DON Speedy Bezel Check

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semdot14

·Mar 17, 2025

Hey all! I want to see what you all think about this bezel. It's for a 105.012-66 CB. It looks super clean but the thickness seems a bit off to me. Do you eagle-eyed, vintage Speedy savants, see anything that makes you question if this is a genuine bezel? Thanks!

 

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djmusicman

·Mar 18, 2025

Bezel looks alright to me, the watch looks good. If the watch was otherwise in poor condition or super overpolished it might make you want to investigate further but this makes sense.

 

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semdot14

·Mar 18, 2025

Ok, That is good to know. I figured it was alright, but the font is so much more bold than on other examples I have been looking at. With how clean the bezel is, I was second-guessing. Thank you!

 

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Passover

·Mar 18, 2025

Just have my -67 for comparison right now, but if you look at the 6 in 60, 65, 160 in the OP one every one seems to look different.
On my -67 they look exactely the same!
Curious what the specialist will say!

 

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hansaboy

·Mar 18, 2025

Here is an interesting post about comparing CB´s (thanks @Spacefruit !!)
Read it a couple of times, and compare the bezels with the one you have!
Eeerhhh...is it your watch...?

https://omegaforums.net/threads/quality-assesment-speedmaster.174877/

Thread 'Quality Assesment [Speedmaster]' ·

Two 105.012's:

On cursory inspection, these two watches appear very similar.
In reality, the difference in values is close to a factor of two.

Both are CB cases, as seen by the...

Spacefruit · Jul 26, 2024

 

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semdot14

·Mar 18, 2025

@hansaboy @Spacefruit Thank you for that post. It is extremely helpful and it put my mind at ease in buying the watch.

 

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Ron_W

·Mar 18, 2025

semdot14

@hansaboy @Spacefruit Thank you for that post. It is extremely helpful and it put my mind at ease in buying the watch.

I am not sure but no expert, i see different fonts in the lower bar 2, the 8 , 9 and the 5. Even thicker than in @Spacefruit example on the right. Lets wait for more eyes.

 

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hansaboy

·Mar 18, 2025

semdot14

@hansaboy @Spacefruit Thank you for that post. It is extremely helpful and it put my mind at ease in buying the watch.

It is all Williams work, I just pointed you to the right direction!
😀

 

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Dan S

·Mar 18, 2025

Those are the thickest fonts I can recall seeing. Maybe someday it will be super-desirable, like fat-font Rolex inserts.

 

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140dave

·Mar 18, 2025

I have to say, I’m not sure on this one. It has some of the serifs I look for, and seems to be missing a couple also. But the “missing” ones may be obscured by the fat font.

If it was being sold as a bezel-only I would probably pass on it to be honest. It may be fine, others may think it looks great, but to me questionable enough for me to avoid it personally.

 

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Aludic

·Mar 18, 2025·@SpeedyBirthYear

Something is off with this one. To my eyes, at least.

Why? Have a look at the line thickness of the fonts; those should be relatively 'even' across the entire shape of the numbers, tapering slightly in the horizontally oriented lines of the numerals. On the OP's, line thickness seems to deviate a lot more than I've seen before, most notably in the 'flat' part of the 5's. The same is present in the other numerals too. Comparing it to a number of Speedies I have here, I can only conclude that I've never seen it quite like this before, in line with @Dan S observation. That said, the "fattest" DON isn't nearly as fat as this one, but does seem to show a more exaggerated line thickness variance too.

Conclusion: I am with @140dave, it might be correct and all the result of fat printing, but it's a bit of an outlier at it, at least.

 

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semdot14

·Mar 18, 2025

Ron_W

I am not sure but no expert, i see different fonts in the lower bar 2, the 8 , 9 and the 5. Even thicker than in @Spacefruit example on the right. Lets wait for more eyes.

I don't see the difference in fonts, just thicker as if this is the end of the stamps life or something. Maybe I am just being overly optimistic. I also have very little experience in this.

 

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Harbormaster

·Mar 18, 2025

Calling Mr. Spacefruit himself…….!! I do believe he is an expert in this field.

 

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Ron_W

·Mar 19, 2025

semdot14

I don't see the difference in fonts, just thicker as if this is the end of the stamps life or something. Maybe I am just being overly optimistic. I also have very little experience in this.

Subtle differences underlined and i dont know if it is proof of anything.

 

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semdot14

·Mar 19, 2025

Ron_W

Subtle differences underlined and i dont know if it is proof of anything.

I see what your saying. I would love for @Spacefruit to take a look at it. I can provide a few more photos from the seller if needed. Thank you everyone!

 

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djmusicman

·Mar 19, 2025

This one is fake, I can't remember where I found the photo now. I saved it on my computer as "Omega fake". The tell is that the dots about 160 and 170 are too far to the left.

 

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semdot14

·Mar 19, 2025

Here is a close-up of the 160 and 170. To my eye, the dots seem to be in the right location.

 

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djmusicman

·Mar 19, 2025

It's super hard to tell at this point, your bezel doesn't look new... But if the "Omega fake" I posted above had all the dots aligned and a few small scratches here and there it could have easily been passed off as original.

 

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pitbos

·Mar 19, 2025

djmusicman

This one is fake, I can't remember where I found the photo now. I saved it on my computer as "Omega fake". The tell is that the dots about 160 and 170 are too far to the left.

This one also looks like it’s missing the serifs.

Regarding the OP’s inquiry, I have come across other examples with similar font thickness:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/thoughts-on-105-003-65-ed-white-speedmaster.116887/

Thread 'Thoughts on 105.003-65 Ed White Speedmaster' ·

Hi all,

I just got my hands on a new Ed White Speedmaster which certainly is the nicest example I ever had the chance to hold in my hands. It was brought by and old man, the original owner to a...

321Only · Jul 18, 2020

 

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ZWD

·Mar 19, 2025

Here is a comparator using one of Speedmaster101's as a benchmark.
Key tip for trying to check a bezel is steady, high resolution shots with the camera as on axis to the bezel so minimal distortions are caused during alignment.