A few Speedmasters up for auction today at McTear's in Glasgow. Since auctioneers are increasingly unwilling to make public what the hammer prices were, I thought I'd document them here.

The first was this Ed White, lot 750:

Detailed condition report said: "At the present time, this is in working condition including the chronograph function.. It is heavily worn and very scratched and dirty. The bezel is scratched/worn all over. The crown and pushers are all intact and in working order. The bracelet and clasp are also heavily scratched with the end link at the 12 marker being bent. This is also a very small bracelet with no additional links. We have been unable to get the back off of this due to it being incredibly tight and possibly misthreaded and therefore are unable to provide a movement number or photo.".


They sent a couple of other photos showing a really beaten up crystal but I think a quite good bezel that is probably more dirty than scratched (I wonder if they actually meant "crystal" when they said bezel in the condition report). No6 end links that look as if they could be the real thing but both appear damaged, the clasp is a bit dented and the case back is smooth and seemingly inscription-free.To me, the dial looks really quite good - though I expect the hands are service replacements given the colouring of the lume.

Hammer price - £9600, against an estimate of £3-5k. Buyer's premium incl VAT is 27.6% so £12,250 buys an Ed White that will need attention. The auctioneers win today.

Next up, lot 752, described as CALIBRE 861 WRIST WATCH c.1972-3, serial number 31615426, the step dial tells us that it's in fact a 145.022-71. I didn't get the condition report so no idea what's on the case back...


Looks like a pretty good DN90 bezel, hands that are correct and appear to match the lume on the dial (which is mostly intact and ageing nicely). The rest of the watch is a bit grubby but would clean up well by the look of it.

Hammer price - £2600, with a £3-5k estimate (shows the auctioneers have no idea what differentiates this and lot 750). Someone got a decent looking 71 step dial for £3.3k, which I think is not too bad. Let's call that one a draw.

 

Thanks for sharing.

I believe the final result of the lot 750 is overkill, even with a weaker £ now, this brings it to a surprisingly high amount in other currencies

 

There was another Speedmaster in the auction, but it didn't sell and I missed what happened to it - along with a big chunk of other lots, it appears to have been passed over.

Lot 826, what I presume to be a -76 with a reasonable 1171/633 bracelet but the wrong chrono hand and suspect replacement main hand set too. Estimate of £2800-3500 (wtaf?)

 

Yes a few pros and cons. The dial looks nice but not sure if 8 index is a bit blobby? Replacement hands and case back very feint. Bezel and case good. Bracelet not bad. Worrying it cant be opened. So top price with element of risk, that's Edwhites for you in 2 years will be cheap.

 

the back case

 

I was there today and was one of underbidders on lot 750. The crystal was very scratched but certainly was old with small Omega feet logo. The dial looked very good though lume was quite thin but even all over. I was unsure about the age of the hands but under a black light the plots and the hands all had same level of luminance which died fairly quickly so I think it did have roughly the same amount of age to them. As shown in previous post, the back of case was well worn and just the faint engraving showing. The bracelet was missing maybe 5 links . The unsure part was that they couldn't remove case so who knows what state the movement was in ? A calculated risk ?

The bezel was very nice as not damaged but dirty and the case hadn't seen an enthusiastic polishing wheel either.

Luckily that left me some spare cash and was happy to pick up up Lot 752 for £3.3k including commission. I thought it was a lovely example as case was very sharp and dial pretty damn good.

Photos will be added once I get chance.

 

Bid went to £1600 but not sold. I'm sure it will appear at next auction or on the timed one they do for unsold lots.

 

A new crystal will work wonders on that Ed White. The dial looks very good underneath, but given the possibly new hands and slightly bobbly appearance of the plots, I would want to verify in person that it was original. However, I think it is. The pushers look original, the bezel will improve significantly as much of that is just dirt and the case looks completely unpolished.

It's something of a gamble as the movement is an unknown, but given the overall package with bracelet, if someone saw it in the flesh and satisfied themselves as to the dial plots, I don't think the price is a million miles away at the minute.

 

Here's photos I took of Lot 750 when at preview day in case anyone is interested

 

Well done, sir! I presume it's a NASA flight qualified case back? I love my -71 as the step dial is really noticeable in the light

 

Really, £12,250 - that's nearly US$15,800. Does anyone else think that is just crazy for a watch where you couldn't even get to see the condition of the movement? Pent up demand for old Speedies must be very high indeed and the price wave seems to be rapidly moving along the manufacturing timeline.

 

In answer to "Well done, sir! I presume it's a NASA flight qualified case back? I love my -71 as the step dial is really noticeable in the light "



Also nice 1171 (No 11 )bracelet with 633 end links

 

I was the under bidder. Nice watch look forward to seeing inside. No movement pics put me off. Congrats @prontoprint

 

Will say this - movement "mystery" aside, that's a hell of a 105.003. Original chamfers still on the thick case (rare), lume is matching, extremely attractive, and fully present. The worn caseback is a bummer, but is the only notable blemish that I could find. I bid 7.5K GPB hoping for people to have auction fatigue after Geneva, but obviously that wasn't even close to good enough. It's expensive, no doubt, but when cleaned up it should be a fantastic example.

Now, if the buyer was buying for reasons other than wanting to own / wear a beautiful Ed White, they may run into issues.

 

Enjoy it

 

Yeah, that's a nice looking case!

 

Nice work chaps! Thankyou for posting this stuff. Very interesting and encouraging.

 

That seems a hugh price for an Ed White in that condition. Mine stays with me and gets worn a few times a week!

 

Here's another unpolished seemingly tropical one...


https://www.ebay.com/itm/192166752686 Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

The ed white looked ok a lot of money to peel at auction with out getting it checked out!