Loading...Can you see the little hole in the index at 6 o’clock? Honestly, I never paid attention to it until now. A collector, friend and buyer of a vintage Omega Seamaster 300 Big Triangle was communicating with me while I showed him pictures of the watch he intended to acquire. I received a message asking me if I can shoot clear pictures of the holes in the indices at 6 and 12 o’clock?
Let me tell you, I was sitting in my car with the best half of my life, and turned to her showing her this message? We both looked at eachother and were shaking our heads. Someone is asking for a picture of a little hole in an index on a watch? WTF…. Well, vintage watches are a world of constant learning. You are never ever done. And curiosity does NOT kill the cat, it is actually a prerequisite in enjoying vintage timepieces. And I am curious. I am not a professional photographer, and shooting this little hole was not easy. As you still can probably see. But I managed and succeeded in shooting good enough pictures to the satisfaction of the client who ultimately acquired this watch. And he is a happy camper, although I did not tell him the story behind how we received and initially perceived his message. I met with him and know he is happy, and he may read this story here in my blog now before hearing it from me personally. I would imagine he will smile…
Take a look at the large triangle index which is located at 12 o’clock and the namegiver to this timepiece: The Big Triangle as most collectors call it.
The red circles indicate the little hole, which is a good indication that the tritium has not been relumed or redone in any way. At this point, I can only speculate why this hole is there? If you know, please message me. I am assuming that it could be a spot which holds the dial on the movement maybe? Maybe there is a screw behind it? I don’t know, and I am curious to find out why it is there? As soon as I find the reason for these holes I will update here.
While most Seamaster 300 big triangle timepieces possess a very greenish patina on their indices, this one has a more beige colored patina which I find a lot more appealing. Initially I was worried that it may have been relumed, but it is not as I described above.
I found a quite comprehensive writeup on this model which I would like to link in this contribution. It is definately worth a read.
These early Seamaster 300 watches are difficult buys for the inexperienced buyer. There are many many fake pieces out there. One reason for it is that there were apparently parts in circulation which allowed to build them with additional fake parts. So this is a watch where you should proceed with caution.
The caseback has the famous seahorse.
Overall, this is a highly collectible timepiece, probably the most wanted Seamaster and the second most wanted vintage Omega right after the Speedmaster. Finding pieces in good condition is becoming increasingly harder, but still possible with patience.
For further indepth discussion on authenticity of this watch, I can recommend this site. They even talk about the 5 different possible bezels and more.