Please opinions on this Speedmaster ST105.003-65

[mountainunder]

Hello everyone.
Thanks for everything.

I would like to hear your opinions as I may buy this watch. Please advise me.

Information about the watch
・Model number is ST105.003-65 Serial number is 24531054
・The price is about 9586$ after bargaining.
・Seller is the second owner and the first owner is the seller's an older brother.
・It has been serviced twice. The first service was done in the early 1970's. ・The second service will be done in January 2021. Seller don't know what parts were replaced in the first service, but the parts replaced in the second service were the crystal and the internal gaskets.
・I asked the seller about the polishing of the case and he said it was not polished.

Seller's description of the watch
・Date of manufacture and movement
Purchased around 1966-1968
Back cover seems to have been made around 65 to 66.

・Features and selling points
My brother bought this watch at Ginza Wako around 1966 and I received it in the early 70s. I'm sure you've heard of it. The bracelet is broken.
Unfortunately, the bracelet was broken and there is no box warranty at that time. Only the watch itself will be exhibited. However, it is not something that has passed on to others.
There are many scratches on the case body, and there are many scratches on the tachymeter and many paint baldness.
I think that the dial is relatively beautiful, although there is aged deterioration such as the luminous part. Each needle part has aged deterioration when viewed with a magnifying glass.
The windshield is clean with scratches that can be confirmed with a magnifying glass.
The error is plus 15 seconds on a flat surface. It's also possible to clearly see the shallow engraving on the back cover. Manual winding stopwatch operation is all good.

・Condition, scratches, bracelet frame, accessories
The watch itself only. There is no bracelet, box, or warranty card. There are some scratches and dents on the case. The case has scratches and dents, the bezel has scratches and dents on the tachymeter part, and there are paint flakes. The dial is relatively clean for a 105.003, although the luminous area has deteriorated over time. As for the hands, there are some age-related deterioration in the whole, especially on the second hand, which can be confirmed with a loupe as a kind of stain. The back cover has a shallow engraving but is clearly visible. The manual winding function and stopwatch are all in good working order.

・Date difference and size
Date difference: about 15 seconds on a flat surface.
Size: approx. 40mm

My opinion of this watch
・The dial is clean. The indexes are a little darkened from 7 to 10 o'clock. However, it is generally clean and there are no chips. There are no chips on the hands.
・There are a dent. However, the width of the facets is narrow, and as the seller says, it seems to be unpolished.
・The bezel is the correct DON90 bezel, but it is scratched.
・The indexes and hands glow when exposed to UV light. When the UV light is removed, it dims after a few seconds. I think the indexes and hands are tritium.
・I think the dragon head and pushers are correct.

Dial and hands Good-.
Case Good-.
Bezel Fair


I used a translation service, so I apologize if the English is strange.
Thank you for reading.

 

[M'Bob]

Dial plots glowing a little too green to be Tritium. Maybe touched up. Hands look okay. Case appears to have been polished at some point.

Edited: Apr 11, 2021

 

[S.H.]

M'Bob

Dial plots glowing a little too green to be Tritium. Maybe touched up. Hands look okay. Case appears to have been polished at some point.

Pictures feel heavily post processed so it will be surprisingly difficult to make a decision concerning color, contrast, and overall impression of this watch. My alarm bells do not ring, it may be a good watch but those pictures are in no way neutral, so it will be a gamble.

 

[padders]

I too think that may have seen some lume work. There is a shadow around some of the plots which may be evidence of stabilisation or perhaps removal and reluming. The hand and plot colour matching perfectly is unusual on these. I am not saying it doesn't happen but it would make me wary. It doesn't help that the photos seem to be simultaneously blurry yet heavily processed, the contrast and colour seem to have been bumped a lot.

 

[kov]

My eye says this watch has seen some maquillage and pictures aren’t unedited as well. Still at that price it might be an interesting opportunity

 

[befobe]

Even if there is almost no facette left, you have a nice 321, a dial which seems not so bad, even if doubts exist about a relume (this "orange color" is odd; post processing sure, but maybe not only that), good crown+pushers+hands... so... at this interesting price... not so easy to pull the trigger... but with a 1035, it could be a nice looking one...

 

[Dan S]

I agree with what was said above, but overall I think it's appealing and well-priced.

 

[tikkathree]

1. I'm certainly not an expert on Speedmasters so I'm unfit to judge on the price being right for the product (or otherwise) but my comments as a frequent-ish EBuyer are to echo some of the above comments and specifically,

2. I'm hugely distracted by the gold/orange reflections in the photos which make me wonder whether someone's trying to mislead or distract?
3. That inconsistent lume is so meh!
4. The lugs show an awful lot of polishing.
5. Case size "approx 40mm" : sounds like 39mm to me.

I'd want more photos but honestly I know that I don't know what I'm looking at. Is this what a $9.5k watch looks like? Golly.

 

[eugeneandresson]

Definitely lume work done. An addition to points already made : Omega were never that sloppy that the dots at 12 were one with the marker.

 

[mountainunder]

Thank you all for your input.

The watch is now in my possession and I can return it until the day after tomorrow.
I'm asking for your opinions to help me decide whether to keep the watch or return it.
Sorry for the bad photo!

I will post a new photo.

 

[S.H.]

So, now I bet partial relume of the dial and full relume of the (service?) hands. Possible paint loss at 5. The guy who changed the crystal did a good job centering the logo, Omega never bothered with this detail, they center the ring not the logo afaik.

 

[timoss]

S.H.

So, now I bet partial relume of the dial and full relume of the (service?) hands. Possible paint loss at 5. The guy who changed the crystal did a good job centering the logo, Omega never bothered with this detail, they center the ring not the logo afaik.

Think you nailed it--and now that you can see the hands have also been relumed (and the sub hands look new), the overall effect of the dial and hand combo is disappointing (I do like the tone of the dial itself, though, separate from the lume issues). Whether it is worth keeping is purely a personal decision. I suppose waiting for/investing in a nicer vintage dial and hands eventually is an option, but that will cost time and money...

 

[kingsrider]

padders

There is a shadow around some of the plots which may be evidence of stabilisation or perhaps removal and reluming.

Agree, there appears to be some surface irregularities around most of the plots. The price seems very fair to me and with a bracelet? even if it needs repair, that is icing on a pretty good cake.

 

[Scarecrow Boat]

kingsrider

The price seems very fair to me and with a bracelet? even if it needs repair, that is icing on a pretty good cake.

It is my understanding, based on the sellers description that Mountainunder included, that the sale is watch head only. “Only the watch itself will be exhibited.” The “however” part is a little confusing, but it leads me to believe the original sibling either kept or discarded the broken bracelet: “not something that passed on to others.”

M mountainunder

The bracelet is broken.
Unfortunately, the bracelet was broken and there is no box warranty at that time. Only the watch itself will be exhibited. However, it is not something that has passed on to others.

 

[michael e]

I think 8-9-10 plots may be original, the rest touched in.
You have got to ask yourself are YOU happy with the watch? and are YOU comfortable with how much you paid?
The watch looks pretty decent to me and I would enjoy wearing it.
It is quite rare to find any vintage Speedmaster which is untouched and in fantastic condition these days, if somebody has one please show it here!
Most have had some work done or parts changed, so don't take it too much to heart when it seems that a watch is getting picked apart. I think very few people will own a perfect vintage Speedmaster, if they do the price will reflect that.
I own watches that are pretty much untouched parts wise and others that have had work, the untouched ones are always worth more of course but I probably enjoy wearing the lesser watches more.
Cheers, Michael

 

[MikiJ]

michael e

I probably enjoy wearing the lesser watches more.

Me too unless you're adding one for your collection. I prefer wearing a well used, not abused vintage Speedmaster.
No worries only smiles

 

[Aludic]

Nothing wrong with a comparatively affordable and wearable 105.003-65.

 

[Dgercp]

Price about right imo for this “fair” Ed. A better one with all original nice lume will cost you significantly more.
So, if you are ok with this relumed watch, keep it and enjoy. Totally a personal decision. The advice given here has been excellent.

 

[gbesq]

michael e

It is quite rare to find any vintage Speedmaster which is untouched and in fantastic condition these days, if somebody has one please show it here!

Here’s my 1971 145.022. The watch head is all original. The watch was sold to me with an 1171/1 bracelet which was not period correct, so I added the 1175 bracelet, but it was manufactured in February of 1971 and is correct for the reference. OP, I think that your watch is reasonably priced for its condition. I wouldn’t buy it as an investment piece, but I think that it would be fine as a daily wearer.

 

[Redwes25]

Seems like the watch is fairly priced and it is attractive. I would keep it.