Repair/Refurb Omega Planet Ocean?
Discussion
I have an early Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean which I have owned for around three years. I wear it every day and although it looks okay to the naked eye, the bracelet is fairly scratched and there's a scratch in the orange paint on the rotating bezel at the 58 minute position. I believe that the newer ones have a ceramic bezel that doesn't scratch.
My question is - would you have the watch repaired given that it's worn every day and is likely to get scratched again? Can you recommend a company who can carry this out well without costing the earth? I'm not planning on selling the watch but I'd prefer if it looked a little more pristine. The photo exaggerates the scratches on the bracelet. To the naked eye it doesn't look this bad. I actually have a Seiko SKX007 which was supposed to be worn daily, but its lack of accuracy was annoying. The Planet Ocean is so good that I almost never need to adjust the time between correcting the date every other month. I have some other watches including a 1950s Seamaster, a Patek Philippe and a Longines, all of which were left to me when my father passed away 40 years ago, but I don't wear any of them. Thanks!
My question is - would you have the watch repaired given that it's worn every day and is likely to get scratched again? Can you recommend a company who can carry this out well without costing the earth? I'm not planning on selling the watch but I'd prefer if it looked a little more pristine. The photo exaggerates the scratches on the bracelet. To the naked eye it doesn't look this bad. I actually have a Seiko SKX007 which was supposed to be worn daily, but its lack of accuracy was annoying. The Planet Ocean is so good that I almost never need to adjust the time between correcting the date every other month. I have some other watches including a 1950s Seamaster, a Patek Philippe and a Longines, all of which were left to me when my father passed away 40 years ago, but I don't wear any of them. Thanks!
I would personally just leave it.
That said, it's your watch and obviously irritating you. First step would be a light polish with a Cape Cod cloth on the bracelet and see if that makes a difference to the look, you can do that part yourself.
Maybe that is a good middle ground to start with. Hope you get it sorted either way.
That said, it's your watch and obviously irritating you. First step would be a light polish with a Cape Cod cloth on the bracelet and see if that makes a difference to the look, you can do that part yourself.
Maybe that is a good middle ground to start with. Hope you get it sorted either way.
Whilst this might not fulfil the “not cost the Earth” brief, each time I’ve sent my Seamaster back to Omega for a service (twice in 15 years) it comes back looking like new. Think it cost me about £300 in 2015 when it was last done. Not as big as yours and no replacement bezel either so yours might be a bit more.
I have the same watch that I had worn since 2009. It has just come back from a service looking brand new.
Your watch isn’t broken - it’s just used
If it doesn’t need a service get some scotch brite pads and use them on the bracelet and it will remove scratches and return the brushed look (not cape cod polish - the bracelet shouldn’t be polished). Google it - very easy to do
Bezel - I’d say live with it. Or pay £400 for a new one and just replace it. I bought the black bezel so I now have the Orange and black as an option.
Your watch isn’t broken - it’s just used
If it doesn’t need a service get some scotch brite pads and use them on the bracelet and it will remove scratches and return the brushed look (not cape cod polish - the bracelet shouldn’t be polished). Google it - very easy to do
Bezel - I’d say live with it. Or pay £400 for a new one and just replace it. I bought the black bezel so I now have the Orange and black as an option.
Arranguez said:
Whilst this might not fulfil the “not cost the Earth” brief, each time I’ve sent my Seamaster back to Omega for a service (twice in 15 years) it comes back looking like new. Think it cost me about £300 in 2015 when it was last done. Not as big as yours and no replacement bezel either so yours might be a bit more.
This. The cost is £450 for that model at the moment though and will probably take around 8 weeks. If you love and intend to keep the watch, it’s money well spent IMO.
Ed T said:
Bezel - I’d say live with it. Or pay £400 for a new one and just replace it. I bought the black bezel so I now have the Orange and black as an option.
I had no idea that they polished things up during a service. Also I've never heard of Cape Cod polish. I did think of using wire wool but I hesitated as I didn't think I'd be able to get a good finish and didn't want to make things worse. The watch was serviced by Omega immediately before I bought it so it's not really due another service yet. But I didn't know that the bezels could be changed. Is that something you can swap at home? Where do you purchase the replacement bezel? If so, could I buy a new bezel or a ceramic one and fit it myself? I'm fairly handy with a spanner and do my own car brakes and rotors, but I don't know much about watches.Edited by LunarOne on Thursday 10th September 18:16
Can't remember if it is polished or brushed.... if the former, cape cod and some elbow grease..if the latter you can buy pads to re-brush.
Bezel looks fine to me, but of course is personal preference - it can all go a bit trigger's broom if not careful. Omega will sell you one, but may make you have a service in order to do so.
Check out ebay or some omega forums and see what you can get..
Bezel looks fine to me, but of course is personal preference - it can all go a bit trigger's broom if not careful. Omega will sell you one, but may make you have a service in order to do so.
Check out ebay or some omega forums and see what you can get..
Just to back up the cape cod thing,
High polish - cape cod
Brushed - Bergeron pads
Honestly though you can do more harm than good. If you’re looking to sell the watch at any point, a bad or inferior “polish” would put me off.
Patina which is what you’re referring to is acceptable and as noted before, Omega do a great job of refinishing and this will not really harm the value.
In reality if it’s a daily... wear it, enjoy it and when you’re ready to sell consider whether it makes sense to service prior to sale or sell warts and all.
I’ve had one of these and miss it terribly!
High polish - cape cod
Brushed - Bergeron pads
Honestly though you can do more harm than good. If you’re looking to sell the watch at any point, a bad or inferior “polish” would put me off.
Patina which is what you’re referring to is acceptable and as noted before, Omega do a great job of refinishing and this will not really harm the value.
In reality if it’s a daily... wear it, enjoy it and when you’re ready to sell consider whether it makes sense to service prior to sale or sell warts and all.
I’ve had one of these and miss it terribly!
LunarOne said:
I had no idea that they polished things up during a service. Also I've never heard of Cape Cod polish. I did think of using wire wool but I hesitated as I didn't think I'd be able to get a good finish and didn't want to make things worse. The watch was serviced by Omega immediately before I bought it so it's not really due another service yet. But I didn't know that the bezels could be changed. Is that something you can swap at home? Where do you purchase the replacement bezel? If so, could I buy a new bezel or a ceramic one and fit it myself? I'm fairly handy with a spanner and do my own car brakes and rotors, but I don't know much about watches.
I think your bezel looks fine, a bezel with a few marks gives it character (but personal preference). I got a new one as I wanted black after 10 years of orange. Make sure you buy an OEM, not many places sell then but I found a good dealer in Manchester who had one (don’t get a cheap bezel insert)Edited by LunarOne on Thursday 10th September 18:16
Removing it!!! Do not, under any circumstances try to do it without the right bezel tool (and not the cheap black one online). I tried a lot and failed so bought the right tool, was then instant to come off. Force didn’t work.
On the high polish thing (Cape cod) the bracelet is brushed so needs the scotch brite medium abrasive pads not cape cod, you’d be amazed how good this makes it look. If worried google it but I did it and it was amazing. There are how to guides on YouTube to follow.
Not much if the watch is high polished to use a cape cod and its hard to get at so I wouldn’t bother. Just brush the bracelet and enjoy the rest as is in my opinion (unless you want the black bezel which I love).
The scratches on the bracelet don't bother me much, although it would be nice if the clasp was a bit cleaner. That's clearly taken a beating! The body of the watch itself doesn't seem to have any scratches though, but it's a high polish finish. I've taken some photos with my phone's flash to try to highlight the scratching, although it doesn't look nearly as bad to the naked eye.
With flash:
In subdued lighting:
The poor Longines needs a new crystal, but as I will never wear it I wonder whether I should.
With flash:
In subdued lighting:
The poor Longines needs a new crystal, but as I will never wear it I wonder whether I should.
IMO your '2500' is a much better long term wear, lighter and thinner, and more of a classic; so I think you have done well.
As other poster said, get a replacement bezel insert, (OME-082SU1773 - Part no. Though please make your own enquiries to confirm) and maybe a black one so you can swap it out for fun when needed and polish up with a cape cod. You can look on YouTube to swap the bezel. The aluminium ones will always ding, its just life.
I'm not convinced the bezel on yours is the original one anyway, which isnt an issue; its a 2008 watch, so its not uncommon to have had a swap in a decade.
ETA: other post is correct re mainly brushed bracelet. Will need both a scotchpad (think pans) and a cape cod for the clasp and sides. Easy work for half a hour, give the whole thing a good wash in soap first - or the dishwasher if you're like me
As other poster said, get a replacement bezel insert, (OME-082SU1773 - Part no. Though please make your own enquiries to confirm) and maybe a black one so you can swap it out for fun when needed and polish up with a cape cod. You can look on YouTube to swap the bezel. The aluminium ones will always ding, its just life.
I'm not convinced the bezel on yours is the original one anyway, which isnt an issue; its a 2008 watch, so its not uncommon to have had a swap in a decade.
ETA: other post is correct re mainly brushed bracelet. Will need both a scotchpad (think pans) and a cape cod for the clasp and sides. Easy work for half a hour, give the whole thing a good wash in soap first - or the dishwasher if you're like me
Edited by 01WE01 on Thursday 10th September 22:28
Please can people stop advising this fella to use cape cod on a brushed finish. It will end in a shiny mess.
As someone mentioned earlier, scotchbrite medium or the proper tool which isn’t hugely expensive.
Does look to be a 42mm 2500 and I would say the bezel looks correct for the year and model.
As someone mentioned earlier, scotchbrite medium or the proper tool which isn’t hugely expensive.
Does look to be a 42mm 2500 and I would say the bezel looks correct for the year and model.
Paulr1980 said:
Please can people stop advising this fella to use cape cod on a brushed finish. It will end in a shiny mess.
As someone mentioned earlier, scotchbrite medium or the proper tool which isn’t hugely expensive.
Does look to be a 42mm 2500 and I would say the bezel looks correct for the year and model.
Don't worry - I've understood clearly that I shouldn't use Cape Cod on the brushed finish areas. I did buy a tin of it on the recommendation of this thread but I'm not planning on using it on my watch as the polished areas are quite small and scratch-free. But I figured it might work well on some other metal objects I have that could use a bit of scrubbing up! But what about chrome-plated things? The instructions say not to use it on plated items (presumably because it's abrasive and removes material) but what about exhaust tips? Mine are supposed to be chrome finish and although they do polish up nicely, they're never really as shiny as I'd like. Unlike on my older car, they seem not to be removable so I can't put them on the kitchen table to give them a proper working over.As someone mentioned earlier, scotchbrite medium or the proper tool which isn’t hugely expensive.
Does look to be a 42mm 2500 and I would say the bezel looks correct for the year and model.
What's this proper tool to restore the brushed finish? Is it something I can order online from somewhere and if so is it tricky to use? Thanks!
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