Hi OF,

Let‘s see some 145.029 love! This ref is somehow not often seen around here, even less so the blue/white panda version! So I‘ll kick this off with a little history on my watch:


I bought this one last summer, it was in quite good condition but needed a service and some love.

The case was 8/10.

I know case refurbishments here are viewed controversially, but I had faith in my watchmaker to carefully restore this piece to 10/10 condition.

I had another Omega (my Mariner quartz) refinished by him and that one has a much more complicated case with a lot more angles to work on.

Here are some pictures before he worked his magic on it:




The caseback unfortunately was „inscribed“ by a previous owner with a screwdriver or something similar. (Bottom left, it was much more visible in the flesh)


After some back and forth with my watchmaker we decided that it could not be refinished without risking the faint seamaster logo to become indistinguishable from the rest of the finish.

So I went all over Board and managed to find a NOS caseback to be fitted.









And here it is now, after service:





The strap is from BandRBands, very nice quality and insanely fast shipping. I ordered it on Monday afternoon and got it on Wednesday... from the US to Germany that is!




Let‘s see how many 145.029‘s linger in the collections of OF!

Have a nice weekend OF!


Cheers,

Max

 

Beautiful watch

 

I have the same strap!!

The case looks amazing, has it been refinished?

 

Yes

 

I have "only" one but I live it dearly

 

That’s very nice! I like the radial dial layout and what a cool look with the „Gulf“ Nato!

 

sorry totally missed that one IMO, case refinishing is all depending on the individual. If you plan on keeping it, and it's not a crazy highly collectible, why not get it done if you want something that looks fresh and crisp. It surely does bring a certain life to the watch.

But can understand that some pieces, especially the more collectible ones, and for some collectors in general, may not want to do this and keep it as original as possible.

I have a speedmaster Mark II Racing, and know that I won be likely to sell it and contemplate having it done. But the case still has some of the original finishing and....

Anyway, beautiful watch!

 

@Speedmasterfan88 - Refinishing is ok by my books, expecially if it's YOUR watch, and it looks tanfastic, btw! who makes that rally strap with black stitching, btw? it's very nice (and very nicely matches a project I have in the works...)

thanks!

 

Thank you . I would never touch my speedmaster though!

The strap is from BandRBands.com

 

My 145.0029 is currently out being restored, but I suspect it didn't start off looking as good as yours, but I'll be reasonsbly satisfied if it ends up looking a bit more wearable - currently I wouldn't be happy with it on my wrist the way it is.

 

Oh and definitely looks much worse than yours did in the 'before' pictures - I'd have kept that as it was and just worn it!

 

I'm considering refinishing the case on this one

\

 

Looks nice and wearable as it TBH, on these people tend to look at the dial more than the case - looks gold finished in your picture or is that just the light?

Paul

 

gold-plated - it is wearable, just don't look at it too closely!

 

I wouldn't mind that on my wrist and the case looks fine in the picture - better give us some closeups so we can see how bad it really is, but that dial looks wonderful

Paul

 

My one with case as it is. No refinish.
Nice to wear every day

 

Well so far I seem to be winning the 'rattiest' least loved 145.029 by a longways...

Paul

 

Very nice! I see these starting at the $4K mark, bit above my budget but these pix are making me think real long and hard about it

 

Can't really tell you how much I paid for mine over 35 years ago, when it looked fresh and new, I was just passing the pawn brokers, saw it in the window. I had a few £'s in my wallet and an Olympus camera round my neck so popped in, left the camera and the cash and came out with the Omega on my wrist, so probably knock 2 zeros' of that $4K.

Paul

 

Very cool watches surfacing! And interesting stories along with them .

@WatchVaultNYC Nice one! I really like the Gold/brown dial layout. I was considering one of those as well, but one with a nice case was hard to find. There was one claimed to be NOS a few months back on ebay. But the asking was around 3-4k if I remember correctly.

Somone here had his gold plated watch refinished by STS or Simon Freese in the UK, the result was very nice. Maybe give them a try?


The prices for the blue panda have surged, but I find it hard to believe that they really sell for that much.

There is this one from a japanese seller, wrongfully listed as a 145.016, and also with what appears to be wrong hands in my oppionion. ( Hands look like they came off of a 168.029 Constellation.

For an absurd asking of 4.750 $

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223155467297?ViewItem=&item=223155467297Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network


On the other hand, the 145.029 was only produced for a short period of time ( I think 2-4 years IIRC according to AJTT).
And it's always nice to see the watches in ones own collection appreciate in value.
But I bought this as a subsidiary for the need of a Gemini IV, that has long skyrocketed above what I would be willing to pay.
As for now, I'm just super happy with what I have and enjoy wearing it very much. It's going to stay in the collection for quite some time I think.

Just yesterday I went to my loca OB to have the battery of my Mariner changed and brought the 145.029 with me.
Had a quick talk with the Watchmaker there ( who got his watchmakers degree the same year as the watchmaker I use to service all my omegas, and also knows him personally) and we put the Seamaster on the timegrapher just for fun.

She's currently running +3 sec. a day!

Amazing to see what accuracy potential lies in a well serviced and regulated 861 movement.

I also had the chance to try on the new SMP300. Stunning watch! Everything and more one could hope for in that price range. If it wasn't for my 2254 and 2500d PO I'd buy the new SMP in a heartbeat as an Omega for all occasions.



Let's see some more 145.029's!


Cheers, Max