Should I buy this Cal. 861 Speedmaster?

[GuiltyGear]

Hi all. Someone I know gave me this Speedmaster to have a look at and decide if I want to buy it. Already have a 145.0022 of the early 2000s (1861), but been looking to sell that and "upgrade" to a Cal. 861 with tritium dial. Asking price is €3.000, which is quite tempting to me.

What I know is that it's a reference 145.0022/345.0022. Serial number, which match the case and movement, is 4833XXXX, which should put it at 95-96. Movement is a cal. 861. with unknown service history. I have a trusted watchmaker who should take care of service and it shouldn't cost that much. Bracelet is a reference 1479 with 812 endlinks.

I'm no exert by any means. What I can tell by looking at other similar watches is that everything fits in. The case condition is pretty good; dial is perfect, which is masked a bit by the scratches on the plexi. The chronograph seconds hand is not perfectly straight, but that should be fixable by a decent watchmaker. The baton hands don't have any tint to the lume, expect the minute hand seems to be missing a portion of it. While the hour markers have a light brown/yellowish tint to them. Tritium shines well when charged, but it only lasts a few seconds at full brightness and fades quickly.

Do you suggest I take the deal? Sorry for the crappy photos, but they were quick on a smartphone. The mark on the tachymeter right at the T is actually some loose skin; not damage.

Edited: Nov 9, 2023

 

[Dash1]

Limited photos, but the dial looks attractive to me and the condition is acceptable (not perfect, but good) so at that price I would buy it for sure.

 

[GuiltyGear]

I should have brought out the light box in the first place and not been lazy about it.

 

[gbesq]

Looks good to me, fair price, and the 1479/812 is one of the better Speedmaster bracelets IMO.

 

[GuiltyGear]

gbesq

Looks good to me, fair price, and the 1479/812 is one of the better Speedmaster bracelets IMO.

Thanks for the feedback. I do like the look of the bracelet, especially it's taper. From my little reading, it seems to be a known hair puller. Will have to see if it actually likes my arm hair or not.

 

[Donn Chambers]

That bracelet link near the end piece needs attention/repair. Looks to me like the bar is very bent, nearly broken. Other than that, looks good.

 

[GuiltyGear]

Donn Chambers

That bracelet link near the end piece needs attention/repair. Looks to me like the bar is very bent, nearly broken. Other than that, looks good.

Well spotted. The bar is very bent. I'll check with my watchmaker how to fix it properly.

I decided to buy the watch. It's in decent condition and for a decent price. Strangely, I connected with this watch much more than I connected with the 1861 I have (which has to go now). I'm sure I would connect even more with a straight lugs 321 if they didn't cost a fortune

Now it's on for a trip at the spa to get it in shape: a service, straightening the chrono seconds hands (which is just a tiny bit crooked at the tip), and hopefully fix the bracelet without needing any extra parts.

 

[bardamu]

Nice watch from the last Speedy tritium era.
At that price is a no-brainer!

 

[Lachgas]

The price isn't that cheap if you include the overhaul with original Omega parts.

I bought the same watch, 1992, No. 4827...Tritium etc. almost 4 years ago at a similar price.
Fortunately, directly from the dealer and in a revised condition.

However, she just had to go for repairs with a broken heart lever bolt shaft - the chrono was defective. And because I only had Superluminova hands anyway, I had the luminous material replaced with the same color as the indices - now everything has the same color and the hands at least glow at night. And because she came back much earlier, she is there again.

For me the perfect everyday watch. Otherwise, I'm still secretly looking for an Ed White. I just can't bring myself to spend any more money on watches! ;-)

Have fun with your Tritium Moonwatch. And if you get the chance, write down how much you still had to spend on repairs.

___
So günstig ist der Preis gar nicht, wenn man die Revision mit Original-Omega-Teilen hinzu rechnen muss.

Ich habe die gleiche Uhr, Baujahr 1992, Nr. 4827... Tritium usw. vor fast 4 Jahren gekauft zu einem ähnlichen Preis.
Zum Glück direkt vom Händler und im revisioniertem Zustand.

Allerdings musste sie gerade mit einem gebrochener Herzhebelriegelwelle - der Chrono war defekt - zur Reparatur. Und weil ich sowieso nur Superluminova-Zeiger hatte, habe ich die Leuchtmasse mit gleicher Farbe wie die Indizes erneuern lassen - nun hat alles die gleiche Farbe und die Zeiger leuchten wenigstens nachts. Und weil sie mit deutlichem Vorlauf wieder kam, ist sie schon wieder dort.

Für mich die perfekte Alltagsuhr. Ansonsten schiele ich immer noch insgeheim nach einer Ed White. Kann mich nur nicht entschließen, noch mehr Geld für Uhren auszugeben! ;-)

Viel Spaß mit Deiner Tritium-Moonwatch. Und schreibe bei Gelegenheit ruhig mal, wieviel Du insgesamt noch für Reparaturen ausgeben musstest.

 

[GuiltyGear]

Lachgas

The price isn't that cheap if you include the overhaul with original Omega parts.

I bought the same watch, 1992, No. 4827...Tritium etc. almost 4 years ago at a similar price.
Fortunately, directly from the dealer and in a revised condition.

However, she just had to go for repairs with a broken heart lever bolt shaft - the chrono was defective. And because I only had Superluminova hands anyway, I had the luminous material replaced with the same color as the indices - now everything has the same color and the hands at least glow at night. And because she came back much earlier, she is there again.

For me the perfect everyday watch. Otherwise, I'm still secretly looking for an Ed White. I just can't bring myself to spend any more money on watches! ;-)

Have fun with your Tritium Moonwatch. And if you get the chance, write down how much you still had to spend on repairs.

Considering the market, I wouldn't say it was a bad deal. But then again, service in East EU is probably much cheaper than the West. Parts of course cost the same.

Apart from price, I really wanted this watch. Like many, a Speedmaster has been my dream watch since I was very young. Earlier this year I got a 1861 which I was really happy about until I dived deeper and discovered more. The 3590.50 is in my eye the perfect entry level Speedmaster, be it for the 861 movement or the tritium dial. I'm happy I got offered a decent price and could afford it, and I'll surely enjoy deeply.

I may drop it to my watchmaker next week and I'll report back how much it cost.

 

[GuiltyGear]

Lachgas

And because I only had Superluminova hands anyway, I had the luminous material replaced with the same color as the indices - now everything has the same color and the hands at least glow at night. And because she came back much earlier, she is there again.

Were the hands original or replacements? On mine both the hands and indices shine for roughly the same time (bright but fade quickly). While the indices have yellowed, the hands are still fairly white. Any good way to tell if these are Superluminova or tritium?

 

[Lachgas]

Good question that I originally asked myself. In the end, I wanted a watch that wasn't suitable for the museum, but for me. And since the hands were also white as you described, but the indices were vanilla-yellow-brown, I decided to adjust the color - and at the same time they now light up. I now find it beautiful during the day and practical at night. And I don't care about the museum guards. ;-)
___
Gute Frage, die ich mir ursprünglich auch gestellt hatte. Am Ende wollte ich aber eine Uhr, die nicht fürs Museum, sondern für mich passen sollte. Und da die Zeiger wie von Dir beschrieben ebenfalls weiß waren, die Indizes aber vanille-gelb-braun, habe ich mich für die Anpassung der Farbe entschieden - und gleichzeitig leuchten sie nun wieder.

Ich finde es nun tagsüber schön und nachts praktisch. Und die Museumswächter sind mir egal. ;-)

 

[GuiltyGear]

Lachgas

Good question that I originally asked myself. In the end, I wanted a watch that wasn't suitable for the museum, but for me. And since the hands were also white as you described, but the indices were vanilla-yellow-brown, I decided to adjust the color - and at the same time they now light up. I now find it beautiful during the day and practical at night. And I don't care about the museum guards. ;-)

Could it be that the tritium on the hands ages differently from the indices? I'm not an expert, so it remains a mystery to me.

I do agree that one should enjoy their watch exactly as they like. The different lume color between hands and indices bothers me a tiny bit, but I'm not sure if I wanna go for the relume route. We'll see.

 

[FSG]

GuiltyGear

Could it be that the tritium on the hands ages differently from the indices? I'm not an expert, so it remains a mystery to me.

I do agree that one should enjoy their watch exactly as they like. The different lume color between hands and indices bothers me a tiny bit, but I'm not sure if I wanna go for the relume route. We'll see.

Lume very often ages differently on hands and indices… it has to do with thickness of the applied lume etc.

 

[SOG53]

Nice watch good condition, good price. Great daily wearer after service. I wouldnt sweat the lume color on hands it looks great these 90's tritium Speedys are very attractive. Enjoy

 

[GuiltyGear]

SOG53

Nice watch good condition, good price. Great daily wearer after service. I wouldnt sweat the lume color on hands it looks great these 90's tritium Speedys are very attractive. Enjoy

Thanks. True, not worth being too nitpicky and instead just enjoying the watch.

 

[worldwidewes]

It's a great price, but to me, the lume looks pretty bad for a watch that's this "modern". I'd prefer even, uniform lume, even if it means paying a bit more for better condition. Better condition watches are also easier to sell if you end up deciding to do that in the future. The more recent a watch is, the better the condition it should be in, in my opinion, and the lume is a core part of that.

 

[GuiltyGear]

worldwidewes

It's a great price, but to me, the lume looks pretty bad for a watch that's this "modern". I'd prefer even, uniform lume, even if it means paying a bit more for better condition. Better condition watches are also easier to sell if you end up deciding to do that in the future. The more recent a watch is, the better the condition it should be in, in my opinion, and the lume is a core part of that.

You mean the lume generally or just the hands or indices? And what makes the lume seem bad to you? I'd appreciate some more context so that I can learn for future purchases.

 

[SOG53]

Watch is 30 years old Lume looks fine enjoy it

 

[worldwidewes]

GuiltyGear

You mean the lume generally or just the hands or indices? And what makes the lume seem bad to you? I'd appreciate some more context so that I can learn for future purchases.

I'm talking specifically about the lume on the minute hand that kinda seems two-tone. Just to be clear. This isn't necessarily "bad" and I definitely am not saying it's a bad purchase by any means. For me as a collector, having even colored lume is important, but it's not important to others. Some people care about unpolished cases, others not so much. For others, it's all dependent not the price they pay. It's ultimately about your taste as a collector and what you want. Enjoy the watch!