Please read this post in its entirety as I need your help to make this work In the last few years of collecting Speedmasters I have learned that I have much to learn. Turns out I’m a lume guy. It also turns out there is a ridiculous amount of variation to lume color. This is particularly true for Speedmaster hands where you can find varying shades of black, green, yellow, orange. Demand for original hands often must compete with the desire to have hands that match the dial. I thought it would be helpful to see all those variations all in one place Thus, I’m hoping to start a picture database of Speedmaster hands that can be added to by other members. It would be nice to have a model reference or a dial shot, and obviously as close to a micro shot as you can get so we can better view the hands. Relumed pieces are definitely welcome, but please disclose this with your pictures. *Comments can obviously be made - but please remember the intent of this thread is to generate a picture library, so try to refrain from “cool - nice picture” style comments as it will bog down the thread. **Please do not click the “reply” button and clutter the pages with a block quote of this original post or any subsequent posts. Instead just use the @ and the name of the person you want to comment to. ***Questions will likely arise regarding originality. To avoid thread drift (aka not pictures) I hope we can address those concerns in a separate thread. I would be more than happy to create a thread to better discuss potential relume, aftermarket hands, etc. but would prefer this thread be a reference that can be cited in those discussions.
105.012-66 with a bit of pumpkin spice on the dial markers and close to matching chronograph hand. Minute and hour hands appear much darker brown.
105.012-66 with some mismatched parts - dial was suspicious and at least the chronograph hand was replaced but can still serve as a reference, albeit poor. Also note the mismatched color on the hour and minute hands.
145.012-67 with nearly lumeless dial and scratched crystal. Chronograph hand presents a nice light brown, but the hour and minute hands are nearly black.
hi WYO, ive been wonder does your 145.022-69 piece is a relume or original lume on it?, as i have mine with green lume as well but i doesnt know whether its a relume or not P.s - insights and inputs are needed and welcome! thank you! 145.022-71
This is my Mark II 145.014, from what I can tell by the serial number, it is probably a '70 manufacture, but not sold till '72. What I loved about it was the uniform colour the lume has gone. Probably due to moisture ingress at some point, but the consistency across all of the markings just had me sold. Granted, it's tough to read in the dark, but it is a nigh on 50 year old piece! Just back from a full service with some NOS parts, and new main spring. Here's to another 50 years of service.
I can contribute a few, both current and former. My current 1969 145.022 Straight Writing (very pale yellow): My former 1971 145.022, now owned by Mad Dog (pale green): My former 1996 3590.50 (pumpkin orange with a dark green chrono hand):