Hello everybody, I am a new member here. Actually, I signed-in pushed by my fascination for vintage speedmasters and I've indeed found a huge amount of useful info. Thanks! I am about to buy my first time piece (yep a noob ), a speedmaster 105 012 65, and I d like to have ur opinions. The watch is shown in the images, which unfortunately are low resolution. Although I am newbie, I did the homework and this is what I know/think: - Movement s.n. 220... recently revised - Case seems unpolished or mildly polished - Hands must be luminova replacement - Crown/pushers seems original - Dial seems correct and nicely aged - Bracelet 1039/516 seems mildly scratched but correct, end links are correct as well - Seahorse engraving doesn't seem deep but it may be due to poor image Price is quite expensive, a bit above speedmaster101 chart for 'good' (BTW thanks Spacefruit!). This one has the bracelet although hands are not original. After all I like the watch and I am available to pay a bit more to have one now. It is my first one and cannot stop thinking about it. It is a bit of obsession. :'D Thanks for the help
Well the bracelet's probably not original as the 1506/16 would have been more likely, but it's still potentially worth $1000-1500. Can you verify the date code on the clasp? As an aside, the SM101 price chart is head-only, so with the bracelet it's probably OK value. That bezel is fairly banged up, and the hands will have to be aged or replaced. Otherwise it's pretty nice.
I'm new here, too, but there are plenty of experts here to help with this watch. I like the way it looks, and the bracelet, whether it was sold with that exact watch or not, is a nice extra and looks right on that reference. The patina on the indices isn't striking, but it's also not offensive. Yes, the hands are service hands, but that's very, very common. The case looks nice, and even the crown is a bonus. If it's running well and you like it, I'd say negotiate your best deal, and treat yourself. If you pay a little too much today, rest assured the market will catch up in a year or two. It's a solid investment, and if you wait to buy one, next year you'll pay more And to be fair, the bezel isn't perfect, but it's still acceptable and shows normal wear for the age, and the hands absolutely don't have to be replaced or aged. That is completely up to you. They look fine. They simply aren't original. Oh, and welcome. You have good taste.
To be sure, the watch is very nice. But for $9000+? The price chart on Speedmaster101, for a 105.012-65 in Good condition, is $9100. The guidelines are head-only, but the condition guideline is such (underline added for emphasis): Now, some of us may want a 105.012 badly enough that they're willing to pay almost 5 figures for a sub-par example of what is not actually that rare a watch, but for me that bezel and the hands are enough for me to consider it a Running example, with the bracelet an added perk. Were it my money, I would try to purchase it for perhaps $6000 and then begin the hunt (and the savings!) for a really nice DON bezel.
Yes, 9k plus in the current market. I think that's a fair price. The Speedmaster101 site is excellent and a great guideline, but it is simply a guideline. 6k would maybe buy you a 145.012 in the current market, but I suspect you'd pay at least 7k even for one of those, and I'm sure you know how much easier they are to find. And referring to it as "sub par" is a bit too harsh. It is not less than average, in my opinion.
Is there any chance you can get clearer pics? Especially that head on pic... It looks like the lume has come off on the stepped part of the dial - a trait that drives me nuts, but some people don't mind it. I agree with abrod that's the bracelet should be a 1506/16. Functionally and esthetically, the 1039 is very similar, but still not quite correct. For the Good category, I'd want it all correct. This is not to say you shouldn't buy it. If you love it, well.. You could always hunt for a 1506/16 and sell the 1039/516. If you value the bracelet at say 1200, then the head is "only" $7800.. And vintage watches do look great in leather...
Is it this one?? http://www.chrono24.co.uk/omega/speedmaster-105012--id5275999.htm It's all a bit smelly for my liking. Could (and probably will be) of course, horribly wrong
Looks like the same one from chrono24, same bezel marking. The two things that are throwing me off are the combination of wide spaced T's and the serial number. 105.012-65 with wide spaced T's only seem to come at the end of their production (in the 245xx range) and move into the 66's and 145.012's. The SN is definitely too early for that and some would say too early for a 105.012-65 in general. If it were all correct I think 9K USD would be a good price but with these question marks I'd stay away.
Hey, I have an idea that several here might like: A fantasy Speedmaster league. In American football, it's a place where men who generally never played sports create teams of NFL players on paper, and each week they "compete" using statistics from their fantasy players. I have heard hundreds of lively conversations at my firm discussing the outcomes of the fantasy games. The guys chatter on endlessly about how many yards "his" player gained or "his" quarterback's overall rating. They seem to enjoy it very much, and it never requires that they get dirty, break a sweat, or be in shape...or that they ever actually play the game. I'm not sure yet how that will look with Speedmaster collecting, but the details can be worked-out, I'm sure.
Missed the wide-spaced T's, I agree that for a 105.012-65 it should be narrow T's. Though not categorically so. Again, for my $9,000+, I'm holding out EDIT: If this is worth $9000+ my decent-condition but all-correct 105.012-66 HF must be worth $11k now
I didn't really notice the incoherences among movement, case back and dial :/. It is true that for that money it is maybe still not worth to risk. But having a look at the situation, it won't pass loong time before it will, even just to sell the pieces . Anyway the seller looks honest. Bad timing to enter the vintage speedmaster race now. But, I can afford it only since little time. At least I've already got a 'moon job', one in the european space sector. Maybe one day I will send my poor eco(drive)master to Mars(collectors warned)!
Fun enough, it seems a speedmaster 105.012 with serial 22.089.xxx was among those reported to be used by NASA. But propbably it had close Ts on the dial [emoji28] https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/omega.html
Many NASA watches got serviced so any NASA owned watch should not be used as an example as there is a high chance of later service parts.
As mentioned earlier I'd regard it as paying ~$7800 due to the value of the bracelet. I have to say I'd want something better for that kind of money. Individually some of the faults (bezel, hands, dial) aren't too bad but together I think they drive the value below $7800.
Hi Amaza and welcome. That looks like a nice example, but you've been told the issues. Here's where you're at: 1) If you like it, buy it. The best time for buying something you like is now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. 2) If you've decided to buy it now, time for the head to rule the heart. 3) 1039 strap in good condition is going to run to (well, I paid jut a few weeks ago) £1100/$1350-1400ish with some haggling. This one isn't that good. Say it's worth £750-900. That money should find you a correct replacement. So no net loss or gain. 4) the bezel is - and this is a guesstimate because prices are nuts - $2000/£1800 less than a really good replacement. You need to work that into the price. You can sell this one, and someone will bite your hand in the sub $2000 range but you could spend months finding a better one and who knows where the price will be then? 5) Hands - the service hands you have on are of little intrinsic value and there's going to be what ... $800 difference between those and a set of correct hands. 6) Case - I'm blind or those photos are blurry. Seller claims it's not been polished? Well, it's been "cleaned" at the very least. Not a killer but I actually don't like it. Give me dirt and scratches every time. So where does that leave you? It's being offered at a price for a complete watch but it's carrying a stretched 1039. If you can get another $2000 off the price, it's where it wants to be. If you can't, how much do you really love it and is the love worth the price gap to you? Good luck.
Hi, thanks all for the advices. In the end I stepped back from that watch since I was not confortable in spending that amount with those doubts in mind. Nevertheless, I am now negotiating a very nice and apparently honest watch. Once again I'd be glad to know your thoughts about it. Here we have a 105.012-65 on 1506 bracelet. The watch must have been in the original owner's drawer without much care for years. Dial definitely looks original, although I am afraid hour marks are loosing tritium. Minute/hour hands match the dial while the chrono hand seems newer. Case looks unpolished. All in all the watch appears very honest with minor replacements (chrono hand, crown). I think this will be my first speedmaster!
What's going on with that lug? Is it broken all the way back? This is the condition I like to see watches in ... covered in grime, but if that lug is as broken as I think it is, this one's a no-go too ... it will be a full on case repair. Maybe someone can chime in with an idea of the cost of repair and the effect on the value but ... sorry, I'd not touch it. Edit - it's not just the one lug - someone's already welded the other one.