View attachment 184941 View attachment 184942 View attachment 184943 Please help I new to speedmasters, I've just inherited this 145.012 from my brother , I had it serviced in Melbourne and was quoted this model number 321 movement. Would love to know your opinion as I'm a newbie , I believe it's not the original strap.
Thanks in advance.

 

As you are in Australia we can maybe forgive the first photograph but the others?? How difficult is it? Edit: (Thanks for changing the images!)

 

Bracelet not original but it is a gorgeous and correct watch. A wonderful inheritance, enjoy it!

 

yes sorry taken with iPhone

 

Seems like all the tritium has been scraped off the dial, which is a big minus. The hands don't look attractive. On the plus side is that the case and tachy bezel looks really good as do the crown and pushers. I would have tried to have the markers refilled, and the hands exchanged/ fixed if possible. And put on an handsome perlonstrap, and used is a daily beater, to honour, and in rememberance of, my brother!

 

Overall a nice watch but not perfect, but at this age it is hard to get perfection. Having said that a lot of people do get it near perfect as well. You have a great watch there good history. I agree the dial has unfortunately had the tritium taken off. On balance it is a nice watch, worthy of looking after and servicing your brother has nice taste. I still think it is a nice dial so what if it had some restoration work on it that in retrospect that should not of been done it still has value alongside the rest of the watch.

 

This watch is not just a daily beater just because in the past it had some tritium taken off the dial. The dial was still the original dial that came with the watch. Best leave the hands alone in my opinion as so you may get negative comments about relumed hands on here. Leave it as original condition as possible. Don't be concerned about this collectability and value thing to much, it is just a monetary reflection of your watch based on its being in as perfect condition as possible. Your watch looks original although it had some restoration work that if should not of done so what worst things happen at sea. It is still an original watch and still has a reasonable monetary value but as a nice vintage it has a lot of value. Many collectors on here have watches in much worse condition that yours and still parade them on the forum and are proud. Good for your your brother on enjoying fine watches.

 

Wow didn't realize that there was so much attention to detail , do you think that the watch is devalued much because of this
Thanks so much for all your knowledgeable comments.

 

Your brother gave you this watch. I wish I had a brother that gave me gifts like that. This is the issue with watches because an example is not perfect peoples thoughts and love for something is subconsciously tarnished, that is wrong. Yes to be honest from a collectability and financial point of view the watch has been effected by how much I am not sure. A good website is www.speedmaster101.com you can look up your one there and a lot of good advice re value. But take my advice forget the money value. You have a good watch on a basic look it looks original, but ask the experts here for me to give you a definitive answer I need to look at www.speedmaster101.com, forum threads and articles etc I have not got the time today. Keep it original and enjoy it, there are no obvious issues such as redials etc... Yes they may be a few imperfections etc... but that comes with the territory at this age, enjoy it and it is not a beater.

 

My pleasure. Please do not relume those hands or polish the case or effect the originality of the watch. Do a lot of homework on the forum take a good few months then get it serviced. You need the correct watch maker that is recommended from the forum that understands these vintage. Not sure where you are in the world my watchmaker is in London @stefan a stand up guy, he is so good and detailed he was sending me pics as he serviced my vintage Omega Geneve. In Canada you have @Archer and keep looking you will find good people here to service watches. Stefan and Archer are the only people I know well enough or have heard good things enough about to trust with my modern and vintage Omegas. There are many other watchmakers that are good here I don't know about, they all have there area of expertise some are great with 60s Omega some moonwatch etc.... BUT MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL GIVE YOURSELF TIME TO ADJUST, GET TO KNOW AND LOVE THE WATCH DO NOT BE IMPRESSED OR PUT OFF BY VALUE AND TRUST HOW YOU FEEL INSIDE NOT WHAT OTHERS TELL YOU WHAT THE WATCH IS.

 

Thank you so much, sentimental beats anything else, and will be very well looked after , and handed down to my son .

 

Beside the emotional: The crown is wrong as far I can see, should be a flat feet. Hands are looking repainted (at least the chronosecond). Behind the glass seems to be rust or dirt, you should check the movement...

 

Good for you. Learn about the watch now www.speedmaster101.com and teach your son, service it the right way and accept it for its perfections and imperfections

 

It is people like this snob cal.321 that need to be ignored. If the crown is wrong it was probably changed at service, even if hands repainted it is an old watch it is not perfect. Service the watch as long as it is in basic good condition enjoy it. As long as the dial is original and movement and case original it is a good watch. Notice how cal. 321 does not put a positive word across to you.

 

Forgot to mention had the watch serviced by James Robinson in Melbourne, and is an Omega specialist , he came highly recommended.

 

I have to apologize PatrickJ, but it was not my intention to displease you or the TS. But for my personal preferences a watch should be so authentic and original as possible. And for my taste a 321 needs an authentic crown and good looking hands...

 

No worries. In my opinion we need to preserve condition as much as possible. However, if a watch is not 100% perfect it should not be shunned and left on the scrapheap. We need knowledgeable people like you to help others but please go easy if something is not perfect.

 

Hi Jason,

Speedmaster101 has a page on this model here: http://speedmaster101.com/145-012/

The assessment guide might also help get you oriented on some of the key terms and concepts people use when discussing vintage speedmasters. http://speedmaster101.com/assessment-guide-2/

You are correct that the bracelet is wrong. It's a much later, modern bracelet. Period correct ones - like 1039 or 1171 - do appear for sale, but they're usually not cheap. The bracelet reference should be stamped into the clasp; yours is probably 1498 or 1998.

Here's a good reference chart on bracelets: http://issuu.com/mstanga/docs/tab_bracciali_omega_ultima.xls

You have a nice watch there, and it's even nicer that it came from your brother. It has a few issues, but it also has a lot going for it. Get to know the watch and enjoy it.

Edit: oh, and nice DO90 bezel!

 

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Hey thanks for the great info, just looked the strap is stamped 1479

 

You really don't have to apologize for anything.