Question about Speedmaster Pro caseback

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rolypolyoly

·Oct 22, 2020

Hey guys,
I've been hunting around for interesting Moonwatch variants, building a humble collection over the years.
One interesting piece I saw today was this (ebay link incoming) 1969ish 145.0022 modded with a Mitsukoshi dial.

It's an interesting piece. Being produced barely post-moon, and is in generally good condition. The dial mod is an unusual choice, but imo it works very well here.
But my question here is specifically about the caseback. Here's the picture from the listing:


I have a few Moonwatches, and compared to them this caseback just seems... off. The spacing between letters seems larger, and the alignment of some the characters is strange as well.
At first I thought that this is just what original post-moon moonwatches looked like, but I haven't seen anything like this in my search. I know the typography can vary a bit, so maybe this is just due to natural variance?
Is this a legit caseback for a 1969ish 145.0022?

 

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Seaborg

·Oct 22, 2020

I really don't like this caseback... The font seems completely off. Never seen that before...

 

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rolypolyoly

·Oct 22, 2020

My thoughts exactly. My thinking is that it's an extreme of the natural variation in the font, but I've literally never seen anything remotely like this. It's not like people are making counterfeit casebacks, are they?

 

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akshayluc420

·Oct 22, 2020

I'm no expert (far from it), so please correct me if wrong, but is the Omega hallmark supposed to be there? I've only ever seen them on the case of modern Omegas.

 

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Donn Chambers

·Oct 22, 2020

akshayluc420

I'm no expert (far from it), so please correct me if wrong, but is the Omega hallmark supposed to be there? I've only ever seen them on the case of modern Omegas.

I noticed that as well. Could this be a modern replacement back?

 

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rolypolyoly

·Oct 22, 2020

It looks very similar to the case in this thread. Same strange spacing (look at MISSIO NS), the A in WATCH and M in MOON are also lifted slightly. I don't know if it's the same exact case, but maybe produced in the same production run.
The Omega's hallmark might indicate it's a more modern caseback.
Speedmaster101 says the bezel (dot next to 90, dot under 70, accent on tachymetre) is from the 1990s.
All this seems to tell me that this is a franken-watch made of a number of different parts from various time periods.
- Supposedly the 861 movement is from 1969/1970
- Case + bezel from 1990s
- Mitsukoshi dial

Definitely an interesting piece. The odd caseback ruins it for me though.

 

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Dan S

·Oct 22, 2020

Obviously, the seller indicates that it's a "built" watch made with service parts, he just doesn't know which parts are original, and which are service, and his guesses are incorrect. Given that the dial, hands, and bezel are quite obviously later service parts, I have no idea why the case-back should make such a difference to you. The price, however, seems absurd to me.

 

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X350 XJR

·Oct 22, 2020·Vintage Omega Aficionado

Modern case, note "All omega original service parts".

 

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arkman

·Oct 22, 2020

rolypolyoly

It looks very similar to the case in this thread. Same strange spacing (look at MISSIO NS), the A in WATCH and M in MOON are also lifted slightly. I don't know if it's the same exact case, but maybe produced in the same production run.

Even compared to presumably authentic service case in the above thread, this caseback looks wonky. Just based on this, I would probably stay away.

 

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Dan S

·Oct 22, 2020

X350 XJR

Modern case, note "All omega original service parts".

The listing is confusing. Below, the listing states:

"original Case, caseback, bezel, crown, hands , dial."

😵‍💫

 

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Marsimaxam

·Oct 22, 2020

Comparing the two casebacks... the lettering is indeed off, just look at the letter "T" in the word WATCH, in the OP 's caseback it appears to be below the letter A, whereas in a caseback from Speedmaster 101 site the letter T is more in line with the top of the letter A. Just everything about it looks wrong.

 

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rolypolyoly

·Oct 22, 2020

Not to mention the chronograph second hand is misaligned to the 59 2/3 marker. An interesting concept, but I'm staying away from this one.

 

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Seaborg

·Oct 22, 2020

And that crown

 

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Archer

·Oct 23, 2020·Omega Qualified Watchmaker

rolypolyoly

My thoughts exactly. My thinking is that it's an extreme of the natural variation in the font, but I've literally never seen anything remotely like this. It's not like people are making counterfeit casebacks, are they?

There are complete fake Speedmaster cases out there, as well as various parts. Lots of people seem to be convinced that there aren't decent quality fakes of these watches out there, but there are...