Some guidance would be much appreciated.
One owner, sits in a gun safe. Original bezel went MIA in the '70s, had major service by Omega in Switzerland in 2010. Have all the original parts, has an Omega alligator deployment buckle strap on it currently. I have no heirs and I've come to learn the Speedmaster community is rather enthusiastic. I figure this needs a better home. Open to suggestions as to how to best proceed. Cheers.

 

great watch and story

 

needs a lot of work to get back...... regulator needs to put back as well. is the speedmaster stamping still readable on the outside flank of the caseback? you need a watchmaker , who knows how this early ones should look, to re fit the parts in your little bag. the missing bezel devalues it a lot. get a new steel replacement bezel from omega, use the Rolex bezel tightening tool very carefully to fit it to this case , disclose it and sell it through private channels/chrono24/Fora and offer it as well to Phillips for the november auction in geneva. they might decline because of the missing bezel or may be not, because of your papers..... good luck ! kind regards. achim

 

Wow, nice watch and papers.
Proceed with caution!
I don’t see the old bezel in the bag which is unfortunate as I believe these are worth $1,000s
I’m sure other can offer more and better advice regarding where to sell if you wish to.

 

Find a small hard case and very carefully put those old hands in it. You want to ensure they don't get bounced around so as to damage the lume but more so that there's no risk of bending of damaging them. Please note that they are painted with radium which is something you really don't want to be breathing in or handling - leave them in the bag and put everything inside a plastic box or similar.

Now that's said, what you have is a very desirable watch that's no longer in original condition. A collector would love to own that watch but they will also want to ensure it's brought back to original condition. They will also want control of that process.

Contact Phillips, as suggested above, and talk to their watch department about how to proceed. Given that you have the important original hands, along with papers, I don't see why they wouldn't want to handle the sale. They may have the hands re-fitted. Alternately, for all its flaws, you will be amazed at how well this would sell on eBay.

 

This lovely watch has value despite no original bezel or bracelet. Fortunately you have many of the original parts.
I agree not to have a watchmaker put everything back together, let the buyer do this how he wants.
And yes, keep away from touching any radium and keep things sealed and stowed carefully.

I suggest contacting the big auction houses or possibly a speedmaster dealer such as Davidoff Bros.
And read all you can about these on prior OF posts, etc, so you can deal with strength with whoever helps you sell it.

Or, if that's too much work, I could just forward you my address, I have a very nice home !

 

Those Omega papers look positively ancient, great find!

 

Oh look, another skirting the rules for sale thread. By now OP probably has 100s of PMs in the inbox.

 

There is always one. This is great to see, and a valuable post. If someone here wants to make the OP an offer then they are the ones skirting the rules. This is fantastic to see, thanks for showing us the watch and particularly the papers!

I am not sure where you are located, I am guessing in the USA? Finding a vintage Omega specialist, and getting the original parts refitted would be nice, but as has been said the Original hands should be kept very carefully. They add many thousands of dollars to the value of the watch.

The original papers make this incredibly special,(fabulous dial too) and I think a large Auction House is the right route to go. Christies, Philips or Sotheby's?

This watch has to be worth $100k-250k in the right sale so don't give it away!

 

OP:

Somewhat different scenario, but you may want to read this educational thread ... if you haven't already.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/possibly-a-speedmaster-2915.92030/

 

Let's be careful here folks. OP is probably perfectly genuine, but you never know...

 

Wow, Rare watch.

This is not a sales skirting post FFS.

To the OP, if your inbox isnt full of offers by now it should be.Be very careful. More than half will try to buy it just to re sell. (Not a crime, but you wont be getting full value).

I personally would take your time, let the dust settle. I would not approach dealers just yet. They are in the business of making as much money as they can between you and the buyer. And often the buyer might be here already on this forum. There are some very good people on this forum, but also some dozy chancers. You could give $40,000 to a dealer or learn to tell the difference.

The value lies in the concept that this is an honest watch with a paper. the downside is all the replaced parts, of original parts.. Recent sales of 2915's have been all over the place, but with good reason. Unoriginal and cloudy history.

This watch is worth about $60 to $100,000 depending on how it is presented, marketed and put together - and also the condition of the dial and case when viewed in hand. It could be more. The photos are not going to tell me. If I was a gambler I would say more, but I am not in a gambly mood right now, nor are many of my collector contemporaries.

I would say that while this has the attraction of the papers, and known work, it suffers badly from naive intervention. It is possible the dial had some lume applied, i cannot tell.

I am afraid that it is one of those classic cases where you can say if it is worth $100,000 today, it would have been $150,000 without the service work.

Lastly, get it to Simon Freese in UK even if you have to fly there. I have used people all over the world and none have the understanding of vintage pieces like him. I am sure others will have similar feelings about other vintage watch restorers but I personally have not used them.

 

Hmmm. We need to be realistic. All the OP said is "I figure this needs a better home. Open to suggestions as to how to best proceed. Cheers."
The bloke has come to the right place for guidance. It's not exactly a blatant sales post.

A 2915 Omega Speedmaster is involved in this enquiry and we are members of an international club for Omega watch enthusiasts. There is no way in the world that our Speedmaster enthusiasts are not going to be getting a bit of a 'tingle' over this one.

To the OP:
You don't need to "find" a local watchmaker. Far more important is the level of expertise. The post by @Spacefruit above has pointed you in the right direction.
http://www.simonfreesewatchmakers.com

 

He made it very clear he was looking for advice. I never had the feeling he was trying to sell NOW but would be selling later.

I'm a little surprised by the dial. It appears to be original but has very little color for a radium dial. It appears to me to have been "scraped." With all the service parts installed, it seems odd that Omega didn't install a service dial in 2010.

At the risk of becoming too philosophical, nonuffin used the word "tingly" to describe the feeling watches like this elicit, and he's right. In just the last month or so, I've seen this and two other "barn" or "sock drawer" Speedmasters, one was a bit confused 2998-1, I believe, and the other was a 2915. They seemed to be honest pieces, as does this one, and each time I see one of them I get a feeling that I can only compare to being a younger man and seeing a beautiful woman, or ten beautiful women, and feeling a little sad I couldn't (and I want to choose the proper word here) get to know all of them. This must be simple greed at work, but these beautiful and rare time pieces give me that same feeling, in a way. And in the same way that I was always happy to see one of those beautiful women fall in love and marry, I'm happy for the owners of these "found" watches yet still want to add them all to my collection. Too bad there isn't a "wistful contemplation" emoji.

 

For a moment I thought there was a lollipop in that bag . Yes, it would have been wrong. Hour hand at least has lost (most) of its lume. Second @Spacefruit, get it to Mr. Freese or STS to be put back together.
Question to the wider audience: would a relume damage value further or actually increase it given there is nothing there?

 

Better to leave that choice to the buyer.

 

Maybe, but one of the highest sales prices for a 2915 was for a watch with a re lumed (and noted in the description) and attractive dial, so it's worth considering for a seller. I dare say that watch would have sold for less at auction with the dial from this watch.

 

I would say to relume. But depends who is reluming it.

 

let's take an exception to this rare piece. rules are rules, but we cannot close our eyes to see this going through the hammer or simple private offer, as long as we are aware of its happily ever after ending.