Could be ? Why is the movement ring looking so dirty in the pictures on the site ora24 . And one of the pushers looks funny . The lower one . To far out ?
Please do not assume the codes that watchmakers put inside case backs has anything to do with a date. Only the watchmaker who put the code there knows what it really means. It could be a date, but it could also be an internal order number or job number, or it could be the code issued to the watchmaker by a watchmaking organization in the country where he works. There is no standardized system for this... Unless the watch comes with proof of recent service (invoice from a known service entity) then I would assume it needs a service when you buy it. If it ends up not needing one, consider it a bonus. Cheers, Al
Al, is it possible to visually inspect the movement and judge by the condition of the lubrication whether or not the watch needs attention? I used to dabble in vintage camera repair, the state of lubrication was a good indicator of how long ago it was serviced (more often than not the answer was never). I plan on getting into hobby watch servicing for the older, simpler models. For this one I'll learn how to take the movement out of the case and replace the glass but that's as far as I care to go. With cameras it was pretty much the same, I was happy to service my vintage Nikons all day, I left my Contarexes to the experts :}
You can certainly inspect the lubrication points that you can see, but on a Speedmaster just removing the case back and inner cover, you can't see much. Of course none of the jewels on the dial side can be seen without taking the hands and dial off, and on the wheel train side some are covered by chronograph parts. And even if you could see them all, you need to know what to look for. If someone brings a watch to me and we don't know the history, I would use a visual inspection under the microscope, looking at lubrication and other things, plus readings on the timing machine to determine the need for service. Cheers, Al
Yeah I see all kinds of weird numbers on the casebacks and have no idea what they are supposed to mean. However, If I see 9/12/75 -JM or something of the like I assume it's a date. However the fact that it was serviced 40 years ago is irrelevant anyway.