I'm looking at this Speedmaster and it looks good but maybe too good. The seller is asking $3500.00, which according to Speedmaster 101, is not unreasonable assuming the watch's condition is what it appears. Feedback will help continue my education.

 

Its got a service dial

That makes it v. expensive.

Those photos are not easy to use as assessment tools - but you can still see the lack of T marks on dial.

Should have a transitional dial, with the applied metal logo.

 

(because of the 26m serial)

 

Wow. It has a great DON bezel but, IMHO,

The chrono hand is wrong
The dial is a service replacement
And the 861 movement number is one the earliest introduced but it should be on a 145.022-68.....not a 1969

 

So is it a contemporary service dial that's been aged?

Edit: n/m, I meant the 2998 at sotheby's..

 

Are you saying that's an earlier movement put in a later case?

 

Probably just used a different caseback. Hard to say how. Might have been switched during a service

 

I'm looking for a 145.022 and rightly or wrongly would pass on this very quickly because of dial, hands and lack of patina ( on photos above ). I would have looked at serial number and thought it was about right but would not have figured out the implications of the number regarding applied logo etc as per Spacefruit and Gemini4s observations.

 

http://speedmaster101.com/145-022-transitional/

 

I agree. Just buy the bezel

 

I was looking at that after reading your earlier post. Didn't think it was a transitional, because of the dial but the movement says otherwise, I guess. Thanks for the lesson.

 

No rationale to this comment but I think I would have picked up a high serial number in a watch with applied logo, long indices etc but for some inexplicable reason a lower serial number in a watch with painted logo and short indices etc wouldn't have registered. Guess it's better that way round!

 

We are actually talking about 3 different dials.

The stepped dial, with applied logo, T SWISS T, that a movement number of 26xxx should have.
The stepped dial, with painted logo, T SWISS T, that a proper 145.022-69 should have.
The modern flat, SWISS, service dial replacement, which this watch has.

Hope that's not too confusing. Go to www.speedmaster101.com if it is.

 

There is a 145.022-68 on EBay. The auction is expiring in 6hours. I believe it is a members auction as well.
It is an example of a correct 145.022-68 transitional

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=251928175269Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

Thanks Gemini4....I've been watching from day 1! Do you think hands and indices have slightly different lume? Will be interesting to see what it goes for. Having recently contributed to healthy eBay prices I may need a little longer to recover financially!

 

I'm not a lume expert but it appears that the hands, which are original, have lost their lume.
The dial looks rather nice and I don't believe it's is relumed.

 

Great insight in here. I'm shopping too and learning. Thanks!

 

If you contact the seller (like I did) and read the item description (like I did) you will also find that the DON bezel is not included in the sale only a DNN bezel, making this a 100% PASS.

 

Where is it for sale? I have alerts set up on watchrecon, ebay, chrono24, google etc and don't remember seeing it, however I if it looks like it does and the description says it doesn't include the DON then I may have dismissed it so quickly it didn't register! ( I do have problems however with my ebay alert because despite checking "worldwide" it seems to omit Canada and some others )