Hello all - I am looking for my first vintage Speedy and have been considering this 145.022-69:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Pre...873448?hash=item3f6efadae8:g:xvsAAOSwx2dYJI4VPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

Verifying against MWO and Speedmaster101 with my untrained eyes, it seems like everything is correct except for the newer bracelet as noted by the seller. The dial appears very nice, the DON bezel looks good except for a couple of scratches above the TACH and between 100 and 100. The watch is the most expensive item by far currently offered by the seller, but the seller is a long time member.

Anything else that I miss? Thank you in advance for your help.

 

It looks nice to me, but too expensive by nearly half. I think the hour hand could be potentially replaced, as its lume looks a lot more even than the minute and chrono hands - maybe some photos in afternoon sunlight might help?

For the price asked though, it'd have to be perfect with a 1039 bracelet.

 

Well I am not sure we could find a 145.022-59 with a DO90 for $3200.

The bezel maybe....

 

Hah! Meant it's almost a 50% premium over the $4500 or so I think it's worth. Though perhaps the DO90 value alone has dragged the rest of the value up?

 

that makes sense

 

Having bought one of these in the last two weeks, I will at least share with you the mental checklist I went through when buying mine. I'm not an expert, I'm just sharing what went through my head, and a pic of the watch I bought, fwiw...

1. Bezel. We know a great condition DoN has gone ballistic in price, so figure $3k just for that. Yours looks to be pretty good, not collector condition, but damn good. So I would say "check!" on this. See mine below, pretty close to your ebay watch.
2. Case condition: unpolished without any major damage is best, sharp facets, light and normal wear and tear. check on this one too. Mine was damn near unpolished as well, but I have one side that really could use a gentle brush restoration. this ebay case looks great.
3. Dial and hands. Its best to inspect the dial under magnification, looking for spots, damage etc. Not possible for an ebay piece. The hands do look a little sketchy to me, too clean, but of all things I'd put this down to be minor. You have to take a flyer here based on the the pics you have.
4. Bracelet. Yours has a service replacement 1171/1, not terrible, but not a 1039 with 516 endlinks. I think this knocks some value off. Condition of bracelet is hard to assess in pics, but lets say its in good shape and move on. Mine came with a nice 1039 with 516 endlinks, it had a few missing stretch links but was enough to fit me, and I have a couple extras I could transfer from another 1039 I own.
5. Caseback and movement. Your caseback has some gouges, but hey, its the back so who cares! I'd say a minor annoyance. Movement is the right serial range and looks pretty good to me. In my case, my o-ring was completely vulcanized (which in a way was good, it was definitely the original oring from '69!!). I'd say check on this.
6. Crown and pushers... you want originals of course, looks like a check here.

So. I payed $5800 for mine, with 1039, perfect dial and matching hands. I don't know if this was a good deal or not. I don't know if your ebay watch is a good deal or not. Does a few hundred bucks matter that much? Is having a 1039 a deal breaker for you? I don't think the watch on Ebay is that out of line, maybe offer him less and see? Good luck.

 

@repoman Did you report the crime?

That's a steal at that price with the 1039/516 and that bezel! congrats.

 

Astonishing your watch and very accurate your analysis!
I agree to this and I would say that the watch on ebay is worth as a collectable watch..that definitely could be, adding is own 1039 bracelet!
cheers

 

Thank you all for your feedback

@repoman I am on board with your very thorough checklist. I would be wiling to pay what you did for your watch, and am thinking about no more than 5K for the Ebay one minus the 1171/1 bracelet - of course the seller may disagree with my assessment!