Got a chance to acquire this 145.022-68, maybe someone wants to chip in? Bezel is not DON but error 220, head only, service history unknown, the S/N is correct for range, crown seems original skinny, hesalite seems original, I think hands are later. Dial looks to have attractive color and it doesn't look relumed to my eyes .
It doesn't look like a relume to me. Looks legit. Bezel is not correct, as mentioned. Price is everything for this rare reference.
Very nice one. Sharp case, correct crown, nice dial. Hands look to be service replacement (Luminova) or later service tritium replacement. What is the asking price ?
The case has been polished, but it doesn't look terrible to me. I'm pretty sure the hands are tritium, and are correct as far as I can tell... Whether they are "original," is moot - but correct, I am pretty certain.
It's a watchmaker that has had it since '97, bought it for approx 320eur back then. He showed it to me and I expressed interest, it's up to me to make a offer.
As usual, start here... http://speedmaster101.com/price-chart-2/ Remember keep the DON in mind. It's at least a $2k USD factor. If you're in the market, that's a pretty rare opportunity to have a shot at a rare reference, even more-so that it's not a public free-for-all which can send prices soaring.
Yea, due to lacking DON I am thinking somewhere around 5k usd ballpark, it doesn't have bracelet, has attractive lume, hands possible later, correct crown, correct hesalite.
Beautiful watch, a 220 bezel in that condition might be worth between 1 and 2 grand so you should take it into consideration. The lume is impossible to say if redone or not (even if it does look very consistent with some other watches we can find) but if your guy had it for over 20 years you can assume it's original lume.
I was thinking about that too, I often see them for sale, but I never see them sell and I guess most are OK having DNN for fraction of price as it is correct for that reference. I saw only beat up one go for 220e which was the opening bid few weeks back.
I think an offer of between $5, 500 & $6,500 would be fair. The hands look to be newer and you'll want a new bezel at some stage though the 220 looks nice.
I recall seeing a good one for almost 2 grand but I don't remember if it was here or on eBay. Maybe it was an outlier as these usually go for around 1k, but mint ones such as the OP's are seldom seen
No, you're right, it is not a correct bezel for a -68. I forget the serial range that it has been observed in, but from my memory it is limited to early -69's, I think... Now, could a late-reference 145.022-68 have been produced in 1969 during the time that Omega was producing the error 220 bezels? And could a late-reference -68 have received such a bezel if it were produced during that time? Now that is another can of worms... to my knowledge, such a thing has not been observed. but afterall, this is a transitional reference.
Only correct for 145.022-69s produced from Fall 1970 to February 1971 so def nothing for a transitional 145.022-68
That's a really nice 220 bezel - I don't think 2k is completely out of the question for the right buyer. Obviously very small market though - of the small subset of 220 owners, how many have a super-nice example but with a less than desirable bezel? I'd guess less than 5 people out there - finding them (or them finding him) is key