Looks legit. How much to fix? Who knows. Depends on what the problem is and how many parts might need replacing! Easily $500 but just as easily more. Why go through all that hassle? Pick up one here from one of the sellers on the Sales Forum instead. What price for piece of mind?

 

That is true, but the 145.022 I have found on the forums are going for as much as $3000! If i can fix this one up for a total of $2000 even, i would have gotten a 70's vintage for a steal! There is a local watch maker that specializes in Omegas as well.

There is a big risk though, I understand that...it realy is quite a risk! What to do...

 

Any original regular 70's speedie on sale in the forum for $3k will be in great condition, from a reputable seller with original bracelet, which yours does not have. A head only 70's speedmaster with a quality recent service sells for around $2k I would say at a guess.

 

from personal expectancy if it to good to be true it generally is . As I found out to my cost I recently picked up a 145-022 69 cost my £1140 for my son, with the same symptoms as you are describing my bill from STS to repair ran it to hundreds but that's the gamble you take with a faulty speedy. Sometime the cheep option is not alway the best option .

 

I think you're going to end up doing a lot of work for something that will not be a big discount once you're done fixing it:

- $1100 cost to acquire (head only) + $600 upwards to repair = $1700 MINIMUM expense. If you want to add a bracelet, you're looking at $2000-$2200 MINIMUM expense. You can get a Speedy Pro in good condition for not much more than that, with almost no risk.

The math doesn't make sense. For saving $200-$500, you're HOPING that maintenance+repair will only cost you $600 (which is bare maintenance cost). Personally, not a bet I would make.

BTW, The 861 movement could be from a watch as new as 1996, so no assurances its a vintage watch either.

 

yeah...what's edging me on is that it might be a small problem that won't cost much to fix. But i do understand that it's a big risk, considering that it could be a bigger problem..

As far as the band, I'm planning on putting it on a leather or Nato band anyways so that doesn't bother me. But i also understand what you mean about resale and value with "just the head".

gahhhh, i love the look of the dial though.

 

As a "watch flipper " I would definitely buy it..

My other part the "collector guy" would definitely not buy it

 

Yeah, i decided to pass on it. I appreciate everyone's response though

 

Smart decision. Judging from the condition and where he got the watch, the seller may have $200 in it. I might go for it for $500, provided I could get a watchmaker to verify the movement and serial # first. Then pop it off to an Omega service center for a full service. Then a nice strap or bracelet. But all that expense and pain in the butt makes a nice working example a lot more attractive, even at a higher cost. Craig's List is a good place to lose your ass. You'll find the right deal. Have patience, and keep looking.

 

In all my years of project watches, I've found that it's usually cheaper to just buy a mint specimen right off the bat than buy a fixer-upper and pour money into it. Even when it's complete, the fixer-upper is still not in as good condition as the mint example and probably didn't cost much less.

 

I think the flipside of the 'buy smart advice above is that most speedies will need a four hundred dollar service anyway so this could have been a win.....

 

I would consider it. Even with a 700 USD cost to service it, you will have a 2 year warranty mint looking example. Where can you buy a 145022 for that kind of money with Omega service?

I have paid in the past up 1500 USD for broken 145022 or similar condition like that. Worst case scenario you factor in a service, you will always get back your money easily, or say big percentage of them.

Few times it was a 30 USD part and a friendly watchmaker to fix it up. Other times Omega Bienne with one instance a more than 1100 USD service

If you want to do it, it's actually fun and you'll never forget the first time you see your new freshly serviced watch. It takes time and money, but what hobby doesn't.

 

Interesting approach. If your speedy case had a tremendous gouge or the serial was polished off, would they replace the case?

 

Omega Bienne have offered me few times to replace the case because they couldn't make the watch waterproof anymore.

Another time the bezel came off and was longer going back because the case had changed form. A new case was needed.

As for the serial number I don't know. I would imagine it won't be a problem.

 

And how much did they want to charge for it?

 

oh well I missed out, the guy sold the watch! I'll know that for next time! The lack of the original bracelet did turn me a little bit as far as value. If he was willing to sell for even $800-900 I would have bought it in a heart beat!

 

It's optional, if you don't want to change the case they will keep the old one but WR will not be guaranteed. I think the case was around 650 CHF. Another time when my bezel woudn't go back in place on a 145022 I had (which was under service guarantee) they exchanged the case for free.

 

Even at 1100 it was a steal, even if it was a luminova dial, if it was tritium, it was a real bargain. As I said I would happily pay up to 1500 USD for a head only non working Tritium 145022. When you look more and more on the market you will see that you can not find a freshly serviced by Omega a 145022 for around 2k. Not tritium, not Luminova. And if there was, it would be sold in an instant.

Buying a mint example with or without service history can always end up with an issue, it's very normal.