Does anyone have a Flightmaster cal910 or 911?

[DonkeyApple]

I remember seeing these as a child in the family shop, forgetting about them and then seeing one about 15 years ago for sale in Burlington Arcade. More recently I've been pondering a new steel daily and have always been drawn to the slightly more weird 70s stuff and thinking a Flightmaster might be fun. A Geneve Bullseye makes more sense financially but it's the technical aspect of the Flightmaster that appeals. The question is whether servicing and repair is relatively easy so that one can be used and abused?

[benny.c]

I’ve owned both previously - very cool watches. For the 910 I purchased a movement/dial and case separately on eBay and sent it off to omega for a service. Back then it was a fixed fee whatever the condition (and missing parts) so it came back looking like new for something ridiculous like £500, with all new parts, even though some weren’t present when I sent it in. I’d imagine parts may be harder to come by now but only Omega can answer that.

The 911 I purchased was so worn that case was like a smooth pebble. I sent it Watch Works in Bristol who laser welded the case to add some material back. It was then lapped to give the correct factory finish. I kept the dial original on this one and just had it serviced.

I guess the only argument against using these daily is that the case is tall and any marks/scratches show up easily on the large, brushed areas. They can only be refinished a number of times before the crystal can no longer be held securely in place without laser welding to build the metal back up again. You’d really have to be beating on it hard to get to that point though if the case was reasonable to begin with.

[DonkeyApple]

Much appreciated. From what I can see, we've reached the point where parts are quite difficult now. I have a few electroquartz Omegas from the same era and they're worrying enough. Being mechanical, I hope one of these might be less of a on issue.

[AnotherHamster]

Maybe consider a Speedmaster Pro Mark 2? Has similar 1970s vibes but more common and probably easier to get parts for.

[DonkeyApple]

AnotherHamster said:

Maybe consider a Speedmaster Pro Mark 2? Has similar 1970s vibes but more common and probably easier to get parts for.

Is that the one that gets called the Jedi?

[Blink982]

I own both a Flightmaster 911 and a Speedmaster MK2. The Flightmaster was bought more or less as a bag of bits and fully restored by Omega. I have started wearing the Speedy more often these days but the Flightmaster is worn only very occasionally. It’s too nice to wear and I’m always scared of scratching the case and knackering the polishing.