I once again humbly seek your advice, oh Moonwatch gurus.

I've been looking for a nice Speedy Pro for a while now, but my budget doesn't really allow for very interesting examples. Ideally, I would like a nice 145.022-71, but very few come up for sale in my neck of the woods (The Netherlands). I'd settle for a more generic 145.022 but I do have my heart set on the 861 movement and tritium hands and markers at least.

Now this recently came up for sale at a local dealer (he's reputable, though I've no personal experience with him). At face value, it's a 1983 Speedy Pro that comes with box and papers (stamped in 1987 in Spain). The serial is 4XXXXXXXX, and it has a 1171/1 bracelet with 633 links that has relatively little stretch. In fact, the whole watch looks very good to my eyes.

At this point, you'll likely want to know what my concerns are. In fact, I don't have that many - it's just that I'm basically insecure and require your validation. But here's a short list:

1. Does it look too good to you? Is there a reason to suspect the bezel, dial, hands have been changed, or does the case seem at all polished to you?

2. Would this type of box be correct for a mid-1980s speedmaster professional?

3. What should I pay for this? I realise this question cannot be answered without making a heap of assumptions, but here's the gist of it: I'm not looking for an incredible deal, and accept that dealers need to make money - I just don't want to be the butt of his jokes next weekend.

These non-date-stamped 145.022 seem to fall outside the scope of speedmaster101, and eBay is not my friend in this regard. I'd be happy with anything you could point out that would help me make a decision. Thank you for reading.

 

I am by no means an expert, but the bezel looks to be from a 90's Speedmaster. In '83, I believe, the bezel would have a taller font "Tachy" and the 7's would have serifs. A serial number that starts with 4 could range anywhere from 1980 to 1999.

 

Yep, bezel's a modern replacement.

 

Something you could use for reference, at least as far as aesthetics are concerned, is the Speedmaster 101 entry for the 145.022-78 - externally an '80s Speedmaster will resemble that identically. Check dial, bezel, hands etc.

 

Thanks guys, it's very helpful to know that non-stamped 145.022s are externally the same as -78s.

Would a correct bezel for this be relatively easy to source? In any case, for the price of this one, I really want it to be correct.

 

Have the papers been checked against the movement serial in that watch.

These 80's speedmasters usually have nice orange lume (not the mint green on this one). It probably is correct, with just a replaced bezel, but I'd want to check.

80's Speedmasters are good value and they do come up reasonably frequently. I'd wait for one with the correct bezel and nicer lume.

 

No - DNNs are quite rare to come by. I'd definitely wait around for a complete '80s 145.022 to pop up on eBay (or you could try a WTB ad here)

 

Not necessarily true. But mid 80's ones yes

 

Not by me, but the seller is reputable enough amongst the Dutch watch community. I'd definitely check this myself if I were to drive up there, but I have no real doubts in that regard.

But I think I'll pass on this one. It was hardly cheap at $3600, though the box and papers are nice. I'll keep hunting for now, that's at least half the fun anyway!

Guys, thanks again for sharing your knowledge. Just so you know, I'm paying attention and taking notes