An Omega Speedmaster on an auction!

Hi Forum Friends!

There have not been any nice conditioned Speedys on the auction houses for a while now,
and I do think that the Very Good and above are either ”waiting” for the economy to turn,
or they might start to dry up??

But here is a Speedmaster on an upcoming auction, and it would be nice to start a thread discussing
the condition and value of the watch!
I know that there are lots of Black Belted Speedy enthusiasts here on the Forum!!

The auction house has not any info regarding the reference, so we have to start with this?

There are only a few pictures to look at, and the obvious is that the watch is very very dirty!
And we LOVE this...don't we??
The crystal is very scratched, so the condition of the dial could be a bit hard to assess maybe?

Who want to give it a GO??

Erhhmm.. forgot the pictures...

Not for me.
Not an attractive dial IMO and I hate cheese with my watch. Shows it was worn, yes, but not cared for. I know some pay a premium for that "original" feel but not me. Cheap enough, maybe, but a hard pass anywhere over $3500 for me. Clean it up and I am guessing a solid Good watch. Case is nice, bezel is good, but the dial is the heart and this one isnt a beauty.

(-69, 306xx+ serial would be my guess?)

Edit to add: And it has chrono issues too would be my guess. So needing service and missing lume = pass unless dirt cheap for me.

Might be a cracker when cleaned and serviced.

That goes well beyond wrist cheese!

It's the first time I ever saw a watch slathered in catfish bait in order to catch watch bidders. Is this a new selling technique; giving watches that "distressed look?" That Speedy looks for all the world like it's been covered in Catfish Charlie Type A. Who allows their watch get in such a state?!

Not much to like, TBH.

TBH, I have tried to do my homework on this one, but its always fun to "compare notes"!

Yepp, this one need a real and serious service!

And the auction house actually stated that the chrono (start/stop) funktion didn't work...

I do feel a bit sorry for the watchmaker who has to deal with the watch...!

And trying to look at the dial, there is lume loss...

And that somebody has been tampering with the sub dial hands...

Ugh, That watch is disgusting. AFTER it's properly cleaned, I'd still want the case and bracelet sitting in an alcohol bath for a month before I'd touch it.

You and the watch in a tub of single malt??
😁

Gin, maybe. I like the clear liquors and the watch would smell like botanicals. Nothing wrong with that. 😁

Sweet!
Pour in some tonic and tons of ice, and a splash of lemon/lime, then you have a Party going on!

Enjoy!

😉

We also have the Williamometer, thanks @Spacefruit 😀 (are you happy with the watch at the right price)??

1000$
2000$
3000$

where does it stop?

And then the work/cost/effort for the watchmaker??

€ 3000 would be a buy for me, i dont see anything on the outside that my wife can not clean up.

$0.00. Don't want it, (unless it was a straight lug.) It's not evenly worn. I like worn, not perfect speedies, but they have to have that certain charm. On this one half the lume on the indices is gone, the hour and chrono hands are black and don't match the minute hand. You'll spend 750 for service and have an unattractive watch. It's a dealer watch, not a collector's watch. It's a waste of money and time. Maybe if I was just starting out with Speedies but there's been too much water under the bridge now.

Not to mention the risk that there is rust under that grime. The grime likely made an ingress through the no doubt rotten gaskets and affected the dial and possibly the movement. This is one where I'd need a movement photo.

It does look like rust. If that watch was a boat, I’d say she’s been on the bottom.

We can all agree that this Speedy is really disgusting with that enormous amount of filth and grime….
This could indicate that the owner didn't care about the watch?
And it has had at least one service, so the watch has been opened in its lifetime.
But there could be moisture under the dirt that could have gotten in the movement/case etc…
So for this watch, a movement pictures is very important!

But trying to grade the watch….🤦

The things we can see:
Stepped dial with short indices
Painted logo with Professional
Caseback has the Speedmaster and Hippocampus
The bezel is a DN90 (could have been a DO90 and swapped during a service?)
The crown has 32 teeth, and the logo looks like the logo on the crystal
The pushers could be the correct ones, but these need to be replaced, with all that dirt there…
There is chrono creep, and that the pushers don't work, indicating trouble with the movement.

This would give the watch the 145.022-69 reference.

The dial - there could be scratches/marks on the dial, it is impossible to see on the few pictures.
The lume is not complete, most of the indices have lume missing.
The hands have discoloration and have been adjusted (the subdials).
The bezel has some marks and scratches, and looks a bit bleached, but not bad.
The case has lots of dings and scratches, and has had a polish.
There is only one picture showing half of the caseback, but it looks good on that picture.

My guess is that a watch dealer will buy this watch, have a service/clean up, and then sell it on Chrono24 or other platforms.
I don't think that a collector/Forumfriend or even a first Speedy buyer will want this one!

But the value?
Going for the reference, with a DN90, and after the service, cleaning etc.
And without knowing the condition of the movement (rust etc), hopefull that this could be sorted out during a service.
I would set the value between fair and good, roughly 2800€/3000$ including the premium.
And then there is the service cost and possible spare parts that is on top of that.

But the most important thing - do I like the watch?
I DONT….Even if everything sorts out nicely, I will still think about the filth and grime that the watch had,
and always wondering how a person can treat a watch like that!
I have a few Speedys that are not perfect,
that has dings and scratches, wrong parts etc,
but these had a charming look when I received them.
And after cleaning and service, I use them even more than the perfect ones!
I will try to follow the auction, and report back!

Stay Frosty Gents!