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Speedmaster 145.022 69 ST with Red Center Chronograph Hand - information sought

Donn Chambers
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Spacefruit Spacefruit
6716CC71-DFB2-446C-B957-0D6E47583E81.jpeg
Watchuseek opinions?

oh that’s all right then.

::facepalm1::

To be clear the red hand is not original

check out the modern Alaska for the only one I can remember



https://www.omegawatches.com/planet-omega/60th-anniversary-speedmaster/alaska-project-2008

I also think there was a special edition white-dial Speedmaster out of Italy in the 1970s that had that red second hand, but those are the only two I have seen conformed as authentic. As I said previously, there were other Speedmaster with a red (or orangish red hand), but the were all
lumeless, had no arrow, and were just slab-sided.

Any written hypothesis otherwise without visual evidence is worthless.
 
J
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Donn Chambers Donn Chambers
As a final comment from me on this thread, I wanted to post a picture of what exactly was meant by those Watchuseek posters about “authentic” red seconds hands on vintage Speedmasters.

FCFDABE3-0B42-4AAA-B548-7A57CB7885FD.jpeg


As you can see, it is a different color red (more orange), is slab-shaped with no lume, and looks nothing like the hand on your watch. If yours looked like this, we might believe it was original.

So, it’s been a year since Donn’s post, I just wanted to say that picture Donn posted is my watch which I posted on Watchuseek in 2008, asking about the orange chrono hand. I am happy to say that I still have the watch, and that I had the backing removed just yesterday, first time in 56 years. It is a confirmed Ultraman. Purchased by my father in July 1968 while we were stationed in Germany. Never serviced, never polished, completely original including the Hesalite crystal. 145.012-67 SP 26’077’05x (or is that 0 a 8?), spot on SN wise for the Ultraman.
 
IMG_6894.jpeg IMG_6898.jpeg IMG_7165.jpeg IMG_7209.jpeg IMG_7168.jpeg IMG_7146.jpeg
J
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Spacefruit Spacefruit
6716CC71-DFB2-446C-B957-0D6E47583E81.jpeg


Watchuseek opinions?

oh that’s all right then.

::facepalm1::

To be clear the red hand is not original

check out the modern Alaska for the only one I can remember



https://www.omegawatches.com/planet-omega/60th-anniversary-speedmaster/alaska-project-2008

Spacefruit, to be crystal clear, that orange hand is indeed original. I got your type of responses 15 to 20 years ago before it was widely known that Omega did indeed ship a very low number of these out with orange hands, now coined the Ultraman. There is lots of confirmed extract’s specifically mentioning the orange hand. Why the denial, especially now as late as 2023?
 
pdxleaf
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Would love to see a photo of the dial without the crystal, if you get it serviced. Those dials are supposedly dark and shiny and it'd be interesting to see what is meant by dark and shiny.

Nice legacy. We were Army brats too, spent two tours in Germany. About 60 to 63 in Munich and about 66 to early 69 in Frankfurt. Great place to grow up.
 
Davidt
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J JR Canuck
Spacefruit, to be crystal clear, that orange hand is indeed original. I got your type of responses 15 to 20 years ago before it was widely known that Omega did indeed ship a very low number of these out with orange hands, now coined the Ultraman. There is lots of confirmed extract’s specifically mentioning the orange hand. Why the denial, especially now as late as 2023?

Have you actually looked at the OP watch?
No one is doubting the origins of factory Ultraman hands. The chrono hand on the OP watch is a different thing altogether. Absolutely not an Ultraman hand.
 
pdxleaf
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J JR Canuck
Spacefruit, to be crystal clear, that orange hand is indeed original. I got your type of responses 15 to 20 years ago before it was widely known that Omega did indeed ship a very low number of these out with orange hands, now coined the Ultraman. There is lots of confirmed extract’s specifically mentioning the orange hand. Why the denial, especially now as late as 2023?

He's not denying the existence of Ultramans. In fact, he has at least one and has seen many of the known versions (he can speak for himself of course. I'm just going by what he has posted.)
 
J
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pdxleaf pdxleaf
He's not denying the existence of Ultramans. In fact, he has at least one and has seen many of the known versions (he can speak for himself of course. I'm just going by what he has posted.)

Thanks for the quick responses. I see now that spacefruits comment regarding the red hand was regarding OP 145022 watch, and not a comment on my watch that Donn had posted a picture of from watchuseek. My bad.

FWIW, OP’s red hand is definitely not original. Cheers.
 
J
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pdxleaf pdxleaf
Would love to see a photo of the dial without the crystal, if you get it serviced. Those dials are supposedly dark and shiny and it'd be interesting to see what is meant by dark and shiny.

Nice legacy. We were Army brats too, spent two tours in Germany. About 60 to 63 in Munich and about 66 to early 69 in Frankfurt. Great place to grow up.

I’m debating whether to get it serviced at all or just leave it completely original. The Hesilite crystal is pretty marked up obscuring the dial details. Overall my watch is in excellent condition, except for the crystal.

CDN Air Force BRAT here, Marville 1966, Lahr 1967 to 1969. Was an awesome place to grow up. Many fond memories for sure. Cheers.
Edited:
 
pdxleaf
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J JR Canuck
I’m debating whether to get it serviced at all or just leave it completely original. The Hesilite crystal is pretty marked up obscuring the dial details. Overall my watch is in excellent condition, except for the crystal.

CDN Air Force BRAT here, Marville 1966, Lahr 1967 to 1969. Was an awesome place to grow up. Many fond memories for sure. Cheers.


Many good reasons to leave it as is.

Consider couple things: there's alot of skin gunk that gets under the bezel. This often leads to corrosion/rust. You might consider removing the bezel and cleaning under it.

Also, you probably know this but it's worth repeating. The oils and lube are non-existant. If you wind it, you'll be wearing done the metal components.

Thanks for sharing.
 
The Toyman
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The way to find out if the hand is original is to obtain an 'Extract From the Archives' from Omega.
I'm sure that there are experts who could confirm it from experience, but having written proof from Omega seals the deal.
Here's mine. The Extract states it was supplied with an orange chronograph hand.
IMG_20190905_085729.jpg
 
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