Omega Speedmaster 105.012-66 HF on an auction (in a bad shape)!

Forum Folks - time for another Speedy auction!

But this time, it will be a little different.

We often look after the nice watches (condition, condition, condition!!), and they are very nice and fun to win on an auction!
But this one is the complete opposite….🙃

I think that there could be three categories of people who would want this watch…
And we are of course talking about a watch with a very low price!

A first time Speedy owner
Speedy project people
Those who butcher the watch, and sell the pieces

I myself thought that at first glance, this could be a fun project watch,
but after spending some time looking at the pictures, I dropped the idea!!!

But let's look at the watch, and assess it?

The dial….brrrr….the lume is toasted, and looks really awful!
The dial itself (the black) has a very uneven and bubbly surface, with white dots spread out.
I have a feeling that the watch has had some swimming time…?

A relume would make the lume nice again, but the dial itself is very hard to improve - Very Poor

The bezel - lots and lots of marks, dings and scratches - Poor Plus

The hands - not so attractive, the hour subdial has discoloration - Fair Minus

The case - it has lost its sharpness, lots of dings and marks, with a previous polish.

The caseback - sharp and nice edge, but sadly some ugly case opening scratches.

So case and caseback - Fair Minus

The crown is not correct…
But there are the lovely pushers - YAY!

The movement looks very dirty, and a lot of screwheads have damages.
There are also parts that have scratches...the movement is working...
The movement should clean up during the service, and maybe change some of the screws?

There is the bracelet - a 1039 with one 516 endlink…


So how do people think about the watch?
In total, I think that the watch is a Fair Minus….(some might disagree??)
The value for this one should be going on Fair 3300 € / 3800 $ (following Speedmaster101´s price chart),
and around 3000 € / 3500 $ for Fair Minus.
Plus the bracelet, maybe 900 € /1100 $?


To get the watch correct, there is a lot to do:

Finding a Good dial - it should roughly cost 1500 €/ 1800 $
A correct crown - 500 € / 600 $
A 516 endlink - 500 € / 600 $
The hands need to be adjusted, 100 € / 120 $

The numbers above are of course very rough, there are always nice deals to make…😉
And the buyer could have a nice smooth dial, but in need for a relume.

To sum it all up, around 6900 € / 7720 $!

And the service is not included, I always service my auction watches (if there is no proof of a recent service).

Could it be worth doing this?
Well..not for me!
The bezel could be upgraded, but the case and caseback are what they are!

But somebody wanted the watch, and there were lots and lots of bids.
The watch had a very low estimate, and people often get fooled with this…
The hammer fell att 5000 € /5900 $ including the premium.
Adding up (with my calculation) to make the watch pleasing, with 2600 €/ 3120 $, this becomes a very expensive Speedy!!

We are talking about 7600 € / 9020 $!

To just keep the watch, find an endlink, service the watch and live with it…is that even an option?

Or just butcher the watch, and sell the pieces…?

What do you Guys and Gals think?
Am I waaaay lost regarding my valuation?

Enjoy the pictures, and please do comment?
I would love a nice and pleasing debate!

Here are some of the white dots!

I think your assessment is spot on. I bet whoever bought this thought they’d just get a service and the dial relumed and have a nice’ish daily wearer, but that last photo of yours makes me think the dial is probably very poor. It’s never going to be a beauty queen without replacing nearly all the parts and I don’t think you could turn much profit by parting it out either. What’s really strange is that there are some very attractive Speedies for sale at not much more than this if you look around.

Every time a 105.012 shows up on an auction with a low estimate, there is a lot of biding,
but maybe the bidders did not check out the pictures so closely?
I tried to figure out what all the parts were worth, and the value of everything was nowhere near the final price!

It would be fun if this watch came up here on the Forum!
Hopefully with a newcomer that has lots of questions?
😀

Agree with most, but the bezel is certainly better than a “poor” grade. Still does not justify the price but from your description I expected worse.
Thanks, always a good read.