145.012 and 145.022 same case? size? any difference?

Hello I can't seem to find any news about the Speedmaster case. What I need to know if there is a way to distinguish a 1968 one with a 145.012-68 (321 movement) and a later 145.022-69 (861) are the cases the same?
Is there any way to understand if the case (NOT the caseback of course) is really an old one and from which year?

If not may I assume that I can use a new untouched 1980 case and fit movement (ex.321) dial, etc into it?
Does it make sense?
Thank you very much.
S

Think you can find your answer here on http://speedmaster101.com/ ?
And every possible mismatch of movements and dial,cases etc is probably out there in the world of speedmaster . So beware what you buy🤦

thanks, I read it all but no one seems to care about the cases, while all the rest is very well described!

My understanding is there is no difference with the actual cases, and therefore no way of knowing if a case is matched to the rest of it but I'd wait for one of the experts to chime in rather than accepting my limited knowledge as gospel.

Differences in case bands are very subtle and might be found also in cases from the same period and the same manufacturer. Difference in the the position of the spring bar holes is one, as noted above, but also the profile may vary slightly, as well as the dimension of the ring holding the bezel. This is especially the case with 2998's.
As far as I know, however, this fact has never attracted the attention of collectors.
From my personal experience I am prone to think that, for example, lot 3 of the upcoming Christie's December auction might be a modern replacement regardless of the "experts" opinion.