Hi all,

I recently picked up a Speedmaster LCD and it has a strange serial number. Most of these I've seen start with 42xxxxxx but this one has 00xxxxxx. I've read that these were produced for only one year in 1977. Is that correct? Does anyone know what's up with the "00" serial number?

 

It also has a gold inside caseback which is different than others I've seen. Is this a prototype watch?

 

That is most probably a prototype. 000XXXXX Serial sounds like that.

 

I know @kov did an excellent writeup here: https://omegaforums.net/threads/cal...uide-to-the-lcd-speedmaster-variations.62566/. What did stick out to me is how your caseback is gold, and Kovs is steel. I am sure he will be along shortly to share his views.

Cool watch!

 

Are you sure that’s not a gold colored sticker/film?

 

Yes it looks like a yellow transparent sticker…on top right you can see silver background apearing.

 

That’s a lot of prototypes over the years. Just because a sticker

May be a replacement movement. Can you be sure that the movement was in the watch when it left Omega

That movement has been pryed out of a watch or two over the years I would say.
Look at the damage at 6



https://omegaforums.net/threads/ome...riginal-condition-and-working-perfectl.32662/

A 39xxxxxx serial

https://www.luxify.com/listing/omeg...el-vintage-1978-cal-1620-reference-st-386-080

 

It might be a non-regular movement and the only way to eventually know more about it would be to research on it together with the Heritage team at Omega Museum.

If you consider this to be a prototype - I am not saying it is or it is not - you can start by comparing it literally one to one with a regular cal.1620 and do your research work. If it is a prototype, it might be different. See the comparison work I've done between the regular cal.1620 LCD Speedmasters and their cal.1621 Alaska IV cousins. There are differences, a lot of them. You can then share the results of your observations with the Heritage team who will try to match it with the documents they may have and you'll come up with a common theory.

Now, there's nothing that can prove this movement was in that case from the very beginning, unless it has a special prototype feature and the case is also special to allow the prototype movement fitting in. Compare it with another, regular one. Might well be that this regular watch failed at a certain point in time and the watchmaker happened to have a not for sale cal.1620 sample movement he's got back then in his training kit, during a Quartz training course... cal.1620 modules being not available at Omega anymore, he proposed his customer to fit his movement in and done.

Regarding the caseback, I second the sticker theory, nothing to me looks special here

 

Thanks for all the responses! This one is definitely a mystery. I'm debating sending it to Omega for restoration. Their prices aren't terrible for quartz movements and it would come with an extract which might be enlightening. The gold color on the caseback does appear to be a sticker (or film) but why would someone put it there? I am noticing the battery holder and bracelet ends are different than other examples.

My movement:




From another 186.0005:

 

maybe that film is to avoid direct contact of the metal caseback with the electric mouvement.

 

Battery holder has broken. You can see your movement has had a hard life with the case back of for a bit. All the tiny dents it the circuit board.

 

looks to me like your watch has had a hard life, having been rigiously attacked, as opposed to loving serviced.... The screw heads show evidence of poor choice of screw driver sizing, and the battery holder looks identical to me apart from yours having broken both the centre prong, that covers the " swiss assembled" and the bit that presses on the battery on the left......

 

This... I’ve seen it quite often. I assume it’s considered to reduce the chance of short-circuiting anything on the caseback.