Dearest Forum Community,

first of all I want to express my gratitude for the outstanding work that is being accomplished here. I have been following your incredibly deep discussions, reviews and advice for a couple of weeks now and what's happening here is really special. Thank you!

Now, you guys hooked me on getting into the Speedmaster Game and right now I'm looking at a Transitional. Here is how I see it, but it would be awesome to hear your expert view on the matter.
- 145022-68 (also stamped in case back)
- Serial # in range
- correct 861 cal movement
- correct, stepped dial with applied logo. (Logo is a little faded, face seems good)
- correct hands, but chrono hand probably replacement (patina doesn't match)
- correct DON bezel, but this is probably the most challenging. I'm far from sure whether that is still acceptable condition…

Price is a little higher than sp101's "good" range.

Thanks
fuchs

 

Hello Fuchs,

Congrats on your decision. You will not regret it.
This 68 looks OK overall, all period correct. The dial looks very good with matching lume, which is cool but raises a bit of a question on the lume colour (I haven't seen many 68s with a greenish lume) so just make sure (via UV lamp, macro shots) that it has not been relumed. If it has been relumed, it does not mean that the watch is worthless, but it will have an impact on value.
The movement is clean even though some screws are a bit chewed, but nothing major, the pushers seem OK but no info on the crown. The DON clashes with the rest of the watch, it's a bit knackered vs the clean dial & case.

I'd say that the one major element lacking from these pictures is the state of the case: it does look OK from the pictures but you can't know how the sides look...
Finally, the watch looks nice but not "good", or at least the bezel doesn't look good. The dial does, provided that it has not been touched up.

 

Thanks for the swift reply!
If the lume was untouched, would you expect no glow under UV lamp or just seriously weakened? What do you mean with "macro shots"?

I didn't plan on starting in that price range, but I really like the non-printed version of the dial <3. Good to hear that this is considered very good condition…

 

About the dial, I know that type of lume appearance - thickly applied, slightly wobbly looking, and pale yellow to greenish in color - has been discussed in the past. I personally think it looks correct and perhaps original, it just hasn't turned into the coffee color preferred by collectors. I have 105.012 with a similar dial and have been told by others that know far better than me that it is likely original lume:


But I really agree that the bezel on the OP watch is pretty rough, and it is impossible to fully rate a watch unless you can also see the case profile to determine if it has been polished. Overall I'd say the total package falls short of 'good'.

 

Under a UV lamp, the lume should definetely glow, and I'd even say that dial & hands should match.
By macro I mean macro pictures, that show the lume plots in detail

 

I've seen that before on the 105.012's but not as sure about on the 145.022-68's. Here's mine for comparison, which isn't that thick or wobbly.

 

Another - 68 to compare lume colour.

Edit to add that I think the light hello lume colour is more common on these later references whereas the darker Brown colour appears more often on older models.

 

My 145.012-68 for comparison, since we're showing ours off

 

Thanks for all the input and nice to see more examples of the 68 and the conditions these come in.. Looking at the chrono hand maybe it’s exactly opposite to my entry statement. The color is indeed more brown in nature - maybe it’s the original hand whereas the rest is relumed?

 

Just throwing my two cents of what I have seen. That greenish Lume I have only seen in reference 145022 69. Would def check with uv light.

 

In your negotiations with the seller you should definitely try and get a few hundred quid knocked off on account of the battered bezel which will always look like it has come from a watch that had a harder life than what I can see of the rest of this one. Enjoy it and start looking for the next one....

 

A lot of pretty watches here. Good luck with your purchase!!

 

Worth checking that the crown has the correct shape Omega logo - they’re expensive to find a correct replacement.

 

68s came with all sorts of crowns, flat foots are mandatory up to 105012s (and even on late 66s there's a debate...)

 

Very nice except for the bezel. That is an expensive pice to replace if you decide to try later on!

 

Sorry for the off topic question, but what kind of bracelet ref is that? Looks good!

 

it's an 1168 with 633 ends. it was used on seamasters, and notably on the 70's Soyuz Limited Edition.

..and thanks! I like the look too.

 

I too once had a 145.022 69 that had a greenish lume. The watch was 100% original and virtually NOS.