Hi all,

A few minutes ago, this 145.012-68 sold on eBayPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network for a little over 5000 euro. Looking at the pictures below, I think the seller got the best of this deal as:

- There is no bezel at all, knowing this needs to be a DON, it is a costly omission;
- Dial is okay, but indices did not age well (lots of lume loss) ;
- Caseback shows some serious marks and oddly enough seems to miss the R in SPEEDMASTE;
- Service crown, lacks one of the pushers and a service is clearly required (chrono-creep).

Now, it does have what appears to be a strong case and a movement in what could very well be the right range (2655xxxxx) for one of the last 321's.

Still, the price seems quite high to me, which leaves me wondering; what did I miss on this one? Is a 145.012-68 worth that much even in such a poor condition? Is it the mysteriously missing R in the caseback?

Curious about the thoughts of this community! Eager to learn more...

Cheers,
Aludic

 

There is not much to like about that watch IMO, but maybe this is a sign that the transitional models are going to make a big move.

 

It's a -68 and it's a barn find with a good case.

Despite the fact it needs a bezel and aesthetically the dial isn't great, I can believe a couple of people were willing to bid this up.

 

Not to mention luminova hands.

With the missing pusher, I worry about the condition of the movement.

The only thing this watch has going for it is its midcase. The back is polished and damaged.

 

Movement pic was included in the listing and looked ok.

I think this has gone to a dealer who'll add a bezel from their stash and relume the dial, re-listing it for around £10k

 

Well spotted on those hands; to me, they were hiding in plain sight...

Agree about that midcase. I would definitely swap one of mine (of a late 145.012-67) against this one. Still, it doesn't explain the value, unless @Dan S is right about transitional models making a leap.

 

Just to recall what a nice Transitional should look like and put things in perspective, here’s mine

 

The watch in question is a 145.012-68 - much much rarer than a 145.022-68. I believe this likely had something to do with the value, despite the condition - it's the kind of reference that some are willing to overpay for to complete a collection

 

@abrod520 I should now be sleeping instead of posting. I stand corrected

So, at the end, its bridge will end up in another 145.012 which suddenly will become a rare bird. That's probably why the movement pictures disappeared now from the listing... Aha (!)

 

Does anybody still have a movement pic or just the serial number for further reference and for Google?

 

I don't see this getting parted out at. It will be 'restored' and sold on for profit.

 

Excuse me, I’m new around here. Can you most learned members explain to me how a 145.012-68 is a transitional???
Same movement, dial, hands, bezel.....everything, as a 145.012-67.

I’m confused

 

Last cal 321 reference before transitioning to cal 861 ?

 

I was watching this. I had a few bids lower down, but the plots and movement condition put me off.

I also covered it here:

http://speedmaster101.com/blog/two-145-012s-recently-finished-on-ebay/

 

I mis-read the post, failed to look closely at the listing, and assumed it was a 145.022-68. Mea culpa.

I still don't like the watch very much.

 

Luckily, the movement picture is still there... Full res version attached for future reference:

 

Perfect. Let’s make sure it gets indexed by the search engines correctly for posterity.

Looking forward to see again this 145.012-68 with the serial 26553597 anytime soon

 

You’re not alone. Same happened to me

 

At least the serial looks right. My 145.012-68 is at 265510XX, so 2.5k less than this.