A pair of older purchases, been with me for several years. Both give great pleasure in wear. On the left is a 105.012-64 with an almost perfect dial, and nicely matching hands. Let down by the bezel. I acquired it off eBay and I might have overpaid a little at the time. There is a debate as to if the dial and handset is relumed. The 10 O'clock indice is a bit dodgy. However I don't think I care. Being a 64 it is quite rare. If it is relumed, then its really good and probably better than what might have been. The bezel is slightly blue which is always interesting, and offsets the poor condition a little. Here it is against white: The other is a 2998. Bought in 2013, well before 2998's went stratospheric. Bought in for under $3500 I have come to the realization that the dial is a service dial, that has been degraded: I think its been heated and dyed with tea or perhaps coffee. At least the hands are real, as is the brown bezel. Came from Sweden, a private watch. Here is a view of the cases: A few dings in the 2998! The 105.012 is nice. Service pushers on the 2998, and original Fat-Necks on the 105.012.
I like the 2998's degradation, even though I'd like a bit less bubbling (but hey, for 3500$ I would accept it ) but the 105 is perfect to me. I love faded/beated DONs much more than I enjoy pristine ones, and the dial is really outstanding. As always, congratulations for these speedies, they both have a reason to be in a collection
These are a stunning pair, I've been doing a lot of research on speedies of late, including both iterations of moon watch only but your site is a wealth of knowledge and information. I personally love the dial on the lollipop variant service dial or not it looks great.
Very nice watches William, as usual. When you talk about the aged Service dial, do you mean a vintage Service dial or a modern one made to look old?
Until I get it off and look at the back, I feel it is a relatively modest service dial - similar to the ones floating around today on the market, that has been cooked and dyed. Imagine the value difference if it turns out to be a shagged original.
Always interesting to get a peak into the collection! Does the 105.012 lume glow under a uv light or after a flash from a camera? I always think this highlights relumes in most cases as the lume is just dead with no residual glow.