hi folks,

can't thank everyone in this community enough for sharing their knowledge in such a collaborative and open way. i've learned a great deal from many of the threads and hope to lend my expertise in time.

im currently in discussions about a 2998-6 with a seller i've worked with in the past and trust. I want to get a sense of what folks think about the issues. in general this watch lines up very well with MWO specifications for the reference.. don bezel, small pushers, flat foot crown, browning dial with correct markings, double stepped caseback, and movement in the correct range. no bracelet included.

main concerns are the hour and chrono hands, which are incorrect for the reference, but appear on earlier 2998 references. it won't be easy to source the correct hands... also a small amount of lume seems to have flaked off the indices.

would appreciate your thoughts.

-M

 

First of all let me say that it looks like a beautiful watch over all. The chrono hand and all three subdial hands appear to possibly be replacements. I think a lot of people on this forum will want to see some photos of the caseback, and the inside of the watch as well before giving a final opinion as to value.

 

Beautiful watch.

I'm no expert, but I would think that the chrono and subdial hands would be a lot easier to correct than the hour and minute hands.

The bezel, dial, and plot lume condition is fantastic for such an old watch.

I suppose it comes down to the price, doesn't it?

 

Looks chocolate! Yes hour hand and chrono seem from earlier 2998. Can you provide movement and caseback with serial number.

 

While the triangular shaped lume hour hand might be more desirable by some, most collectors accept either set of 2998 Alpha hands as being original and correct. Regarding the chrono hand, which I believe was correct up to the 2999-5, you will have little trouble trading it (if it is original) for a later tear drop chrono hand. I would certainly make that trade. Of greater importance is make sure the movement number coincides with the caseback reference.

Regarding the length of the hands, you want to check the minute and hour hand at speedmaster101.com. I think they are ok.

 

Thanks for the thoughts -- the movement number does line up with the caseback reference per MWO, so feeling good about that.

 

Yes, the dial is nice! I looked into the movement and caseback and they are correct

 

Well then it all depends on the price you can negotiate for yourself. It's a gorgeous watch and the ease with which you should be able to acquire the correct Chrono sweep second hand should not stop you from pulling the trigger on this one.

 

It's a very nice watch.
I think the chrono hand is also a service hand : the base is bigger on my 2998-4.

 

I do not want to rain on the parade, but for me the lume looks uneven on several markers - could it have been relumed?

 

I'm fairly certain its just flaked off a in certain spots over 55 years. I have another straight lug around this age that shows similar signs of wear on the indices and it is definitely original.

But... it's always a possibility What do others think?

 

I have 2998's that display the same lume pattern and color.

 

congrats on the find. 2998s are hard to find, good ones even harder. this is one you can wear regularly without fear. in addition to what has been mentioned (chrono hand, h/m hands), i definitely think the dial has been relumed. assuming the movement is clean and having all of this input, I guess is comes down to price.

 

Can you post big close-up lume shots of the one you have?

 

she's living at the bank -- will do sometime when I take her for a stroll

 

I was thinking the same thing, looked like a quite sloppy relume job on the dial. The colour of the mass is not what I would expect on a stained, brown, dial. But if Gemini and Spacefruit says it's OK, I guess it is. Still unattractive in my eyes though

 

With these pictures, all that can be seen regarding the lume is just the colour and the clumpy appearance, which gives the impression of unevenly mixed lume compound, not like something original. Close-up pictures showing more details are needed to assess the lume.

The chrono second hand doesn't look like a correct Speedy hand - wrong shape and too thick at the top like a hand too long cut short to fit.

PS: the hand is not a major issue, but the dial may be.

 

Taking in account what everyone is saying think you should post pics of the back and movement , if the watch has been worked on eg lume and hands it would be worth some experienced eyes taking a look to reassure you there's nothing a miss.

 

Here's a photo of the movement and caseback ... I redacted the movement number

 

2998s are now so hard to come by that I can understand why you feel you should grab this one. It might be the pictures, but the overall appearance of the watch is unappealing and the staining on the dial - looks like acne - would bother me. You can replace wrong hands or get the lume sympathetically redone, but an unattractive and stained dial is for life. I would only buy this if it was going cheap. By cheap, of course I mean expensive, but I wouldn't pay a dealer price of $18k for it.