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MtV
·Fair warning: This will be rather lengthy and picture-heavy. If you need a TL;DR: I bought an Ed White and I like it. 
Pictures/text will probably be split over two posts, as the forum software doesn't seem to be too happy with the volume of data.
As I'm writing this, it’s raining cats and dogs outside, but the most famous virus of our time confines me to my apartment anyway. I guess the timing to drop a few lines on a recent arrival couldn’t be much better. So here goes, the reason for some recent sales of mine, a Speedmaster 105.003-63 “Asymmetrical T”, also known as an “Ed White”.
Why this model?
Well. The way Speedmasters cast a spell over me is twofold – design and heritage.
I’ve always liked straight lug Speedies visually. The symmetry of the case, the lack of PROFESSIONAL that made for a cleaner, less busy appearance of the dial, and also the size. Ca. 39mm seems to hit the sweet spot for me.
In terms of design, an example featuring a lollipop chrono hand would be the pinnacle to me.
When it comes to the history, though, the coolest story of them all is the one of the first Omega in space, of Edward Higgins “Ed” White II. I’d say the Moonwatch-legacy is well-recognized, even among many people outside of our small bubble. But the fact that there was an Omega in space a few years prior to the moon landing is significantly less known, which I find intriguing. It’s been established that the exact reference he was wearing (two of them, actually) is the 105.003-63. Here’s an article by Fratello on the matter: https://www.fratellowatches.com/why-ed-white-wore-two-speedmaster-105-003-watches/
So this EW combines the two major attributes I’m looking for: It has 99% of the design (only lacking the inexplicably elegant lollipop chrono hand), and, being the correct sub-reference, 100% of the heritage.
Finding it – the right place, the right time
There’s a domestic “fleemarket” platform here that I’ve been scrolling through regularly for a few years. Or rather “had been scrolling through”, as I hadn’t been online for a few months until that one day a couple of weeks ago. I was waiting somewhere and had a handful of minutes to kill. My usual, broad search was merely for “Omega”, and sure enough, there it was. The pictures weren’t plentiful, but they were sufficient to give me that tingle in the stomach, the feeling that this might actually be rather special. A message was sent to the seller, and to the much more knowledgeable @Aludic , kindly asking for his opinion. He’s not exactly a loud person and I haven’t known him to use caps lock, but it didn’t take too long for the following messages to pop up on my phone screen:
Shortly after, the seller called. A few minutes in, I knew I’d take it.
We ended up speaking for 15 minutes and again for a good hour the following day – and he couldn’t have been more pleasant. Not only did he happily take all further pictures I was asking for, but he turned out to be a like-minded collector, trying to gather some funds for a grail purchase of his own. And boy, did he have something to offer, as it wasn’t simply the Ed White. He had bought it only a few years ago from the original owner, and it came with the box, the 7912/6 flat link bracelet, and quite some paperwork. The latter included the extract of the archives, original papers and some later service papers of the watch, all bearing the same name. It was returned from the service with most of the exchanged parts, among which are an original plexi and (weirdly) three pushers. The only missing part that I was hoping for was the 24-tooth, original B1 crown.
This wasn’t a dealbreaker, of course, and agreeing on a price merely took us a couple of seconds.
What followed was a little more complicated though: The transaction. We both had busy schedules and quickly realized that, with 600km between us, it’d be over a week until we could actually meet. He promised to reserve the watch for me, didn’t want a deposit and kindly offered to meet me half-way, but I must admit: the suspense was killing me.
When the day of days finally arrived, despite a 2:45am alarm, I was very much awake, energized, excited. The journey seemed to take ages, and as I approached our meeting point I felt an unusual tension grow in me. After all, I had never made a watch purchase in that ballpark before and still couldn’t believe I was about to become the proud owner of such a spectacular Ed White. But I needn’t have worried. We sat down in a McDonald’s at the highway – classy, I know – and it was all smooth sailing. A very enthusiastic and friendly watch-nerd, we could’ve chatted watches for much longer than our schedules allowed us to and we’ll definitely stay in touch. With what felt like a heavy backpack and a huge smile on my face, I started my way home, and even the hour and a half I was stationary in a traffic jam wasn’t bothering me. After all, I had something rather lovely to play with.
Pictures/text will probably be split over two posts, as the forum software doesn't seem to be too happy with the volume of data.As I'm writing this, it’s raining cats and dogs outside, but the most famous virus of our time confines me to my apartment anyway. I guess the timing to drop a few lines on a recent arrival couldn’t be much better. So here goes, the reason for some recent sales of mine, a Speedmaster 105.003-63 “Asymmetrical T”, also known as an “Ed White”.
Why this model?
Well. The way Speedmasters cast a spell over me is twofold – design and heritage.
I’ve always liked straight lug Speedies visually. The symmetry of the case, the lack of PROFESSIONAL that made for a cleaner, less busy appearance of the dial, and also the size. Ca. 39mm seems to hit the sweet spot for me.
In terms of design, an example featuring a lollipop chrono hand would be the pinnacle to me.
When it comes to the history, though, the coolest story of them all is the one of the first Omega in space, of Edward Higgins “Ed” White II. I’d say the Moonwatch-legacy is well-recognized, even among many people outside of our small bubble. But the fact that there was an Omega in space a few years prior to the moon landing is significantly less known, which I find intriguing. It’s been established that the exact reference he was wearing (two of them, actually) is the 105.003-63. Here’s an article by Fratello on the matter: https://www.fratellowatches.com/why-ed-white-wore-two-speedmaster-105-003-watches/
So this EW combines the two major attributes I’m looking for: It has 99% of the design (only lacking the inexplicably elegant lollipop chrono hand), and, being the correct sub-reference, 100% of the heritage.
Finding it – the right place, the right time
There’s a domestic “fleemarket” platform here that I’ve been scrolling through regularly for a few years. Or rather “had been scrolling through”, as I hadn’t been online for a few months until that one day a couple of weeks ago. I was waiting somewhere and had a handful of minutes to kill. My usual, broad search was merely for “Omega”, and sure enough, there it was. The pictures weren’t plentiful, but they were sufficient to give me that tingle in the stomach, the feeling that this might actually be rather special. A message was sent to the seller, and to the much more knowledgeable @Aludic , kindly asking for his opinion. He’s not exactly a loud person and I haven’t known him to use caps lock, but it didn’t take too long for the following messages to pop up on my phone screen:
Shortly after, the seller called. A few minutes in, I knew I’d take it.
We ended up speaking for 15 minutes and again for a good hour the following day – and he couldn’t have been more pleasant. Not only did he happily take all further pictures I was asking for, but he turned out to be a like-minded collector, trying to gather some funds for a grail purchase of his own. And boy, did he have something to offer, as it wasn’t simply the Ed White. He had bought it only a few years ago from the original owner, and it came with the box, the 7912/6 flat link bracelet, and quite some paperwork. The latter included the extract of the archives, original papers and some later service papers of the watch, all bearing the same name. It was returned from the service with most of the exchanged parts, among which are an original plexi and (weirdly) three pushers. The only missing part that I was hoping for was the 24-tooth, original B1 crown.
This wasn’t a dealbreaker, of course, and agreeing on a price merely took us a couple of seconds.
What followed was a little more complicated though: The transaction. We both had busy schedules and quickly realized that, with 600km between us, it’d be over a week until we could actually meet. He promised to reserve the watch for me, didn’t want a deposit and kindly offered to meet me half-way, but I must admit: the suspense was killing me.
When the day of days finally arrived, despite a 2:45am alarm, I was very much awake, energized, excited. The journey seemed to take ages, and as I approached our meeting point I felt an unusual tension grow in me. After all, I had never made a watch purchase in that ballpark before and still couldn’t believe I was about to become the proud owner of such a spectacular Ed White. But I needn’t have worried. We sat down in a McDonald’s at the highway – classy, I know – and it was all smooth sailing. A very enthusiastic and friendly watch-nerd, we could’ve chatted watches for much longer than our schedules allowed us to and we’ll definitely stay in touch. With what felt like a heavy backpack and a huge smile on my face, I started my way home, and even the hour and a half I was stationary in a traffic jam wasn’t bothering me. After all, I had something rather lovely to play with.
Edited:
