hi all I saw this and wondered if it was worth a punt - bezel is a bit tatty and the lume on the markers appears to have crumbled off in parts... so it's a little shabby but might well look good on a decent leather strap. It has bracelet 1125 with 617 end links currently. What do you reckon? thanks Ewan
Looks like a good, honest watch that hasn't been messed with too much. Obvious lume issues and not the best bezel insert, but there are worse out there. Good, strong lugs. Would need to see a movement pic and caseback shot. Is there an asking price?
It would be nice to see a shot in natural light. I bet the plots look better than they do in those pics.. they don't look great in the pics. As aaakk says though, that case looks pretty nice. No sure about the hands, they look pretty pristine, but those are easier to remedy than the dial. Down to price... definitely check out the movement before buying.
Noticed that you've observed a few times that hands looked new while in fact, like these ones, they looked old and patinated. Perhaps because you've been looking at a BlackBerry screen? Try a more decent screen to see if anything's different?
Possibly, I will take a look on a proper screen. I can see that the lume is slightly yellowed, but I'm never sure. Maybe I've not seen enough new ones to know what SL looks like by comparison. The chrono hand looks vintage. Is the yellow tinge all it takes?
Thanks for the thoughts so far. The seller (a provincial auctioneer) hasn't provided any details of the movement (serial no or pics) and says that the watch operates but the chrono doesn't work, so it's presumably in a bit of a state and would need a major service...
Like the look of it, especially the case. It should be a black rehaut and not silver though. But still, quite nice.
And again: it all comes down to the price ;-) What is his asking price? Or is it an auction? Wondering about the period correctness of the bracelet though..
That's in a terrible state and just the way I like them. That said its not quite a barn find. I agree the hands look replacements. So I don't think it is quite an original barn find untouched watch. That makes me worry about the internals. Are you sure it's a 105.003? What is the source of your information? On a watch like this, it could be anything until we can confirm the case back engraving and the movement serial. I have opened watches that look like this and found a 2915-3 and a 24m serial. All that said the likelihood is that it is a 105.003, a later one, with a poor bezel, questionable hands, a fair case and a fair dial. The plots are "algae" and not the most valuable. It needs a full service by someone with parts - not a highly skilled ex omega employee because no matter the level of skill, this watch will probably need movement parts. Watches like this are very desirable as they are usable and should not be valuable. Unfortunately no matter where the auction is, the chances are that someone will overpay, in the heat of the moment, and perhaps forget the commission to be added. Best of luck. I'd try for it!
Thanks William. Of course, I can't be certain it's a kosher 105.003 without opening it up. I've asked the auctioneer to get it opened and send me the serial no and a pic of the movement... so we'll see. EDIT: Auctioneer has now spoken to the vendor, and agreed to get a jeweller to open it up and record details etc. Seems like they're starting to realise it's a bit more sought after than they thought.
Wow. The auctioneer managed to get some more pics of the watch and confirmed the serial number looks to be a late 105.003-65. They listed the watch as estimate £500-700 (!) but opened the bidding at £2380 and eventually sold for £3800. With fees, that makes a barely operational watch a very expensive buy for somebody - http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/a...0079/lot-7819e495-b0a2-4967-8dd5-a4ae009c5580#
Ewan, you are going to be meteorically lucky if you find a 105.003 that none of this lot have spotted....
Love the original 500-700 estimate. 4,655 is a bit much for this offering for sure. Great story. Thanks for sharing.
they are still arround...picked this up 2 days ago. ok, its not THAT barn find, hands and crown are replaced some time ago, but i like the dial and it comes with #6 endlinks. Now its time to clean it up from that DNA...