Dear members, I have spotted a Speedmaster Professional 3872.50 from 1998 with Hesalite and Saphire back. Watch looks good. But I have some questions. First of all, the dial has T SWISS MADE T on it.That should be right but the lume looks so white. Is this ok for Tritium? Most watches with tritium lume that I have seen have a yellowish patina. In addition, does anybody see any problems with the watch at hand? Second question concerns the bracelet and the endlinks. Which numbers would be correct for that reference? Thanks very much in advance! And here is a pic of the dial:
To find the correct end links for the bracelet we need the bracelet model number. It should be stamped somewhere on it. All the 3872's I see online have a dial marked "T SWISS MADE T" so I think you're ok there. The white lume does look very fresh for a 1998 watch. Could be an Omega replacement dial, but it looks genuine to me. According to what I read, the "T" stands for tritium. This was replaced with luminova beginning perhaps in the late-1990's. Possible to have either on a 1998 Speedy.
I am no expert but I can't see anything wrong with the dial. Not all tritium goes yellow, some goes green. It all doesn't change color at the same rate either. If you look at the lume in the chrono spear, and then go out to where the point (white) crosses the 12h dial lume, it's not exactly the same (the tip and dial lume color) but the spear lume and dial lume look pretty similar. This could just be a very faint patina in an overexposed image. 98 is still quite new. If the dial was replaced the chrono hands would have been removed, and then I would expect to see some paint missing near the joints. But perhaps not...I am no expert.
There are no luminova watches marked T unless they have been relumed. A service dial would not have T's for this watch. Looks correct for one of the last tritium dials. Also hands being removed would not break the paint. If you want to test for luminova charge the watch with a flashlight and if it still not glowing strongly in 2 minutes it's Tritium. Luminova will hold a large charge for at least 15 minutes.
Re. bracelet - the 3872.50 was the leather strap version of the 3572.50 so technically there is no bracelet spec'd for it. If you want to purchase a bracelet you could check which one the 3570.50 came on
This. 3872.50 is the watch on a leather strap, and 3572.50 is the watch on a bracelet. The watch head is the same on both, and only the strap/bracelet determines the PIC number. However, the movement shown through the back will determine if it's an early or late variant (863 vs 1863). Can't tell if the bezel's been replaced, because you can't really see it.
First of all: Thanks to everyone! That is exactly what I meant. I wasn't sure about the correct ref for the one with steel bracelet. But thanks to @dennisthemenace: I know now what to look for! Thanks for the information. By the way, it is the 1863 movement. Thanks again to everyone!