145.012-68 just sold on eBay; what did I miss?

Aludic · Sep 10, 2019

Hi all,

A few minutes ago, this 145.012-68 sold on eBay 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

Dan S · Sep 10, 2019

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.

Davidt · Sep 10, 2019

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.

airansun · Sep 10, 2019

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.

Davidt · Sep 10, 2019

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

Aludic · Sep 10, 2019

airansun
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.

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.

kov · Sep 10, 2019

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

abrod520 · Sep 10, 2019

kov
Just to recall what a nice Transitional should look like

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

kov · Sep 10, 2019

@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 (!) ::stirthepot::

kov · Sep 10, 2019

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

Davidt · Sep 10, 2019

Davidt · Sep 10, 2019

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

gemini4 · Sep 10, 2019

Dan S
maybe this is a sign that the transitional models are going to make a big move.

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

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 😁

dscoogs · Sep 10, 2019

gemini4
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 ? ::facepalm1::

Spacefruit · Sep 10, 2019

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/

Dan S · Sep 10, 2019

gemini4
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 😁

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. 😁

Aludic · Sep 10, 2019

kov
@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 (!)

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

kov · Sep 10, 2019

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 😀

kov · Sep 10, 2019

Dan S
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. 😁

You’re not alone. 😟 Same happened to me 🤦

padders · Sep 11, 2019

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

145.012-68 just sold on eBay; what did I miss?

Aludic

Dan S

Davidt

airansun

Davidt

Aludic

kov

abrod520

kov

kov

Davidt

Davidt

gemini4

dscoogs

Spacefruit

Dan S

Aludic

kov

kov

padders

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