http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMAZING-RAR...768777?hash=item33b6d55e89:g:ypkAAOSwt7pXLftzPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network P.S. I think would shoot my watchmaker if he autographed my caseback like that.
I believe this one has been discussed here already but it's a very serviceable Speedmaster from the 1980s. The seller clearly doesn't know exactly what he has, how to describe what he has, and English is not his primary language. It's a nice watch, but nowhere near a 69 and not worth the buy it now price or really the starting bid either.
Why? While the practice has fallen out of fashion in the last couple decades, before then usual way of doing things rather than the exception. I have had a Railroad Pocket watch with 27 service marks 16 of them by the same watch maker. If I am looking at a watch that is claimed to have been in railroad service and does not have any service marks, I figure it may be Railroad grade but probably never saw service. At the moment the most service marks on any of my watches is 13.
Is he French ? It was the norm in Paris to call all Speedmasters 69's - people who ought to know better too. (Two important Paris dealers both showed me mid 80's watches as 69's. When queried they both looked at me as though I was mad and said " it's a 69 model..." As though that made it ok...)
Not sure if he's French or not, but @Foo2rama said that he personally spoke to the seller and he does know that it's not actually a 69. Sounds like a little underhandedness maybe trying to get someone to overpay.
He writes OK English. I clearly told him what it was and why via ebay. He basically said he didn't care.
Yes, he's French. Same dude who was selling that 105.003 a few months ago, with the strange dot-looking mark over 63 on the bezel
Circa 1912 Hamilton 992 in a Star swing out case,13 service marks, 4 by the same person. Sorry can't find pics of the one I don't have anymore, but it was also a Hamilton 992 from around 1908 I think.