model 1035 Omega bracelet. The ref. 1035 was in production between 1967 and 1972. The steel clasp is adjustable and the model should be numbered on the surface of the clasp. I believe it had 22 links in total.
Dial: 30mm diameter, Black dial with luminous tapered baton hour indices painted white Arabic hours at the quarters with blunted luminous batons and the date aperture @3, uniform open bar elongated minutes/seconds track and large luminous lozenge hour hand with baton luminous minute hand. The dial is marked, “Omega, automatic Speedmaster 300”. There should be a marking at the bottom of the dial indicating the use of tritium, but I cannot find that mark. (Sometimes in this model the mark is still present but only partially visible, so I will assume it I hidden by the bezel.)
Movement: The Rolex Cal. 565, a copper-colored, 24 jewel, self-winding, straight line lever escapement, quickset date by repeated pulling the crown, sweep seconds, 24 jewels, vibrating @19800 beats/hour with a power reserve of 50 hours, Incabloc shock absorber, self-compensating flat balance-spring, swan-neck micrometer regulator and made from 1966-1969 by Omega.
CONDITION:
Case has moderate number of scratches especially on the back cover. The bracelet has fewer surface scratches and is in very good condition. Dial: Moderate wear to the bezel. The dial has a few speckles which appear to be on the dial and not the crystal. The hour indices are in spectacular condition with an even dark patina to the tritium. The hands have aged beautifully as well. Movement – clean original, genuine and assumed functional.
COMPARABLES OF SIMILAR MODELS:
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/omega-a-rare-stainless-steel-automatic-wristwatch-106-c-a84464ba30 (made in 1969 with military band, belonging to wounded lieutenant colonel with letter from President Nixon and Extract from the Archives sold for $20,000 @ Christies in 2019.)
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/omega-seamaster-300-ref-166024-67-53-c-f0f4b53845 (large triangle model offered in 2018 with reserve of $10000, and passed)
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/a-rare-gentlemans-stainless-steel-omega-seamaster-175-c-cb644f0aa8 (Big triangle model sold for 5600 Pounds in 2017)
https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=Omega+Seamaster+300+ref.+166024 (the large triangle model, 1967, a slightly rarer model, the big triangle was offered in 2018 with an estimate of 10-15K and was passed.)
https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/omega-ref-165-024-seamaster-300-lot-327-145?browse_all=1&page=1&q=Omega+seamaster+300 (similar 1968 model sold in 2020 for $5625.)
PRICING:
Given the wonderful dial and the wear to the bezel and the moderate amount of wear on the case, I believe the fair market value of this vintage Seamaster 300 watch would be in the range of $5500-$6500. Retail values for this watch would be at least twice that amount. This puts it in the class of the model with the large triangle which would be a bit pricier, but not by much. In fact, you matching this bracelet raises the value to about the level of the large triangle watch, the latter with its military strap.
Thank you for using mearto.com for your appraisal work.
My best,
David