What time is it? Watches and horology

After some time looking I'm pretty taken with the 50s & 60s Seamasters, as it seems a few others on here are. So far as I can see, they go for about £200-£500 on ebay so a fair price range.

Just read about them, and get familiar with how various models look, so you can look out for wrong dials, crowns, hands, etc.

I personally wouldn't bother with shops, or people who buy watches to clean and sell, just because of the price. Get a model you like which is all original, and the seller claims is running strongly (ie. doesn't ever stop intermittantly).

Avoid re-dials and watches that have spent time in India, as they seem to have a habit of performing botch-jobs on watches and making franken watches (watches made from many old broken watches).

Services shouldn't cost that much in my opinion. I think my watchmaker in Edinburgh charges somewhere in the region of £100 - £150 for a full clean and rebuild for an auto Omega.