[stasber]

Just wondering if anyone knows a likely cost or possibility of replacing the skeleton hands with solid (dagger type??) hands on my mid-sized Omega Seamaster Pro?

I still love my watch to bits but do hanker for more readable hands especially at 4am or during outdoor pursuits, when you want a quick glance rather than a concentrated look (difficult enough when you're in bed half asleep, got woken up and can't fathom out where the hour & minute dots are).

[Bullseye1]

Is it due a service? If so it could form part of its overhaul. Get the existing hands relumed.

[stasber]

Can't remember if the last service was 2 years ago or 5 but it might not be a bad idea to factor this in to the cost, as the watch will be open anyway. Definitely want to change the hands, reluming won't resolve my issue.

[Anjobe]

A more cost effective solution might be to buy an alarm clock for the bedside and an alternative wristwatch with better low light legibility (e.g. cheap Seiko diver) for outdoor pursuits.

[fishguy]

If you can source the hand set it would be an easy job for a watchmaker. I would say 60-80 euros. I say you can get a nice handset on ebay for around 150 -200 US.

This is a good plan. I would say don`t buy a Seiko but rather pend that money a little extra on customizing your Seamaster. It will be truly YOUR watch there after.

G.

[stasber]

Thanks for the responses lads. I was going to go down the ebay route of sourcing the hands myself but finding the right ones hasn't been the easiest, partly as my watch is mid size, not full size, and they need to match the movement.

Anyhow, got in touch with Omega for the definitive version and they won't replace them for me, nor will they supply said hands to a customer. They don't allow their service centres to do this either. They only allow a watch to be modified from the line-up at the present time [i.e. now, not when I bought the watch in 2006], so long as it is compatible, and so long as no changes to the movement are made (this would include hands). I don't see the issue myself as the hands I'm after feature on exactly the same movement on exactly the same size of watch, just with a different dial.

The other thing I risk is not being able to get my watch serviced in future unless of course I go to my local watchsmith, in which case I lose authenticity and possibly longevity should I ever want to part with it.

I feel an automatic aviator style watch urge coming on....

[Mitch Buchannon]

Originally Posted by stasber

I feel an automatic aviator style watch urge coming on....

Here are a few to get you started.

https://shop.laco.de/en/index.html?x...mcmorcnl5a5b91

http://www.stowa.de/lshop,showrub,13...r,index,,,.htm

http://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/pilot-watch.html

http://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/aviation.html

http://www.iwc.com/en/collection/pilots/

http://www.damasko.de/eng/index.html

[Mitch Buchannon]

Originally Posted by stasber

Just wondering if anyone knows a likely cost or possibility of replacing the skeleton hands with solid (dagger type??) hands on my mid-sized Omega Seamaster Pro?

I was having a read through your thread again OP and if you know the caliber your movement is you can source genuine Omega hands from the link below. You could then get your watch maker to change them over for you.

I know you are concerned about keeping the watch authentic, but you can keep the original hands and change back or pass those those on if you decide to sell the watch in the future.

http://www.ofrei.com/page_146.html

[stasber]

Went to the cinema over the weekend and wanted to check the time at one point but of course only stared at a bunch of dots; no idea what the hour and minute hands were doing. Waited for a bright bit of action on the screen to check again. Small things like this are what get to me about this watch. But a lovely watch all the same!

Mitch - you have my answer with the parts supplier, brilliant, thanks. This is the way to go and I have a watchsmith in Cork who would do the change for me. If I have any issues in a future Omega service or overhaul I'd probably change them back again and leave it at that as it would likely give me the same hassle in the future again.

Truth be told I'm not new to aviator style watches but appreciate your links. Forgot about Stowa and the Steinhart look interesting. My ideal choice would be an IWC XVI if I could afford it (like many), but with a Damasko DA36 in PVD in second place (the signal yellow second hand is just class) and good to see they're back in production again. A while ago I kept putting off a Sinn 656 (I actually mailed them one time about painting a special order second hand signal yellow for me... they declined naturally enough - I wanted the 656 face with the DA36 second hand!) and now they're discontinued, however www.jurawatches.co.uk have some 556's with 656 dials (the 556A that you can't buy direct from Sinn any more). I've recently looked at Tourby, a nice unsigned Aristo, MWC and Aviator too but the Sinn still tempts.

Thanks again.

[Deep Thought]

Would you maybe consider sending it to a company who can add extra lume to the hands?

these guys can also fill in the gap of the hands with lume and make it far more visible and look like Sword Hands you crave

http://relume.watcheswithnolimits.com/

DT

[Monty Burnz]

Originally Posted by stasber

Truth be told I'm not new to aviator style watches but appreciate your links. Forgot about Stowa and the Steinhart look interesting. My ideal choice would be an IWC XVI if I could afford it (like many), but with a Damasko DA36 in PVD in second place (the signal yellow second hand is just class) and good to see they're back in production again.

I have an IWC Mark XV and Damasko DA36, both great watches. But I also saw a Stowa Flieger that belonged to Carlton Browne who posts here from time to time, and that was a lovely watch too - it looked a very classy piece for a not unreasonable price.