john_coburg
·Good evening all,
I noticed an interesting listing pop up on eBay last week, for a 'GENUINE 145.012', and had a look at the pictures. It showed what looked very much like a straight lug watch (a 105.003) with a 1035/506 bracelet, and an 'authentication' from an Omega boutique, who had opened the case, noted the movement number (!), yet decided to label it as a 'probable' 145.012 - hence the listing's title. The seller paid Omega £95 for this 'authentication', which i find utterly bizarre that Omega seemed to not know to look inside the caseback of their own watch to determine what it was. Anyway, this was just the sort of listing i like to see: dreadful, blurred photographs, a seller with nothing else listed (currently or during the last 6mths) yet plenty of past feedback for other sorts of sales, and an auction-style listing. I exchanged a few messages with the seller and story was it was bought new by his late grandfather (a Navy serviceman), who left it to him c. 10yrs ago, and since then it just sat in it's box, save for an occasional wear at a family get-together. So on face value, a one-family watch. No service history. And interestingly, no discussion of it here on the forum or anywhere else... I'm sure lots of people here who, like me, love stalking eBay must have seen it, so I gathered either I was (and am) missing something, or everyone was keeping quiet. It felt a risky proposition, as it could easily have been a stitch-up - no extract, so could have been a big 'put-together' of random parts/aftermarket bracelet, or it could just have presented dreadfully in-hand as the photos were awful...or been damaged/not worked. But on Saturday morning I felt like a gamble and I went for it. I got it at £8.6k, against 10 other bidders.
It arrived this morning, and so far, I'm pretty happy. It looks good to me. A few observations, followed by some questions.
* The dial is an even grey/black ; the lume is thick, fairly straight, fully intact, an attractive yellow, and with a few hints of dirt ; the text and minute markers all look intact and apart from a small mark between 21 and 22 minutes, no blemishes that i can see. the lume glows under UV for a few minutes, but fades fairly quickly. So - is it a service dial ? It looks like it to me. But from when? And to be honest, i don't really mind as I like the look of it, service or otherwise - and that's all that really matters.
* The bezel is 'blacker' than i had imagined, with little fading - there's a fair few scratches and dings, so it's certainly not in good condition, but no dents to the outside or nasty fading. it looks good enough to me anyway.
* The case has definitely had a polish or two, but nothing too aggressive; lugs show their chamfers pretty well. a few marks on the outside of the top right lug (looks like pitting..not sure what happened there) but nothing too bad. The double-stepped caseback looks a bit scratched and a gorilla has tried (and failed) a few times to open it. not ideal. it's a 105.003-65, according to the inside case back.
* the movement actually looks pretty clean, no mangled screwheads or mismatched bridges ; movement number (2544xxxx) looks in line with other 105.003's i've seen. the gasket hasn't blown up all over the movement, so i suspect it must have had a service of some sort in the last (10-15?) years.
* i thought the hands might be later replacements as they look pretty bright, but they look correct? they've been removed at least once, from what i can tell. The 24-tooth crown has a the thin Ω logo, looks good to me ; pushers are suspiciously clean, but think they look okay too. the heavily-scratched crystal, strangely, doesn't have the Ω logo in the center. Don't understand that.
* 1035 bracelet has 26 links in total (perhaps it's missing a few?), very little stretch; the clasp is dated 1/68 and functions well, and has slightly bent 506 endlinks - but they're there.
* period-correct Omega box, apparently original to the watch....no idea whether true, but nice to have.
The problems, my next steps, and some questions:
* the chronograph starts correctly, but when i stop it, it 'flies back' to the start and resets. it's as if it functions as a 'stop and reset' in one click of the same button. so it clearly needs a good service, although it's actually keeping reasonable time.
* how the heck do you remove the bracelet, without injuring it (or me)? i'm really struggling with my Bergeon 6767 on those spring bars and can hardly get any purchase... I tend to prefer an Ed White on a cordovan leather strap, so (assuming i can remove the damn thing) might be tempted to sell the bracelet, given they appear to be reasonably sought after....although this would break-up what might be an original watch, which would be a shame. i'll have a think about that, and would appreciate your thoughts on the watch's originality. having a service dial would clearly make it emotionally easier to sell the bracelet.
* an obvious 'next step' would be to get an extract to find out whether this thing is the real deal - i'll do that and report back.
* thoughts on the dial? is it service?
* thoughts on the Ω-less crystal?
* thoughts on the overall economics? i feel Ed Whites have softened a bit of late, but unless i'm missing something glaringly obvious (which is very possible), this package, even with a service dial, seems below market value, which i wouldn't have expected in an open auction on eBay in this day and age. have these things repriced lower? Or does the service dial (assuming it is), really push the value lower?
Attached are a few photos i took ; unfortunately i'm not great with macro photography. let me know if you'd like to see more. any marks, except at 21/22mins, are on the crystal.
thank you vm in advance for any thoughts/comments on it's originality - and getting the bracelet off.
I noticed an interesting listing pop up on eBay last week, for a 'GENUINE 145.012', and had a look at the pictures. It showed what looked very much like a straight lug watch (a 105.003) with a 1035/506 bracelet, and an 'authentication' from an Omega boutique, who had opened the case, noted the movement number (!), yet decided to label it as a 'probable' 145.012 - hence the listing's title. The seller paid Omega £95 for this 'authentication', which i find utterly bizarre that Omega seemed to not know to look inside the caseback of their own watch to determine what it was. Anyway, this was just the sort of listing i like to see: dreadful, blurred photographs, a seller with nothing else listed (currently or during the last 6mths) yet plenty of past feedback for other sorts of sales, and an auction-style listing. I exchanged a few messages with the seller and story was it was bought new by his late grandfather (a Navy serviceman), who left it to him c. 10yrs ago, and since then it just sat in it's box, save for an occasional wear at a family get-together. So on face value, a one-family watch. No service history. And interestingly, no discussion of it here on the forum or anywhere else... I'm sure lots of people here who, like me, love stalking eBay must have seen it, so I gathered either I was (and am) missing something, or everyone was keeping quiet. It felt a risky proposition, as it could easily have been a stitch-up - no extract, so could have been a big 'put-together' of random parts/aftermarket bracelet, or it could just have presented dreadfully in-hand as the photos were awful...or been damaged/not worked. But on Saturday morning I felt like a gamble and I went for it. I got it at £8.6k, against 10 other bidders.
It arrived this morning, and so far, I'm pretty happy. It looks good to me. A few observations, followed by some questions.
* The dial is an even grey/black ; the lume is thick, fairly straight, fully intact, an attractive yellow, and with a few hints of dirt ; the text and minute markers all look intact and apart from a small mark between 21 and 22 minutes, no blemishes that i can see. the lume glows under UV for a few minutes, but fades fairly quickly. So - is it a service dial ? It looks like it to me. But from when? And to be honest, i don't really mind as I like the look of it, service or otherwise - and that's all that really matters.
* The bezel is 'blacker' than i had imagined, with little fading - there's a fair few scratches and dings, so it's certainly not in good condition, but no dents to the outside or nasty fading. it looks good enough to me anyway.
* The case has definitely had a polish or two, but nothing too aggressive; lugs show their chamfers pretty well. a few marks on the outside of the top right lug (looks like pitting..not sure what happened there) but nothing too bad. The double-stepped caseback looks a bit scratched and a gorilla has tried (and failed) a few times to open it. not ideal. it's a 105.003-65, according to the inside case back.
* the movement actually looks pretty clean, no mangled screwheads or mismatched bridges ; movement number (2544xxxx) looks in line with other 105.003's i've seen. the gasket hasn't blown up all over the movement, so i suspect it must have had a service of some sort in the last (10-15?) years.
* i thought the hands might be later replacements as they look pretty bright, but they look correct? they've been removed at least once, from what i can tell. The 24-tooth crown has a the thin Ω logo, looks good to me ; pushers are suspiciously clean, but think they look okay too. the heavily-scratched crystal, strangely, doesn't have the Ω logo in the center. Don't understand that.
* 1035 bracelet has 26 links in total (perhaps it's missing a few?), very little stretch; the clasp is dated 1/68 and functions well, and has slightly bent 506 endlinks - but they're there.
* period-correct Omega box, apparently original to the watch....no idea whether true, but nice to have.
The problems, my next steps, and some questions:
* the chronograph starts correctly, but when i stop it, it 'flies back' to the start and resets. it's as if it functions as a 'stop and reset' in one click of the same button. so it clearly needs a good service, although it's actually keeping reasonable time.
* how the heck do you remove the bracelet, without injuring it (or me)? i'm really struggling with my Bergeon 6767 on those spring bars and can hardly get any purchase... I tend to prefer an Ed White on a cordovan leather strap, so (assuming i can remove the damn thing) might be tempted to sell the bracelet, given they appear to be reasonably sought after....although this would break-up what might be an original watch, which would be a shame. i'll have a think about that, and would appreciate your thoughts on the watch's originality. having a service dial would clearly make it emotionally easier to sell the bracelet.
* an obvious 'next step' would be to get an extract to find out whether this thing is the real deal - i'll do that and report back.
* thoughts on the dial? is it service?
* thoughts on the Ω-less crystal?
* thoughts on the overall economics? i feel Ed Whites have softened a bit of late, but unless i'm missing something glaringly obvious (which is very possible), this package, even with a service dial, seems below market value, which i wouldn't have expected in an open auction on eBay in this day and age. have these things repriced lower? Or does the service dial (assuming it is), really push the value lower?
Attached are a few photos i took ; unfortunately i'm not great with macro photography. let me know if you'd like to see more. any marks, except at 21/22mins, are on the crystal.
thank you vm in advance for any thoughts/comments on it's originality - and getting the bracelet off.
Edited: