Greetings,

I recently posted some photos of my Dad's 'Ed White' Speedmaster on Facebook - and got quite a few replies! One or two of the posters there suggested I join this forum and make a similar post. So here I am!

At the time of making the post on Facebook - I didn't know anything about the watch's heritage. I'm slightly more knowledgeable now.

I'm hoping that members of this forum might be able to answer some newbie questions - and maybe point me in the right direction in relation to servicing/restoration, etc? Note that I am based in Australia.

My Dad bought the watch brand-new during one of his two tours in Vietnam. My understanding is that he didn't particularly like the wristband that came with it - and changed it to a canvas military-style strap. The following picture is of my Dad whilst in Vietnam - and we think that might be the Speedy on his wrist (but this hasn't been confirmed 100%). From a distance, it has the bearings of a Speedy.



The watch has virtually sat in a drawer for many, many years (with an OMEGA service about 20-25 years ago). Below are some pictures of the watch - as it is today. Apologies - they're not the greatest images - taken with my iPhone 6s plus. But they'll suffice for now.

Also note - externally the watch has seen much, much better days. The following is a summary of the damage and alterations. Bearing in mind - this all occurred decades ago.

And also bear in mind - I'm a watch newbie - so please excuse my use of incorrect terms.

Dial has damage between the 6 and 9 marks - speckling and fading of colour to the face.
The hour marks don't appear to illuminate any more.
The original bezel has been replaced during servicing (probably about 20 years ago?).
The original crown appears to have been replaced during servicing - and possibly the pushers?
The hipo logo on the rear has nearly disappeared. You can still make out the SPEEDMASTER words and the logo if viewed from the right angle - but hard to photograph. Appears that a canvas NATO-style band was attached at some point - you can see the pattern left in the metal.
Lots of gunk around the crown/pushers - no, it's not corrosion - just looks like it. Wipes off reasonably easy.
Hesalite has it's fair share of scratches.
Current wristband has no OMEGA markings (third party?)

Okay...some pics...









Internally, it's better news

The inside of the caseback shows the 105.003 65 inscription.
The 321 movement appears to be in good condition. I gave it a small wind - and she started ticking away quite nicely.
Hands move as they should. Hand resets to the 12 mark smoothly when the pusher is depressed.







Right - now that's out of the way...

Since playing with this watch as a kid (back in the 70's), I've always wanted my own Speedy - so the first question I have is...do I spend some dollars on servicing/restoring my Dad's watch and then wear it...or simply save my pennies...and buy a new automatic Speedy for myself...keeping my Dad's watch as a somewhat damaged curiosity?

To be honest, I'd love to wear my Dad's watch if possible - but appreciate and understand that there will be some financial outlay!

I received quite a bit of advice via Facebook. The general consensus seems to be that I should (first) get the movement serviced by someone reputable. I'm happy to do that.

Additional advice related to perhaps replacing the service bezel with a vintage DON one - and also perhaps replacing the service crown with a vintage one.

Also - although the damage to the caseback (faded logo, etc.) doesn't phase me - the damage to the dial is problematic.

So here are some questions!

1.What do people think about trying to improve my Dad's watch with vintage parts (DON bezel, crown, etc.). Is it worthwhile in the long run - or should I cut my losses - keep the watch as a curiosity - and purchase myself a new automatic one?

2.In relation to the damaged dial - is this something that is (in any way) fixable or restore-able? And if not - do vintage pre-moon dials ever come up for sale? I'd happily live with a small amount of damage to the dial - but in it's current state - it's a bit ordinary to look at. As I mentioned above, the faded caseback doesn't phase me - if it's on my wrist - I won't see it. The dial on the other hand...

3.Are any watch collectors in Australia able to recommend someone reputable to service the movement? Lewis Watch Co. (Adam Lewis) in Perth has been suggested. I've also been advised that it might be prudent to avoid sending it to OMEGA for a service?

4.The hesalite has a fair few scratches - do I replace it - or use a product like Polywatch to reduce the appearance of the scratches?

That's all I can think of at the moment...no doubt more questions will arise as soon as I hit the 'CREATE THREAD' button.

Any other words of wisdom from those a LOT more experienced than me would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Craig.

 

Congrats on even having decisions like these to make. Many of us aren’t fortunate enough to inherit something with emotional value, let alone a pre-moon speedy, albeit in somewhat rough shape.

Far wiser folks than me are sure to chime in, so take my thoughts lightly. I would get it serviced, try to polish up the crystal or replace (won’t really devalue the watch), and see what a real pro could do to clean up the dial.

These dials come up occasionally, but they are expensive. And if you’ve spent more than a few minutes here, you’ve probably figured out that replacing the bezel with a real DON is going to be several thousand (US) dollars.

Anyway, I would keep it and try to turn it into something you can wear, for sure. And your Ed White is one of the closest I have seen to my serial # - only about 12,000 off!

Good luck...

 

Fantastic watch, and story. Thanks for sharing it!

Personally, I think a great deal of this watch's character is in the life that it shows in the hands, dial, and case. Were I in a similar situation, I wouldn't replace them. Some of the marking on the dial could possibly be cleaned a bit.

I would make sure the watch is functionally sound, via a movement service, and effectively sealed, via cleaning and rebuilding (or replacing) of the pushers and crown, and replacing the crystal. (Keeping the current ones, of course)

That way, you can wear and enjoy the watch the way he did, without worry, and without stressing about period-correctness, and maybe save yourself the $ and time it would take to find other parts.

I'm sorry I don't have any Australian watchmaker recommendations for you.

Best wishes on it!

 

Beautiful piece, I sent my 321 Speedy to ABC Watchwerks in LA and they did an excellent job. Be prepared to spend a couple thousand dollars, and don't let them touch the hands, or the dial, the DON bezel looks almost perfect, also do not polish the case. You will be needing a "sympathetic restoration", be prepared to spend up to $2,000, If you can't afford it at the moment leave it in the safe because as it sits its an 8K watch. If my dad were to leave me that watch I would wear it proudly and pass it on to my kids. Owning an expensive vintage watch is not like owning a new rolex, they are delicate, but this watch went to space so its sturdy, but still be gentle with it.

 

Nice watch, and awesome heirloom.

Adam (@photo500 here) is a good place to start.

I'd start with the movement and get that puppy ticking. As noted above, a proper, nice dial will cost you about $4k USD ($5k aud) and a DON, easily into the $3k USD territory... if you're new to this, I'd make sure the internal is in order but take your time to consider what to do about the other bits...

As for what to do, after service, I'd wear the crap out of that thing!

 

G'day Craig. I'm one of the fellows that responded to your initial post on AWF. Good to see you're proceeding without haste.
Lewis Watch Co has also been recommended to me as being very good, especially with 321 movements.
Since it's your dads watch I'd keep it as is as much as possible. A crown like it would have been fitted with might mean something to serious collectors, but since you're unlikely to ever sell it, the extra premium attached to a fractionally different logo on the crown probably means very little to you in the long run.
Likewise, the bezel and pushers. Your dad took the watch off to be serviced and then wore it with the new parts. Installing old but more correct parts might make it look a little more like it was when he first had it, but surely keeping the watch with all the parts he actually wore it with is preferable?
A new crystal would be good, movement service and new gaskets (pusher gaskets can be replaced rather than swapping out for new pushers). With the dial, I would start by asking someone like Billy Lewis what he thinks he can do to clean the dial. You might be surprised and, again, you'd get to keep the dial your dad wore rather than some dial from another watch you have no relationship with.
Once all that is done, put it on a nice leather strap and wear it with pride.
Cheers,
Tristan

 

Thanks so much for your replies so far! Again - lots to think about.

Tritto - can you give me some more info in relation to Billy Lewis?

 

I've not yet used him myself, but have had him recommended to me. From what I can gather is he specialises in vintage Omega, and has access to Omega parts. I've been told he does great sypathetic relume work to.
He's in Western Australia and his website is www.lewiswatchco.com. I think he's a member here too, but I can't recall the user name. Edit: it's @photo500.

 

That is so great you have that watch with your family history! If it were me, I would get it serviced by someone who may be able to clean up the dial as best they can and keep it as-is (maybe replace the crystal). I would not pay the premium for a DON bezel or replacement dial. Then wear it and enjoy it. Part of the great history of that watch is what your Dad did with it over time.

 

Agreed

 

Thanks Tritto,

I’m an idiot - didn’t see the connection between the Lewis Watch Co and ‘Billy Lewis’.

And thanks others for your wise words!

 

Mate, what a great story. I'm gonna agree with pretty much everything that @tritto said, with one exception - I'd try cleaning up the crystal with some Polywatch first, and if it scrubs up okay, I wouldn't replace it. If I were in your shoes, I'd want to wear that sucker every day, in as close a condition as possible to how my Dad wore it - service parts and all. By all means get it serviced and cleaned up, but I'd wear it "warts and all" - dial discoloration included - if you plan on keeping it as an heirloom.

And since you mentioned it in your original post and nobody seem to have addressed it yet... those hour markers will never glow again - the tritium used in that old luminous paint has long since reached the end of its service life. Just another part of the history of the watch.

 

Service plus new crystal and enjoy. It’s a family piece the dial has a story and is attractive.

As for the DON... again it’s a family piece keep it. If you plan to sell then make the choice. Or take the time to source one that goes with the dial.

Don’t run it anymore untill you get it serviced.

 

I'd certainly service this rather than buying a new Speedmaster. While the general advice would be to source a new bezel, in this case I wouldn't bother. The 'new' bezel is now part of the watches history and you don't sound like a hard core collector.

My advice would be to have a full movement service, with ultrasonic clean of the case, new crystal, pushers and crown. I would 100% leave the dial as is. It's the one your dad looked at all those years. The dial is the soul of a watch.

If in a few years you decide to change the bezel, that option is always open to you.

 

I can't recommend Adam at LWC more. He did an awesome job on my speed master 145.012-67 - unfortunately my movement was shot, so the restoration cost a bit more than expected, however just a service shouldn't put too much of a strain on the wallet.

Before


After

 

Congratulations, you've got a great watch.
I would try to get a service for the movement and get the watch waterproof again. Plexy polished and then you've got the watch ready for daily use.
What you can think about is some cosmetic for the hands and dial.
Never let the dial and hands be relumed. That destroyes the value of the watch.
If you don't like the hands with no tritium in it try to get it filled in the same collie like the Indizes of the dial but without luminova in it. Don't let the hands be painted white again. Then you have opportunity to turn this back again.
The relumed picture above shows exactly what I would never do.
If you don't like the missing tritium on the indizes and you can't live with only the white collor of the cleaned indizes sell the watch and buy a nice tritium speedy from the 90ies.

 

PS, Adam and Billy are one and the same. If I remember rightly, Billy is the name he uses on Facebook, but really Billy is his dog? Or did someone just make that up?

 

I think its lovely

This is what I would do :
- sympathetic movement service.
- case (and if you have the bracelet) clean.
- polish the old crystal so its almost like new.

All of the above can be done by a competent watchmaker. And for now that's the cheapest course of action to take. And even if you don't wear it, that watch deserves this to be done.

Once that's done, I would do like oddboy and wear the crap out of it. And then I would consider all the other points made, i.e. DON, original pushers/crown, dial. You have time to gather bits if you like. Keep in mind that this was all done in your dads care...so preserving it is kindof preserving him in a way. But you might just grow to love the dial as it is...and do spend time looking at Ed Whites on the net..sometimes the gnarliest ones can be extremely beautiful.

 

Get it serviced, cleaned and a new crystal.

I wouldn't touch anything else if it was mine. It will look superb once it has had a little tlc.

 

Once again - thank you all for your advice. Very much appreciated! Really looking forward to bringing this watch back to life.