I know prices have been climbing steadily for premoons, but $33k for an Ed White? It's an ok example, but really?
I guess whatever the market will bear. As they say, you don't need alot of buyers....just one will do.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Omega-105-00...456448?hash=item2836492a40:g:qA0AAOSwfRdZMUnnPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

I'm pretty sure this one has been discussed before, but when listed on their website rather than eBay.

 

Prices are rocketing, but that does look a premium price.
However, I just wonder whether it will look like a bargain in a few years time.
I wish I'd bought a handful of Rolex Paul Newman Daytonas a while ago when they seemed pretty expensive.
Now I can only dream about owning one !!

 

hes pricing 1 year ahead of time

 

I struggle to believe a reasonably good 105.003 is a $30k watch, now or in a years time.

Then again, a couple of years ago, there was a thread here where no one really thought an Ed White would be a $10k watch. In hindsight, given the comparison between early Speedmasters and vintage Daytonas etc, it should have been clear that a market correction was a possibility. Still, 30+k for an Ed White? I don't see it.

 

I've heard of a tropical EW recently selling for $40k.

 

That doesn't count! All bets are off with genuine, attractive tropical dials

 

The true price is what the buyer will pay and the seller will accept. . period. Econ 101. I'm pretty sure nobody things paying over $1M for a Paul Newman is reasonable or even a good investment, but it's happening. I never thought of my watch hobby as an investment, and truly bought and traded what I enjoyed. . . some pieces are going up, others not so much. It's how you want to play the game and what your goals are. Interesting, the new higher end watch market is tanking , yet the small number of us still desiring Vintage is driving up prices. . . not really sure if the millenials will feel the same way .

 

Can we replace the term "Tropical" with "Damaged"? I thought Rolex would replace the ruined (sorry, Tropical) dials when the watches came for service because they were embarrased and gave a new black service dial. . . In a similar vain, perhaps some jewelers in the crowd may recall when colored diamonds were rejected - noone wanted them. .. now the craze is to find a yellow, blue, pink, or "chocolate" diamond. . . marketing . . . pure marketing and perception.

 

NOPE! I like pure marketing and perception and I much prefer the term 'Tropical' or even 'Brown Dial'. Particularly when it cranks the price of my watch up over a black dial.££££££ I get your point mate, but the term 'damaged' is gonna reduce the value of my 1965 brown dial Speedmaster significantly.

On a serious note, there are a couple of 'damaged' dial 105.012 Speedmasters knocking about on Chrono24. Now I know they are not Ed Whites, but they are going for well over $20,000. Granted, they haven't moved at that price yet, but the fact is...they are on there at that absurd price! That's got to be a good sign for owners of similar 'damaged dial' watches, who would offer them at more reasonable prices on ebay or on this forum.

By the way... I'm only having a laugh mate! to prove it here is (yet another) photograph of my damaged dial watch. If your not keen on the colour of the dial, black ones are available???

 

Actually with your photo I like the appearance of your brown cow dial . . . I had read a thread that there's a group of unscroupulous "entrepreneurs" purchasing black dials and photo-aging them to brown (or even perhaps blue). I'm not sure of the exact oxidative stress process that is creating the browns, I believe it's related to UV exposure from the sun that is affecting some of the older black pigments and turning the blacks to brown. I suppose putting a black original dial under enough light/heat could also cause same effects and not sure how one could even detect a natural gradual patina/aging vs. a sped up process. It just seems like the added values being placed on the "Tropical" dials (specifically Rolex) at some of the auctions is hard to justify. . but again, if one loves it and has the means to pay. . . one will. I appreciate your sense of humor and posting of your watch (which. . . is gorgeous, if you want to sell LMK

 

Are you selling it anytime soon?

 

Yeah I was joking mate and if I'm honest @WatchArt ... you make a fair point regarding the description.
Most of photo's I have of my watch are family shots from the 1970's and 1980's. At that point in time the dial still looked fairly black. I inherited the watch in 2003. I put it in a soft spectacles pouch, which I kept it in a cardboard box in a cupboard or in my bedroom chest of drawers and shut it away for 14 years until last October. I can't remember if the dial was brown in 2003 but it is now.

Cheers
Jonathan.

 

My brown dial is certainly damaged, and I love it.

 

That's an interesting question @arcadelt. I posted an extensive thread recently that was based on family photo's of my Dad going back to the 1960's. A lot of people said they enjoyed the family history of my watch and there is no doubt that the watch has a considerable nostalgic value simply because it was 'my Dad's watch'. If I were a well off chap I would keep the watch and pass it on to my daughter and grandchildren. If I popped my clogs tomorrow my darling daughter would have this watch on ebay by Monday morning.

The fact is I'm not really a chap that would be able to buy a new Speedmaster at £3400, so the idea of me walking around with a vintage 1960's Speedmaster, worth a lot more than a new one, is not really a sensible option. I work on sandy, salty beaches so the potential for damage is high. I don't want to just put it away in a box and be saving up for the next 5 years in anticipation of it's next STS service in 2022. All in all, for me, the potential risk of loss or damage is too great. It's a shame but that's how it is.

Yes it is a lovely 'Father leaves watch to Son story' and I appreciate the nice 'posts' and 'likes' that my thread attracted in this forum. But I must be straight with you guys. The fact is, I came on this forum originally to find out if it was worth anything and how to go about selling it. I knew Omega were good quality watches but had no idea of it's desirability or it's potential value as a financial asset.

Knowing my Dad, if he were here today, he would say " IT'S WORTH HOW MUCH BOY? FAKK MY OLD BOOTS! We've had it 50 years... it's done it's job son...now flog it before you make a bol#@*ks of it or lose it!" (I can here him saying those words...he had a polite turn of phrase)

Having said that, since joining this forum, I have now become very interested in watches and in particular the Omega Speedmaster. So, in answer to your question:

A) I may be keeping the 1171/633 bracelet (which has as much nostalgic value to me as the watch head) and, if possible, buying a cheaper modern Speedmaster head, that will fit an 1171/633, so that I can continue to wear my Dad's old 1970's bracelet, with a Speedy, everyday without worrying.

B) Sadly, I won't be able to keep the vintage 105.012 head indefinitely. The pushers are original and the crown is vintage and correct, so it does not have the ability to resist water in the way a watch serviced with new parts would. If it got wet the vintage 321 movement could be damaged. I can't justify the expense or risk of loss or damage given my level of earnings.

C) AT THE MOMENT THE WATCH IS NOT FOR SALE AND THIS IS NOT A SALES POST (anyway I can't sell it just yet. @oddboy will take the piss) . IF THE WATCH DOES BECOME AVAILABLE, I WOULD OFFER IT IN THE CORRECT MANNER ON THE SALES FORUM ON THIS WEBSITE.

D) When it is the right time to part with it you chaps on Omega Forums will be the first to know. The watch has now been seen and examined by forum members at the May 2017 London 'meet up' and It won't be offered on any other website as I like the transparency and open comment that takes place on the sales forum here.

Thankyou for your interest @arcadelt .

Jonathan.

 

Blimey @oddboy ... that is absolutely beautiful!

 

Is that your 479th post @nonuffinkbloke? (Echoing my comment on your 200th post )

Thanks for the compliment. Yours ain't too shabby too!

 

Thankyou for remembering mate Fakk my old boots! It's 3:40am here in England... I'm off to bed before @Spacefruit comes along to give me another bollocking! Hopefully he's too busy updating the Speedmaster101 price chart for June 2017 and bumping our watches up a bit more!

 

My dial is damaged also and i like it... Unfortunately thé hands are brown also... So doubled damaged... No luck

And 2 of the Sub counter are darker... But i like to imaginate this is a Unique a386/ed white prototype

 

I will take them all..
just pm me..