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Asking for a friend - Who can restore this Speedy properly?

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A friend inherited this original CK2998 Speedmaster from his father and is interested in getting it restored. The exact variant of CK2998 is unknown, as there are things that don't correlate exactly with what I've read about the CK2998 in Moonwatch Only. He definitely doesn't want to go to Omega directly since they would likely modernize anything and everything they need to, but I can't find any current recommendations for 3rd party options either. Period correct parts will likely be an issue, with the missing bezel and non-original bracelet, along with anything else that needs replacement. I'm hoping the community here can help him out. Thanks!

As an aside, here's a story from 2022 when he visited the Omega Boutique in San Francisco to have them look at this Speedy. His words, so sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors.

"I went to the Omega boutique downtown yesterday. initially when I said I need my watch cleaned they palmed me off with a sales assistant. When I sat down though and placed the watch on the counter a more senior sales guy saw it and rushed over. within minutes the manager was there and they called a watch expert from down the street to take a look. They locked the store for security and said this is an amazing watch, loved the partena and congratulated me! They talked about the one that sold for $M's (I doubts we are talking that value though lol!) and said Omega would be interested in keeping records of it (owner/ history etc). The only problem is that it cannot be sent to Switzerland because of the rhodium on the hands because the USA wouldn't let the watch back in. I would have to collect it. So now they are looking for a place in the US to do the restoration. Fingers crossed."

701622963_921941464230091_4379403121455065721_n.webp
 
Dan S
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Welcome. Does your friend want to research the watch and figure out what it is and what it needs? Or is he just looking to send it to someone to do a soup-to-nuts restoration ... price is no object?

If the former, I think it would be helpful to provide a lot more information upfront. More photos, better photos. The inside of the case-back and the movement serial number. The restoration cost and difficulty will depend greatly on certain details. Even if he is looking for someone to do a restoration for him, it might be helpful for him to know if it's going to be $10k or $50k.
 
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Dan S Dan S
Welcome. Does your friend want to research the watch and figure out what it is and what it needs? Or is he just looking to send it to someone to do a soup-to-nuts restoration ... price is no object?

If the former, I think it would be helpful to provide a lot more information upfront. More photos, better photos. The inside of the case-back and the movement serial number. The restoration cost and difficulty will depend greatly on certain details. Even if he is looking for someone to do a restoration for him, it might be helpful for him to know if it's going to be $10k or $50k.
I think this picture may be all he's got at the moment. I don't think he's comfortable letting just anyone opening up the caseback in order to get photos of the movement given the likely value of the watch, unless it's a trusted watchmaker. But at that point he's should have the resource he needs to give him a decent estimate. Beyond that, in your opinion are era-appropriate parts, mainly the bezel and bracelet, still available? Not necessarily NOS, but something "good enough?"

Thanks!
 
Dan S
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E eliu01
I think this picture may be all he's got at the moment. I don't think he's comfortable letting just anyone opening up the caseback in order to get photos of the movement given the likely value of the watch, unless it's a trusted watchmaker. But at that point he's should have the resource he needs to give him a decent estimate. Beyond that, in your opinion are era-appropriate parts, mainly the bezel and bracelet, still available? Not necessarily NOS, but something "good enough?"

Thanks!
Yes, parts are available, but some are very dear, e.g. if it needs a Base-1000 bezel. So just to be clear, you're not looking for information about the watch, just a referral. Because to get decent information, you'd want to post photos.
 
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He knows enough about the watch, but he's no die-hard Speedy fanboy like some of us (I'm one, which is what prompted him to ask me for help). I think in the future he may want to learn more about what he's got, but for now I think he's pretty happy knowing what he already knows, so a referral will suffice for the time being.
 
Dan S
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E eliu01
He knows enough about the watch, but he's no die-hard Speedy fanboy like some of us (I'm one, which is what prompted him to ask me for help). I think in the future he may want to learn more about what he's got, but for now I think he's pretty happy knowing what he already knows, so a referral will suffice for the time being.
So if he knows what he's got, is he willing to share what type of 2998 it is? Which sub-reference?
 
dsio
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The dome dial would have to be a -2 or earlier, really nice colour to it too
 
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Dan S Dan S
So if he knows what he's got, is he willing to share what type of 2998 it is? Which sub-reference?
That's one detail he doesn't know exactly but isn't too concerned to learn more about at this time. He did tell me it's a CK2998-2 from 1959. When I told him that combination is mutually exclusive based on what I gleaned from my copy of Moonwatch Only he was thankful for the info but didn't really ask for more. From my own research, the only brown-dial CK2998 I could find in Moonwatch Only is the CK2998-2 Pulsometer variant, but the hands are different - they should be "Alpha Variant 1," to use the book's terminology. However, from the photo you can see a combination of baton hour and minute hands, a flat counterweight chrono-seconds, and two different small hands - Alpha on the minute and hour counters, and some unknown counterweighted hand on the small seconds. Geting to the bottom of it all will indeed require the serial/movement number. I'll let him know, and we'll see if we can dig ourselves out of this rabbit hole.
 
dsio
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The hands are later replacements from 67 onwards, not uncommon to see them fitted to an earlier watch due to a past service, it really just needs a a set of correct alpha hands, a bezel of some sort, and a service without polishing
 
Dan S
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E eliu01
That's one detail he doesn't know exactly but isn't too concerned to learn more about at this time. He did tell me it's a CK2998-2 from 1959. When I told him that combination is mutually exclusive based on what I gleaned from my copy of Moonwatch Only he was thankful for the info but didn't really ask for more. From my own research, the only brown-dial CK2998 I could find in Moonwatch Only is the CK2998-2 Pulsometer variant, but the hands are different - they should be "Alpha Variant 1," to use the book's terminology. However, from the photo you can see a combination of baton hour and minute hands, a flat counterweight chrono-seconds, and two different small hands - Alpha on the minute and hour counters, and some unknown counterweighted hand on the small seconds. Geting to the bottom of it all will indeed require the serial/movement number. I'll let him know, and we'll see if we can dig ourselves out of this rabbit hole.
2998-2 is finally the answer to the question I was asking, thank you.

The rest of your response is just confusion. The dial was not originally brown, this happens due to environmental conditions and cannot be used to identify the watch. The bezel is missing and the hands have been replaced.

Sometimes new enthusiasts have done some reading but they don't know what they don't know. It's better just to provide information and photos. Then the real experts will show up and help you.
 
Larry S
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If your friend is looking to cash in. He would be better off putting this up for sale at a reputable auction house. The folks who collect these have the parts in case a watch like this pops up. They are not going to sell them and even if, they will not be cheap. I’m sure your e mail is already filling up. We have a 200 post rule here for selling.
 
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Dan S Dan S
2998-2 is finally the answer to the question I was asking, thank you.

The rest of your response is just confusion. The dial was not originally brown, this happens due to environmental conditions and cannot be used to identify the watch. The bezel is missing and the hands have been replaced.

Sometimes new enthusiasts have done some reading but they don't know what they don't know. It's better just to provide information and photos. Then the real experts will show up and help you.
Gotcha - sorry for the superfluous info.

I was able to get some more details off of the Omega archive extract my friend obtained a few years ago:

Reference CK 2998
Movement 17301XXX
Production March 11, 1960

What details can be deduced from this info?
 
dsio
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E eliu01
Gotcha - sorry for the superfluous info.

I was able to get some more details off of the Omega archive extract my friend obtained a few years ago:

Reference CK 2998
Movement 17301XXX
Production March 11, 1960

What details can be deduced from this info?
You've got everything info wise now, its a CK2998-2 from 1960, there aren't any more specifics than that, but yep cool watch and worth getting it back to looking the way it should with alpha hands and a bezel.
 
watchyouwant
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My retired Watchmaker has one Set Alpha Minute and Hour hand. Slightly scratched from Storage... No center second hand.
 
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