Omega Speedmaster 105.012-66 HF on an auction!

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One of the major Swedish auction houses had their autumn auction yesterday, and there were lots of nice watches!
There was a nice Daytona 6263, a lovely Explorer 1655, and of course a bunch of Speedys!

The one that caught my attention was a 105.012-66 (my beloved reference…😁)
This one looked very promising and DIRTY, and the estimate was very low….which is actually worth zero!
The auction house is very skilled in marketing, and has lots of platforms, so this one had got a lot of attention.
And it would ofcourse blow over the high estimate!


I started to look at the pictures they had on the web site, and got really interested.
But when I looked closer at the pictures I noticed engravings on the backside of the lugs…

I am not so fond of these, but I could live with them (maybe…).


According to the auction house, this was a one owner watch, and had been sleeping since the eighties.


But assessing the quality of the watch…hmmmm....

The dial and lume looked very nice, based on the pictures.
There were many scratches and lots of dirt on the crystal, so not the easiest thing to judge.
But the crystal had the old Omega logo!

The chronohand had a weird discoloration, and there where watchmaker marks on the center of the hands.

The bezel had som scratches, and a couple of dings.
And it had a lot of dirt, and maybe fading between the 66 and 74 marker.

The case had visible brushings on the sides, but not the sharpest edges, and some of the dings/marks looked a bit soft also, so a mild watchmaker polish..?
The case back had a deep watchmaker mark, and looked a bit soft.

Original crown and the lovely fat and shortnecked pushers.

The movement picture looked clean, with a few molested screw heads.
There was chrono creep, and the movement was in need for a service.

Another strange thing - the dustcover looked really dirty…?


This watch didn't actually light up my Do You Like The Watchometer…..
Once cleaned and serviced (with an adjustment to the chonohand and stabilizing the other hands), it would be a lovely watch,
but there were a few things that I did not like, and I did not want to bother the auction house for more info and pictures....


Value?

Dial (assuming that it was clean) - Very Good
Lume - Good
some of the idices had lost some color, and had some dirt/darker marks.
Bezel Fair
The case - Good minus and the case back Fair, the etching on the lugs are a bit boring...
The hands need attention - Fair
The movement looked ok, and after a service (and maybe change some screws…) Good
The crown and pushers were ok - so this adds up the value

It also had a 1039 bracelet, but it had engravings on the links - value - maybe 1000 € /1100 $?
A one owner watch is always nice, so adding it all upp and using Speedmaster101´s lovely chart,

this would set the value around (for me!) roughly around 7000 €/ 7500 $

The lot came up and the auction started, there were lots of bids,
and the hammer finally fell on 10450 € / 11300 $ including the premium!
That sets the value (minus the bracelet) a bit under Very Good!

Maybe the Speedy market is coming back, or could it be that nice conditioned pieces don't come up so often?

Your thoughts?

And one more thing…I don't need the flak that I usually get from some of you Guys…(You all know who I mean...😉)!
If the post bothers you so much - skip reading it!

Have a lovely Evening!


 
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Got to get my hands on a 105.012-66 one day😁
They are delicious!
The seller must have been pleased with the result!
 
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Bracelet was altered/shortened, has had fixed links removed.

There have been a few strong sales lately including that pretty nice 2998-4 that finished Sunday on eBay at around $20k.
 
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Wow … looks like lots of Good Original Dirt. That dust cover is funky. Is that rust from water intrusion?
 
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Hi Hansaboy,
A useful and informative analysis. Keep them coming. The good state of the movement and poor state of the dustcover would have caused doubts in me. The price was high but there again we've all been caught up in the spur of the momentness of auctions. Happy hunting.
 
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Bracelet was altered/shortened, has had fixed links removed.

There have been a few strong sales lately including that pretty nice 2998-4 that finished Sunday on eBay at around $20k.
Yepp, the bracelet is a bit weird...
But based on the pictures, what do you think of the condition?
 
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Wow … looks like lots of Good Original Dirt. That dust cover is funky. Is that rust from water intrusion?
We all like them Dirty, but the condition of the dustcover is very strange, the movement looks clean and does not match the dustcover?
The serial nr is correct for the 66...
But who know what could have happened?
 
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Hi Hansaboy,
A useful and informative analysis. Keep them coming. The good state of the movement and poor state of the dustcover would have caused doubts in me. The price was high but there again we've all been caught up in the spur of the momentness of auctions. Happy hunting.
Ken, caught up is my middle name...!
😁
 
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This was always going to do well. Original parts, attractive dial, no major flaws and a sought after reference. Oh and that dirt/crud build up adds a premium also! Maybe the price was about right.
 
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This was always going to do well. Original parts, attractive dial, no major flaws and a sought after reference. Oh and that dirt/crud build up adds a premium also! Maybe the price was about right.
Them one owners and sleepers always attracts lots of people!
😀
 
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Guilty... I was one of the bidders but backed out when it went way above the bargain territory. @hansaboy 's assessment is pretty spot on. Except for the dust cover (rather: movement holder) point, we are in full agreement. I have actually seen more of these showing similar staining. No firm idea as to how it obtained this pattern, but it didn't put me off. Neither did the engraving and shortening of the bracelet, at the right price, I would say it adds character. And from a financial point of view, the 516's on their own are valuable too.

Bracelet was altered/shortened, has had fixed links removed.

There have been a few strong sales lately including that pretty nice 2998-4 that finished Sunday on eBay at around $20k.
Yup, have to plea guilty to that 2998-4 going up too, although there were three other bidders who made substantially higher bids.

Conclusion for me is that the vintage Speedmaster market is far from slow, provided the merchandise is authentic, attractive and (very) good quality, and possibly not too expensive.
 
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I did see and followed this one but the remarks on the movement, " The chronograph is difficult to start and reset. " made me jump ship early.
 
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Guilty... I was one of the bidders but backed out when it went way above the bargain territory. @hansaboy 's assessment is pretty spot on. Except for the dust cover (rather: movement holder) point, we are in full agreement. I have actually seen more of these showing similar staining. No firm idea as to how it obtained this pattern, but it didn't put me off. Neither did the engraving and shortening of the bracelet, at the right price, I would say it adds character. And from a financial point of view, the 516's on their own are valuable too.
I knew that you were on to this one!
😁
The sale sent nice vibes regarding the value of Good conditioned Speedys!
 
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I did see and followed this one but the remarks on the movement, " The chronograph is difficult to start and reset. " made me jump ship early.
Well, the watch hade not seen the sun for more that 30 years, everything in the movement might have been dry and grainy...?
 
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This was always going to do well. Original parts, attractive dial, no major flaws and a sought after reference. Oh and that dirt/crud build up adds a premium also! Maybe the price was about right.
I have followed a few Speedy actions...🙄🙄
And most of them were low/medium quality pieces, so those hunting got exited?

But fun to see!
 
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Nice looking .12 - think it will clean up well.

$11.3, with the bracelet and endlinks seems a fair price.
 
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One of the major Swedish auction houses had their autumn auction yesterday, and there were lots of nice watches!
There was a nice Daytona 6263, a lovely Explorer 1655, and of course a bunch of Speedys!

The one that caught my attention was a 105.012-66 (my beloved reference…😁)
This one looked very promising and DIRTY, and the estimate was very low….which is actually worth zero!
The auction house is very skilled in marketing, and has lots of platforms, so this one had got a lot of attention.
And it would ofcourse blow over the high estimate!


I started to look at the pictures they had on the web site, and got really interested.
But when I looked closer at the pictures I noticed engravings on the backside of the lugs…

I am not so fond of these, but I could live with them (maybe…).


According to the auction house, this was a one owner watch, and had been sleeping since the eighties.


But assessing the quality of the watch…hmmmm....

The dial and lume looked very nice, based on the pictures.
There were many scratches and lots of dirt on the crystal, so not the easiest thing to judge.
But the crystal had the old Omega logo!

The chronohand had a weird discoloration, and there where watchmaker marks on the center of the hands.

The bezel had som scratches, and a couple of dings.
And it had a lot of dirt, and maybe fading between the 66 and 74 marker.

The case had visible brushings on the sides, but not the sharpest edges, and some of the dings/marks looked a bit soft also, so a mild watchmaker polish..?
The case back had a deep watchmaker mark, and looked a bit soft.

Original crown and the lovely fat and shortnecked pushers.

The movement picture looked clean, with a few molested screw heads.
There was chrono creep, and the movement was in need for a service.

Another strange thing - the dustcover looked really dirty…?


This watch didn't actually light up my Do You Like The Watchometer…..
Once cleaned and serviced (with an adjustment to the chonohand and stabilizing the other hands), it would be a lovely watch,
but there were a few things that I did not like, and I did not want to bother the auction house for more info and pictures....


Value?

Dial (assuming that it was clean) - Very Good
Lume - Good
some of the idices had lost some color, and had some dirt/darker marks.
Bezel Fair
The case - Good minus and the case back Fair, the etching on the lugs are a bit boring...
The hands need attention - Fair
The movement looked ok, and after a service (and maybe change some screws…) Good
The crown and pushers were ok - so this adds up the value

It also had a 1039 bracelet, but it had engravings on the links - value - maybe 1000 € /1100 $?
A one owner watch is always nice, so adding it all upp and using Speedmaster101´s lovely chart,

this would set the value around (for me!) roughly around 7000 €/ 7500 $

The lot came up and the auction started, there were lots of bids,
and the hammer finally fell on 10450 € / 11300 $ including the premium!
That sets the value (minus the bracelet) a bit under Very Good!

Maybe the Speedy market is coming back, or could it be that nice conditioned pieces don't come up so often?

Your thoughts?

And one more thing…I don't need the flak that I usually get from some of you Guys…(You all know who I mean...😉)!
If the post bothers you so much - skip reading it!

Have a lovely Evening!


Fantastic coverage, as always. Keep them coming?
 
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Fantastic coverage, as always. Keep them coming?
Thanks Mate!
Got a truckload of auctions to follow....😁😁