Omega Speedmaster 145.012-67/68 on an auction this week!

[hansaboy]

Dear Forum Friends!

Friday Afternoon/Afterwork is approaching, and soon time för a nice weekend!

So why not another Speedy Auction....

I followed an auction this week, and it was a Speedmaster (again…) that was the target.

This time a 145.012-??, no ref, so a 67 or 68 with a 321 movement.
Serial nr 26074836, maybe too early for a 68?

The watch had an extract (A Swedish watch!!), an Omega box and an extra DNN bezel.
Maybe a collector or a dealer watch??

I got a bunch of pictures from the auction house, and started looking at them.
There were a few details, the condition of the watch,
and also the estimate that made me not want to bid on this watch.

But this time I would like to test the Forum!

Why not try and asses the watch, point out the pros and cons,
and also guess the estimate that the auction house had?
And to be honest, the estimate was way of, and the watch remained unsold!

And those who know about this watch - please don't spoil the game regarding the estimate,
but join in with the valuation!!

Enjoy and have a nice weekend!


Cheers!

 

[ibis888]

Those pictures aren't that great... but I wonder if the DO90 bezel is not a reproduction? The font seems a little off, look at the serif on the "3" in "130" and how fat the letters are in "TACHYMETRE". It's in near perfect shape, why would there be a replacement DNN bezel included?

Also, the caseback could be a service replacement along with the pushers and crown. I thought that the original caseback should have a year indicated? But maybe I am wrong there.

Also wondering what the marks are on the crystal or dial across the "PRO" in "PROFESSIONAL," if that's not on the crystal, that's major dial damage.

The case also seems polished and I wonder if the white parts of the hands have been repainted.... maybe this is all because of the poor quality photos, but seems very much like a dealer prepped watched.

A really nice 145.012 from 1968 just popped up on Wind Vintage (with a similar serial number and an extract), a nice comparison and to me a vastly more desirable 321 from the same year:

https://www.windvintage.com/omega-speedmaster-professional-reference-145012-68-w/-extract-99

Edited: Jun 14, 2024

 

[ibis888]

Forgot to answer the original question!

The watch from Windvintage is listed at $12,000 USD which I think is fair from a dealer and a good benchmark.

Given the concerns I see from the photos, I wouldn't bid at all on that watch... but assuming that I saw it in real life and there was no dial damage and the bezel could be confirmed as authentic... I don't think I would pay more that around $8,000USD max. But even then, I probably still wouldn't be interested personally. Would rather go after a more honest 321 or a really nice 145.022-68 or -69.

Edited: Jun 14, 2024

 

[padders]

The caseback on the original watch is deffo a later service replacement. Note the 4 digits after 145. They didn’t do that until the 1980s. This leads me to suspect the bezel also. This isn’t one I’d be chasing.

 

[Spacefruit]

OP watch is poor.

Case back is a service replacement
Bezel is a repro
Case is polished
Dial is tired - might have "frost" on subdials
The movement has been attacked by a man who had only one screwdriver.

 

[pitbos]

Spacefruit

The movement has been attacked by a man who had only one screwdriver.

Hahaha!

 

[ibis888]

OP please tell is what the reserve was!

 

[hansaboy]

Good evening, back from some nice brewskis in the sun!

We can probably all agree that the watch gets a very very low grade...
But maybe wait for some more people to assess the watch before the price?


Stay Frosty Gents!

 

[SOG53]

Box is original!

 

[NotJackson]

OP watch has a service crown? Looks like it, anyway.

 

[hansaboy]

There is another way to set the value of the watch, and that would be pricing each and every part?

Our Dear William (AKA @Spacefruit ) did a lovely video recently with two Ed Whites.
And the breakdown on these are interesting to follow and learn.
He also shares his mixed emotions regarding the watch that he won.
And I think that we all have had these?
I recently myself managed to get a little carried away on a Speedy....Report on that one in the future!

 

[Davidt]

I agree with the assessments above. Not a good one.

It’s probably a watch that would’ve found a willing buyer at a strong price in 21-22 but as interest has waned, especially from dealers and the wider collecting community and we’re back to mostly informed collectors, I assume it was no where near an optimistic estimate.

 

[hansaboy]

The "lovely" watch had an estimate/starting bid at a whoooooping 10495 € / 11255 USD with the premium!!
No bidding done, and the watch is unsold!

The auction house must have had a hard time when they valued the watches for this auction,
I think that more than half of the watches remained unsold (they had over 200 items).

 

[Dan S]

The fake bezel jumped right out at me, hopefully it was disclosed in the listing.

 

[cristos71]

hansaboy

The "lovely" watch had an estimate/starting bid at a whoooooping 10495 € / 11255 USD with the premium!!
No bidding done, and the watch is unsold!

The auction house must have had a hard time when they valued the watches for this auction,
I think that more than half of the watches remained unsold (they had over 200 items).

Do you have a link to the auction?

 

[ibis888]

If those pictures are representative of how they present their watches... the results don't seem surprising.

It also doesn't seem *that* difficult to realize that the watch has issues with all of the resources available on the internet. Can't imagine there are many people in the market for five figure vintage Speedmasters that know nothing about them?

 

[ibis888]

Dan S

The fake bezel jumped right out at me, hopefully it was disclosed in the listing.

The fact that the DNN was included as part of the auction would lead me to believe that the auction house wasn't trying to intentionally mislead?

 

[hansaboy]

cristos71

Do you have a link to the auction?

DM sent!