Hi gents, I recently purchased a Speedmaster 145.014. The description indicated that it had "never been polished", and the seller had a great eBay rating. Nice watch for sure, but I could instantly see that it had indeed been polished. At first I couldn't figure out if it had undergone a significant case refinish, or just a mild surface polish. The lip around the crystal is almost non-existent, and the edges and brushed surfaces look more than just worn. They're a little "soft" and you can even see where the brushing slightly over shoots an edge here and there. That said, they're perfectly symmetrical and if it was refinished, it's a pretty great job. The thing that really got me was how the highly polished facets on the sides are a lot skinnier than almost all of the examples I could find online. Big warning sign. After lots of searching, I finally found a 1969/1970 ad with almost exactly the same facets. Is the watch I purchased older and slightly different than later editions? Why is it that I usually pretty fat facets? Anybody have examples of skinny facets? Check out the ad and corresponding pic of my watch below -- looking forward to hearing from the experts! Thanks!
thanks for comments, I'll post pics soon. In the meantime, keeping with the Smiths theme, this is what I think every time I buy on ebay...
OK, so here are a few pics I just snapped. I'm 100% positive that the watch has been polished, it's just a question of how much of the original case profile has been left intact. The symmetry is perfect, and while I want the watch to embody the original design, I'm hoping that Omega once used the skinny facets because I sort of like them better. Also note the Hecho en Mexico bracelet clasp. I know other threads covered the Mexico topic, so I'm not worried about authenticity there. And keep the Smiths tracks coming too... View attachment IMG_6556.jpg View attachment IMG_6553.jpg View attachment IMG_6554.jpg View attachment IMG_6555.jpg View attachment IMG_6550.jpg View attachment IMG_6551.jpg View attachment IMG_6552.jpg View attachment IMG_6548.jpg View attachment IMG_6549.jpg
The only thin polished facets I've seen on these or any other Omega cushion style case have been on polished watches. It's one of the reasons why a lot of people seek out the thick facets.
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