Hello all. After picking up a couple of basic Speedmasters over the last year or so ... a 3590.50 (The photo doesn't do justice to the nice colour on the markers and hands)



and a 3511.50 panda. Smaller size at 39 mm that is just fine on my 7.5" wrist. I really like the stainless bezel and panda dial variation.



I recently got a 3570.50 (1998) from a forum member and a Mitsukoshi dial and a handset from the 'Bay' for a project. (Gotta watch spellcheck ... it wants to put Mitsubishi in there ... )



I took it to a local watchmaker I use who likes to work on higher end and vintage watches and loves stuff like this. He did a complete service and found a bent pin (see pic below) that .... as he described, is part of the mechanism to reset the chrono hands. I 'think' he told me that since the oils were very thick he figured that there was too much pressure needed to reset the chrono hands and it bent the pin. He was able to straighten it fortunately and did the full service in the process. I didn't get all the details because he was off to Europe for a holiday literally right after I picked up the finished watch and didn't have the time for us to get into it. The thing that is fascinating are the photos he sent me of the process. So I present for your interest, some of those pics. There are more ... that you can see here ...... https://waterproofpt.smugmug.com/Speedmaster-3570-Dial-Change/ if you're interested.











And the final result ... after the service and a dial and a hand swap ... is here.



So ....that makes a nice trio of Speedmasters for me. During the process, one of the hands was apparently a pain to get off, but my guy was able to get it off in one piece ... I guess he had to put his foot on the watch to get enough leverage to get it off ... (kidding). But he did say he had to work at it to save the hand and not damage the original dial in the process. So I still have the original dial and handset if I want to revert to the original. A little background for those who might not be familiar .. "In 2003, Omega introduced the Speedmaster Pro reference 3570.31 with white dial and black sub dials in a production run of only 300 pieces for the Japanese (Tokyo) department store called Mitsukoshi." Read more here ... (http://www.fratellowatches.com/speedy-tuesday-white-dial-speedmaster-professionals-choose/) on a decent article on white dial speedies. And, with a little looking and some patience ... it has been possible to pick up Omega Mitsukoshi dials and Omega handsets for those who would like to do a conversion of their own.

The thing that amazes me, when you see these photos, is that it really highlights the level of engineering and detail that has gone into the design and manufacturing of these watches. And other makes of course. And that this has being done since ... when .... the 40's for other watches and since the 60's for the Speedies. And it also gives me a high level of respect for the fellows that are working on them, keeping them functioning at a high level for so long.

Awesome learning experience.

 

Nice write up. The only thing missing is a pic of all three together.

 

Vice nice. What a great project and a nice result.

 

Congrats, but may I be the first critic: Looks like you've kept the main hands white?

 

The main hands for the Mitsukoshi conversion are silver and the subdials are white. So I did switch out the original minute and hour hands for the silver ones I bought. I know there are options that others have chosen, but I think I liked this combination based on ones I looked at on the web. But .... by sourcing other hands, it can be changed, thats the nice part. The hands on the others are as per original.

And .... As requested .... @Jwit and @Taddyangle .... the group shot ...

 

Probably the lighting of the shot in the original post that makes them appear white. The group shot shows the silver hands better I think.

 

Super nice. I didn't know people where out there converting their Speedys themselves.
Looks stunnning!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Oops. Didn't do that post right did I.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Always loved the Mitsukoshi dial so this is on my list of things to do or own. I wonder if you could source the lumed bezel from a Snoopy to fit also?

 

Fun project, and it's good to see a 3511.50 on here, one of those is currently my daily wearer and I have to say I love it. Was the chrono second hand on yours replaced?

 

It did, that's why I asked. Silver is also what I chose.

 

FYI - the "pin" that was bent is a part called the Stem Bolt for Hammer. If they are bent, I replace them, because after being bent as bad as that one was and being bent back, the risk of them snapping is increased. It's not uncommon to see this part bent and broken, and it's a very inexpensive part to replace ($7) so maybe your local guy does not have an Omega parts account to get one easily, but still they should be cheap to buy on the open market.

Just be aware that if it does snap, the watch may need to be taken apart completely to find both halves, like I had to for this one - you can see one half of the stem bolt for hammer at the red arrow, and I had to get this far before I found it:



On this one half of it was easy to see through the sapphire case back:



But the other half was again buried deep in the movement:



So if the stem bolt for hammer fails, you will know it because when you start then stop the chronograph, the minute and seconds recorder will reset without you pressing the rest button.

Cheers, Al

 

@Archer I was wondering if you might comment. Thanks very much. He did mention something about the hammer, so you've cleared that up brilliantly. I'll pass this on to my watchmaker. He's going to change the crystal for me after he gets back from his holiday, so I'll see what he thinks about changing that piece too. I'm not a heavy Chrono user, but, it would be best to replace it for a number of reasons.
Cheers and thanks again.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Good eye .... yes it had been according to my watchmaker. Not yet serviced but I'd like to find the proper replacement for when it's done.

I do enjoy wearing this 3511.50 as far as appearance goes at least pretty much on a par with the others.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Thank you for sharing the experience as well as the many pictures.

These Omega Speedmaster panda dials are beautiful in their simplicity and nice silver hands and index markers. I did a similar conversion recently but with the Apollo 11 35th Anniversary dial. The final result makes for a very satisfying watch that can be worn regularly without temptation of leaving them as 'safe queens'.

Well done and enjoy your nice trio!