Speedmaster 145.022-69 ST Straight Writing

[mtherrmann84]

Last week I won an auction for a Speedmaster 145.022-69 “Straight Writing”. The auction website pictures were not good, and after requesting additional pictures from the auction house, I recieved images that were slightly better/more informative, but still did not give a full picture of the watch. I went ahead and bid with my max being $5k USD as the watch is from the original owner and looked to be in overall good condition.

The watch arrived today and while not necessarily disappointed, I am surprised by some things.

I paid $4500 USD for the watch after all buyers fees and shipping. I feel the price was fine…not a steal but i also do not feel i got ripped off.

My surprises (i.e concerns) are as follows:

-The watch has been polished, and not very nicely. I am especially bothered by the 5 o’clock lug (lug on the left in the pictures) as the brushed section appears a bit too thick. The case looks very thick still but i wonder if any of you can advise on if it would be worthwhile getting the case properly refinished/polished?

-The lume on the indices and on the hands: I have not seen many vintage Speedmasters in person, but from what i have read on this forum and images i have seen online, it seems lume breakdown on the hands of vintage Speedmasters is normal. This is not a washed dial, but if you look at the 10x loupe images you can see some of the pumpkin color lume is gone and there is a whiteish base underneath. Is this common?

Edited: Jun 21, 2024

 

[impalla62ss]

Please post photos. Links do not hold up for posterity.

 

[mtherrmann84]

impalla62ss

Please post photos. Links do not hold up for posterity.

Yes sorry, the original post was from my phone and I did not see the "add photos" button.

 

[Dan S]

You have correctly identified some unfortunate condition issues (polishing, lume loss, etc.). They are common, but not desirable. It's really a personal decision about whether you'd like to do something to address them.

 

[sjg22]

I think you’re facing an uphill battle in terms of your personal enjoyment of the watch if you’re immediately unhappy with it’s condition. LA watchworks does great work but I’m not sure how often they’ve done Speedmasters - and that doesn’t address the lume you don’t like… what’s there is not atypical and probably more than most would clear off for a relume…

My $0.02:

Sell it - put it on eBay with lots of photos and no reserve to ensure it sells (those auctions generally perform well even though it’s a bit scary). You may well get your money back; or you may lose $1,000…. but chalk that up to a learning experience and buy the watch you really want, only bidding when you’re fully comfortable and excited about the condition of what you’re getting. Sometimes handling things and seeing them with your own eyes is worth a loss on a first time purchase.

 

[SOG53]

I would wear it for a while and see how much you enjoy a Speedy. The lume issues are not bad and pretty common and you can have it relumed later. The polishing is noted but not that bad. I wouldnt bother paying for case restoration for this one. Its an overall attractive watch and you paid a fair price for what it is. You cant expect perfection with Speedys unless you pay top $. I would put away the loupe and enjoy it. The SW is nice reference.

 

[Aludic]

Agree with those above, it’s got some relatively common condition issues, but it’s not terrible. Wear it for a bit and see whether you come to like it as it is. It’s well over 50 years old, so you might want to forgive some of its flaws.

It might have come with a few nice little bonuses, by the way. I see at least one 516 end link on that 1171 bracelet. Swap it with the matching (and much cheaper) 633s and there’s a few hundred gained. The crown is the correct one too and unique to 145.022-69s. 😉

 

[Davidt]

As others have said, these are relatively common issues and of course are the reason the sp101 price chart increases significantly towards the top end - it’s unusual and had to find examples that have none of these issues.

I’d wear it for a bit, particularly outside in the sun, to see if it grows on you. To me I wouldn’t get it relumed as there’s plenty of original lume left. I also would have it refinished as most of the case is ok. To me, it’s an ideal daily wearer if you can end up liking the overall aesthetic. If not, sell it.

 

[Fallout Boy]

+1

Get the original lume on the hands stabilised by laquering the back-side by an experienced good PRO. Don´ t relume!

It s a tool-watch 👍 enjoy!

 

[hansaboy]

First of all - Congrats to the win of your Speedy!

I don't think that the lume would bother me that much, it is very common with 69:s.

But regarding the polished sides - didn't you see this in the sellers pictures?
They are quite obvious?

And others have also wrote about the bracelet and the price you paid, maybe correct?
It is a rare reference.

Here is the latest from Speedmaster101 (in USD):



You have circled in the hands with red, and the marks are from a watchmaker, and a crack in the hour hand.
But you must have know this also?

It would have been interesting if you could share the seller pictures!


And I would follow Davids answer, wear the watch, and see how it feels?
And if you will keep the watch, maybe a service and also stabilize the hands?

Enjoy!!

Edited: Jan 19, 2024

 

[gbesq]

hansaboy

First of all - Congrats to the win of your Speedy!

I don't think that the lume would bother me that much, it is very common with 69:s.

But regarding the polished sides - didn't you see this in the sellers pictures?
They are quite obvious?

And others have also wrote about the bracelet and the price you paid, maybe correct?
It is a rare reference.

Here is the latest from Speedmaster101 (in USD):


View attachment 1725139

You have circled in the hands with red, and the marks are from a watchmaker, and a crack in the hour hand.
But you must have know this also?

It would have been interesting if you could share the seller pictures!


And I would follow Davids answer, wear the watch, and see how it feels?
And if you will keep the watch, maybe a service and also stabilize the hands?

Enjoy!!

This watch is the "Flight Qualified" version of the Straight Writing references, not the "Apollo" as shown in the valuation data that you posted from the Speedmaster 101 price chart. While both references are rare, there is a considerable difference in the valuations between the two with the "Flight Qualified" case back version being considerably lower than the "Apollo".

 

[hansaboy]

gbesq

This watch is the "Flight Qualified" version of the Straight Writing references, not the "Apollo" as shown in the valuation data that you posted from the Speedmaster 101 price chart. While both references are rare, there is a considerable difference in the valuations between the two with the "Flight Qualified" case back version being considerably lower than the "Apollo".

Darn, was a bit quick there, thanks!

Now edited...😉

 

[mtherrmann84]

Thank you all for the responses! These have been helpful in my processing as to what to do with the watch.

At this time I am going to keep it and wear it. As Aludic said, this is a 50 year old watch with what I think are all original parts. It is unrealistic of me to expect a museum quality watch for $4500! After scouring the Web yesterday and today for pictures of vintage Speedmaster’s I realize that lume loss on these is common. The lume loss is much less of a bother. The poorly polished case is a bit more of a bother, but honestly the more I look at it the less it’s bothering me. All areas of the case are still very thick and I believe this was just a one off polish that an inexperienced person did.

A little back story: I purchased the new Speedmaster 3861 hesalite last year and will give this watch to my son in the future. The 3861 was my first Speedmaster and lit the Speedy fire! Shortly before I purchased the 3861 I added a 1984 Tudor Submariner 94010 to my collection as my first vintage/neo vintage watch. This Tudor lit the fire for vintage. So now I had a perfect storm: a love for Speedmaster’s and a love for vintage. Over the last year I have been considering a vintage Speedy off and on but as it has been stated, the top quality examples are expensive and frankly too expensive for me to justify right now.

I have added a few more pictures of the 145.022-69 here. My optimism is coming from: 1) The lume shot gives a good view of how much lume is left. Every hour marker has at least 50% lume left. 2) The original 1171 bracelet is in near mint condition and has very few scratches and no stretch. 3) The bezel is in good condition with no marks, and a nice fade.

I guess the decision I need to make is how to move forward with servicing. I feel if I spend the $1000 to get this serviced, I will have a watch that I could likely recuperate at least most, if. not all of my money if/when I decide to see it. As I said, I am warming up to the watch. When I see it sitting on the table I like it and want to wear it so for now it'll stay. I will update here with what I decide to do.

 

[gbesq]

I have this same reference except that mine is on an Omega 1175/640 flat link bracelet. You should hang on to yours. It may look like any other Speedmaster, but the Straight Writing references are rare. Omega won’t be making any more of them.

 

[Spacefruit]

I think I would not be unhappy with this watch at 4500.

I would feel it’s upper limit, I am not sure I would pay that today in cold blood, but I think I might “accidentally” get over exited and pay this at auction. If you turned around and sold it now I expect you would have more than one offer of 3500 as a distress sale.

so not a disaster, especially for someone who is unfamiliar with these or the process.

it’s hard to find an attractive speedmaster at this level and I think this is attractive as a unit.

the imperfections are all part of a vintage watch. It is also why this exact reference can fetch $8,000 if it is free of any.

I don’t think even I could spend more than $400 on servicing this watch, including stabilising the hands. I use Simon Freese in UK so that’s not helpful, but a simple service in an 861 should be found for under $600.

The bottom line, is that all this issues are common and to be expected in vintage, unless you spend a lot of money.

it’s about finding the balance between flaws and money.

looks like a great wearable watch to me.

 

[mtherrmann84]

Spacefruit

I think I would not be unhappy with this watch at 4500.

I would feel it’s upper limit, I am not sure I would pay that today in cold blood, but I think I might “accidentally” get over exited and pay this at auction. If you turned around and sold it now I expect you would have more than one offer of 3500 as a distress sale.

so not a disaster, especially for someone who is unfamiliar with these or the process.

it’s hard to find an attractive speedmaster at this level and I think this is attractive as a unit.

the imperfections are all part of a vintage watch. It is also why this exact reference can fetch $8,000 if it is free of any.

I don’t think even I could spend more than $400 on servicing this watch, including stabilising the hands. I use Simon Freese in UK so that’s not helpful, but a simple service in an 861 should be found for under $600.

The bottom line, is that all this issues are common and to be expected in vintage, unless you spend a lot of money.

it’s about finding the balance between flaws and money.

looks like a great wearable watch to me.

Thank you for your response! I have taken a pretty hard turn in the last 24 hours and am quite happy with the watch. As I mentioned in my original post, I was a bit surprised by the lume loss but concerned with the case polishing. I just held the 145.022-69 next to my 3861 and realized that the 145.022-69 case is not as messed up as I had thought. Not trying to say it's perfect, but it's not horrible. And when viewing the watch on the wrist and looking at the dial the lines are still nice and sharp.

Regarding servicing this watch, I normally do my service with Nesbit's in Seattle. They have been very good to work with in the past. I was planning to have them service this, but they can't stabilize the lume and I want the movement service and lume stabilization done at once. If anyone has recommendations for a watchmaker in the U.S., preferably close proximity to NYC, please let me know!

 

[gbesq]

I can recommend Chronotek in Souderton, PA. They have serviced a number of my watches, including my Straight Writing and they do excellent work. Ask for the owner, Michael, when you call. You can ship the watch to them. When you refer to stabilizing the lume, I assume that you are referring to the hands only. Stabilizing the lume on the markers generally isn't recommended and I don't know of any watchmaker who will undertake that.

 

[Fallout Boy]

gbesq

Stabilizing the lume on the markers generally isn't recommended and I don't know of any watchmaker who will undertake that.

tell us why !

I payed max. 50 € (while complete servicing the watch) for the lacquering the back of the hands....It is possible and works! Ask someone who has experience in this .

 

[mtherrmann84]

gbesq

I can recommend Chronotek in Souderton, PA. They have serviced a number of my watches, including my Straight Writing and they do excellent work. Ask for the owner, Michael, when you call. You can ship the watch to them. When you refer to stabilizing the lume, I assume that you are referring to the hands only. Stabilizing the lume on the markers generally isn't recommended and I don't know of any watchmaker who will undertake that.

Thank you! And yes, with regards to lume stabilization I am only looking to have that done on the hands.

 

[gbesq]

Fallout Boy

tell us why !

I payed max. 50 € (while complete servicing the watch) for the lacquering the back of the hands....It is possible and works! Ask someone who has experience in this .

Stabilizing the lume on the hands is fine because the binder is applied to the back of the hands. The problem with stabilizing the markers is that application of the binder directly to the lume may cause it to change color to a darker shade. This is especially true if the lume has a matte appearance to begin with and application of the binder may cause the lume to have a shiny appearance. The other problem with trying to stabilize the markers is that you risk spreading any excess binder to the dial.

Edited: Jan 19, 2024