So much for a 2023 watch fast... (settle in for a story)

I suppose I shouldn't have tempted fate by going to my local vintage watch dealer. I was wanting to try on a funky 70s Speedmaster, cal 1045, 176.0015. They're rare birds here in New Zealand, and one of my possible grails is the tv dial version (176.0014) but I was wary of the thickness. I've missed out on two of the latter from Adam at the Lewis Watch Co in Australia by dithering, so I wanted to get my ducks lined up. Tried it on, liked it but didn't love it, so walked away to sleep on what was a moderately tempting price. I also test-drove and loved a solid 18k c-case, but given I have a number of those I resisted.



So to console myself, I found myself "doing research" on Ebay. One of my usual checks is a well-known to the forums Japanese dealer. And one of today's listings was this jumbo Constellation 14777:



Confession: I really don't mind a bit of patina or spotting, especially when warm and even like this. I know this would have been a deal-breaker for some, as would the gold cap and the replaced crown. But I thought it was a really good price for a pretty good watch... so it's now going to be making the journey from the land of the rising sun to the land of the long white cloud next week! And I thought it only appropriate to celebrate in the following way:



Happy New Year all!

Very nice catch and that dial aging is perfect to me!

Cool watch! Even patina is not a deal breaker for me; sometimes it's a deal maker as it makes the dial look more interesting.

Oh, my watch fast 2023 is also over 😗 I was weak and couldn't resist 70s funk.

I don't see no funkadelic watch pic yet. You gonna keep us in suspense? 😁

I am! The watch has not arrived yet and seller's pics are shite.

Ok well here's some 70's funk for the crowd until yours arrives!