To refinish at service or not?

[Griffit]

I have an Omega Seamaster 2552.20.00 that is worn every day and has been for most of the past 14 years. The watch needs a service as it is losing time considerably now and I'm planning on sending it away today to STS.

The question is whether or not I should have them refinish the case? I don't recall the case being refinished by Swatch when it was last serviced but then I probably didn't pay much attention at that time. The great thing about the watch is that being all steel there's no coloured bezel that marks badly and the watch therefore has a healthy patina rather than looking shabby. Given the constant use the watch has part of me thinks that refinishing the watch will only make any new wear marks more obvious and distracting than leaving the watch as it is currently. On the other hand, the prospect of the watch looking as-new again is quite appealing.

I've seen a few posts that seem to suggest some issues with the way STS refinishes watches that also concern me. Is this something I should be concerned about? Happy to have a PM rather than reply if any comment on this would breach the name and shame policy.

Any opinions and advice much appreciated.

Cheers,

Andy

[Nick M]

I just had my Breitling serviced, and specifically asked for just a mechanical service rather than doing anything cosmetic to it.

Have had the watch since I got engaged (she got a ring, I got a watch ) and while the bracelet is scuffed in places it's because I'm the only who has worn it, and worn it regularly. It has history.

The other thing was that I didn't want to end up being all prissy with it - if it came back 'as new' then I may have ended up not wearing it for risk of scratching it again, which rather defeats the point IMO.

As with cars, the first scratch is the worst one, then the rest don't seem so traumatic

[Lightningman]

I have had mixed results with STS and I personally would not use them again; instead choosing to use Bienne.

In terms of case finishing, unless things have changed, only Bienne had the proper machine for doing the Omega 'sunburst' finish (STS does it by hand). However, I don't believe the Seamaster you are asking about has any sunburst sections?

If you do use STS, be very clear about what you'd like returned to you (for instance, if they replace the dial, hands or crystal).