Hi everyone,

First time poster. I'm the proud owner of a 1970's Speedmaster Mark II. I'm a little concerned, however, after looking at it under the loupe. The minute register ( 3'o clock) seems to have a different hand than the running seconds & hour register. It seems to be slightly whiter w/ open center vs. the slightly yellower w/ closed center hands on the other two registers. See attached pictures. Am I nuts or did I pick up a watch with some skeleton parts?

Thanks,
Griffin

 

The hands all look correct for the watch but that isn't to say that any (or all) of them have not been replaced at some time in its life.

Those three hands all started life with paint over the whole hand but when they are pressed on after a service or maybe even during manufacture, the paint often flakes off of the pipe. This leaves it with the effect you are seeing. As none of the hands, including the chronograph second hand, have the bare metal of the pipe showing, I would hazard a guess that they have all been replaced at some point in the last 40 odd years.

 

Ditch the loupe.

 

...as in: looking at your watches under a loop will make you aware of any and all little quirks with the watch, and once you've seen them, you can't unsee them. It will drive you bonkers.

 

Thanks Stewart. The watch has noticeable wear all over & runs incredibly slow ( > 15 mins a day ). So I wouldn't be surprised if it's never been serviced. But good to know that it's at least close to normal

 

Thanks guys. It's a fair point. This is my first watch purchase via auction so I'm probably a bit sensitive

 

I would say the minute hand is newer than the others, when you buy new hands from Omega they are not painted over the small hole - or at least the ones I have bought from Omega are not painted over

 

Get that poor thing serviced then wear the living heck out of it. Nice speedy.

 

Thanks for the info everyone. Can't wait to get it back from servicing. Not sure why people think the Mark II don't work on straps. I think it looks great.

 

Agree about the straps