I don't know anything about speedies so I could not comment on the claims, but the sensible thing to do is to hold your hands up, admit you fed up and offer a reasonable solution. Full refund, replacement watch, or get it sorted. Any excuses are just going to effect the reputation of the seller.
I can never really understand why Hodinkee is so popular and hyped in the first place. Is it because, unlike most watch websites they have a more young, proactive, modern approach and image ?
I believe the person responsible for creating this listing at Hodinkee has actually responded to this in another thread. Maybe Louis will chime in here as well.
Already addressed in another thread. But yes it's interesting https://omegaforums.net/threads/thoughts-on-this-145-012-or-105-012.38156/