Hi everybody,

So I have been offered this Speedmaster MKII which seems to be in decent condition. I’ll start with what I see, the case back looks polished, the lume looks like it is partially missing on the hour hand, and to me the dial looks a little faded. If anyone has any other observations I’ve missed, please feel free to let me know. All comments appreciated.

Julian

P.S. sorry about the dark shot showing the full watch, that was all I was provided with.

 

The brushing on the front of the watch looks to have been applied vertically and not in a sunburst fashion.

 

Ah I see what you mean. I was mostly just looking to see if the front has been over polished. It’s not the best job but I would still rate the case as being decent no?

 

You would have to compare it with another Mk II case in order to figure that out. These bulky cases can be refinished quite heavily and still have a lot of meat, so to speak...

 

IMHO, it would need to be cheap to be any good a deal. Paying to have the case properly refinished, the movement serviced and the lume tidied up a bit, would set you back in the region of £750 I'd suggest. So if the vendor is looking to shift the watch at £500, then it might be a steal.

 

I agree it can be difficult to assess online. I was trying to compare the distance from the dial to the pushers and distance to the bracelet.

 

I don't think I have seen a Mark II up for less than $1500 USD in the last 3 years on this forum. Serviced in 2016 as well as noted by the seller.

 

The rectangular cutout for the bracelet and the height of the crystal are great places to look.

 

Yes, but the quality of the MkIIs on this forum is generally in a different league...

Example - https://omegaforums.net/threads/spe...o-£1750-w-extract-1-oct-74-uk-supplied.57447/

If you're looking to pay $1500 for the above watch, and you're happy that it was actually serviced properly, then you might have a beater at a not bad price. The case metal is generally pretty thick and they can take a well-done refinish - see https://omegaforums.net/threads/speedmaster-mark-ii-love.51132/ for some examples.

 

You had a really great example there. I am being offered the watch at $1500 on the dot all included. I am asking for service papers if I can get them. The case and lume are really the only concerns for me and I have seen people quoting under $200 for refinishing. I just can't see myself paying over $2000 for a MKII at this moment in time.

 

Don’t buy it until you’ve been sent a side on photo to see how much of the case has been polished. You want to see how high the crystal sticks out above the case to see how much metal has been lost.

Very hard to tell from the angle of the photos you’ve been given.

These are lovely watches but many of them have been ruined by polishing.

 

Good point. I’ll ask for that as well. As a general rule, should it be protruding significantly?

 

No, maybe 1mm. I am fairly certain mine has never been polished.

You also want to see how thick the section is where the lug gap is

 

Great reference shot, thanks.

 

Looks like the crystal is about same and the distance to the chamfer is about the same as well.

 

This ^^.

I wouldn't trust anyone to refinish the watch for less than $200 - at that price, they'll probably be doing it by hand...

 

I agree this isn't a shining example of perfection but it has some brushing while no rounding on the chamfers. I am more worried about the dial honestly. Do you think it looks too faded? The lume plots on the dial itself looks pretty good to me.

 

Yeah that looks fine to me.

I’d buy that at $1,500.

 

I jumped on it. I have been looking at this bad boy for 4 months now and it seems like a good deal.

 

Post back once you receive it curious how it works out. I think it looks great but I’m still learning.