Possibly a Speedmaster 2915?

nothing to do with connections. from the first one to around 1962, it is more luck, because the old Lemania Records are like a swiss Cheese. Sometimes it is luck to not getting an excerpt from Biel, because that rules out a swap for a Seamaster chrono movement. but that fact is widely accepted now. I could not get an excerpt for my 2915-3. Had quite a few over the last 20 years with excerpt requested and then cancelled and money refunded due to that fact. kind regards. achim

Subscribed

I will also second the fact that it will take some luck to get an extract of the archive on this one... wasn’t available for my 2998-4 either...

Well it also was not available for my Italian Speedy, which is 1986-88 time period.

Congrats on your amazing find...Sell it to the very highest bidder..Big auction house would attract this person!

Did it somehow come from Di Marchi ?

😗

If i'm not mistaken the watch is now live on Bukowskis: https://www.bukowskis.com/en/auctions/614/95-omega-speedmaster-chronograph

You are correct.
I was waiting for it to come out so I could post it here. But you beat me to it 😡

Truly, good luck with your sale. It is not a matter of whether it will sell, just how high.

Right, that's it. Completely ruined it for me... Won't be bidding!

Thanks!! And thanks to everyone for all the advice and your kind comments! Not sure how it could have ended without your help.

Well, this is going to be a good lesson for many of you who aren't astute on how action houses work. This is not a lay up for the OP. The auction house that accepted this piece has started the bidding at 130k USD plus a 22.5% premium (including VAT) to the buyer in addition to import taxes and duties as well as shipping and Insurance. Personally, most auction houses I have dealt with would never have started the bidding at such a high price and I think it was a mistake.

I think there is a 50/50 chance this auction will end with no bidding. I don't want people to come back in 3 weeks and blast me if it sells for 300k nor do I expect congratulations on being right if it ends with no bidders. I hope for the OP's sake he gets top dollar.

The problem if it doesn't sell is that the watch will be "burned" as they say in the business. It will have been seen by thousands of collectors and buyers and no other auction house will accept the watch after one has failed to produce a buyer. Buyers will also shy away because they will feel that something isn't correct with the watch which is why no one bid. This is the "someone knows something I don't" theory, so people wont bid.

You take your chances with auction houses. Sometimes you see the crazy hammer price and most times you don't. Also, what many people don't know is that about 15% of the time the winning bidders do not pay and then they offer the watch to the sub bidder (lower offer) or they return the watch unsold, which again burns the watch for any other auction house.

In addition, even if the winning bidder does pay, you will be waiting months to get paid. The buyer usually has 45-60 days to make payment and then the auction house takes their own sweet time to insure the buyer is happy, no returns, that the payment has actually cleared...then accounting needs to do the numbers, get it processed , cut the check or send. the wire, etc..

I think this watch should have gone private. I actually contacted the OP to sell it privately and I know of at least 3 other dealer/collectors who did as well. All offers were north of 100k, so no one was lowballing, just leaving some room for profit and risk. The OP chose to forego the sure cash for a roll of the dice which we will soon see will prove fruitful or not.

Part of me thinks that this watch was destined for the auction house and the OP put it up here to gauge value and interest, but hey I'm a little cynical and believe in conspiracy theories too 😀

The first post was Saturday the 23rd and the watch has been shipped, photographed and listed for auction in 4 days. I dont even think thats possible. I have had to ship watches months in advance to get in an auction. This was in motion from the jump. The soonest it could have been seen by an auction house was Monday so this entire deal was negotiated, shipped, photographed and listed in 48 hours. I call BS

This topic has been very exciting.
I guess selling in auction is a good decision. Now you need to buy cheap modern replacement Speedy as a reminder what you had.
Good luck with the sale!

@Strope congratulations again.

For the record, even after the sale and your spectacular watch is gone, please feel free to stay around. You’ve been more active at and fun than most new members and you already have a profile picture and know how to use the emojis. This makes you most qualified to be a regular around here.

I know others have already suggested purchasing another Speedmaster as a sort of commemoration of your drawer find, and I would echo that. Lots of people here could direct you to a suitable piece of you wanted some help. Thanks again for sharing, best of luck on the 9th of April 👍

That's the estimate.

Have you entered a bid lower than 130K and been rejected?

I don't know - I'm obviously not astute on how auctions work - but it seems to me that you may be confusing "estimate" with "reserve".

eugeneanddresson: You are correct. I mistakenly thought that was the starting bid which I thought was nuts.
So, what is the starting bid or is there no starting bid?