2015 ended well, and 2016 started with a bang on the 300 front. The 1966 165.024 arrived today, and it was better than anticipated with an original Naiad crown, what appears to be an unpolished HF case, and a great patina (not as dark as the '67) on the dial, hands and bezel. I wanted to share the side by side differences of the HF (on top) vs. CB (on bottom) case and bezel as I thought they were interesting.
Like the Speedie105.012-66 CB, the Seamasters 165.024CB and 166.024CB also have a horizontal "flat top" but much less pronounced than the Speedie. Nice pair!
VERY well done! Lovely specimen, both of them. I have never thought of that there are both HF and CB cased 165.024. Thanks for sharing new insight!
Thanks for all of the kind words. I need to get a set of digital calipers because I swear, the HF case seems a hair bit smaller than the CB case. It could be an optical illusion, as the domed crystal coupled with the smaller font on the bezel as compared to the CB version most likely makes a difference. The the bevels vary as well, and I attribute that to whomever was on the lathe that day in Bienne. Interestingly enough, under a loop, there are rather crude tool marks on the knurls of the bezel on the HF version, much more so than the CB. I showed both watches to my wife, side by side, and she clearly said, "they are two different watches"...and then questioned herself afterwards as she took a closer look. I always like to show my watches to her untrained eye to pick out things that I might miss. When I initially bought this my thought was, "2 300s...that is silly", yet after having it and noticing that the subtle differences actually make a huge impact on the watch, I am now thinking that 3,4, and 5 might make sense if the stars align!
The CB Seamaster case also shows the thinner side facet that is seen on CB Speedies. Nice pair. Loving the lume colour on the CB as well.