save yourself some troubles... talk to simon

 

The watch on the right in the ad also has the same 3:00 taller subdial marker style as the OPs watch, different from those shorter ones on the other watch to the left side. We will see, but I'm going to vote for his being a correct, if rare, example.

 

Another more plausible explanation is that it is this dial in the wrong watch:

 

I honestly mean this in the nicest possible way, but your father's memory may not be perfect. My father gave me a watch that he was insistent he'd bought in the NAAFI in the 1950s. That seems unlikely, as it's a modern quartz (in fact, I believe I found the watch he may have bought in the 1950s when sorting through some stuff in my parents' garage). Memory can play very funny tricks, so whilst what your father recalls is informative, be wary of regarding it as determinative.

 

Stripey, absolutely no offence taken! My father is fully compis mentis and a very intelligent and still professional man. He was barely 20 when he bought the watch. His account of its life hasn’t changed since I first asked him about it in my teens, some thirty years ago, it’s just taken me that long to prize it out of his grasp so I can bring it back to life! Since I’ve had my hands on it I’ve interrogated him to the point of annoyance and he’s adamant it was both brand spanking new When purchased and that he’s never had it tampered with. Whatever the reason for the face/case combo I’m just looking forward to getting fully operational and on my wrist! On another subject, is there any value in getting an archive extract from Omega?

 

Ultimately I will seek professional advice but I’m really enjoying doing some research and reading the various articles and papers that have been produced. It’s proving a great lockdown distraction.

 

Oh, good! I'll leave commenting on an Omega archives extract mostly to other people - my own view would be that it's unlikely to solve the mystery, but probably worth having because it ought to show where the watch was delivered to?

 

Probably not a lot, you already know most of the history the extract provides and they aren't cheap. It will likely say that it is a 145.012 produced (based on the serial) around Sept-October 1968 and delivered to the NAAFI. It won't mention the year iteration (ie the -67 in the caseback) they never do, or anything else all that exciting unless it originally came with a Racing dial that is (which is very unlikely). It is out of range for an Ultraman so it most likely won't say that either.

The EW I show above was also NAAFI delivered and shows that on the extract. It doesn't say anything further about delivery location.

 

Nice watch. After Simon cleans it up please post a picture of it ... I'd really like to see this after shot.

Enjoy the watch in good health and I commend your dads exquisite taste !

 

Thanks. I might still get one as a memento for my father, as I’ll be keeping the watch! The watch in your picture is stunning. I hope mine ends up looking half as good!

 

Did your father retain the original box, papers or receipts?

 

Yeah, I was thinking that perhaps the watch was bought, fixed, and then resold as refurbished, or something along those lines.

 

Unfortunately he didn’t keep the box or papers. From discussions I don’t think the NAAFI shop dealt in anything secondhand. It was a tax free outlet. My dad went to get his weeks carton of smokes and spotted the moon watches. He set up a payment plan with the money coming directly out of his wages each week!

 

In that case, I would get the extract from the archive.

 

Thanks, I’ve ordered one and will post when received.

 

Does your father have anybody that might have borrowed the watch, broken it and tried to have it fixed? Do you have any siblings that might have broken dad's watch and had it worked on on the down-low? Maybe your mother broke it while dad was deployed or on a float?

Just trying to throw out some plausible reasons the watch might have received some replacement parts without your father knowing.

 

No, have been through them all. He broke it after only a year or two. Clasp gave way walking across a hanger and it flew off his wrist and hit the concrete floor breaking the stopwatch, a plunger, and the bezel. After one attempt at a local jeweller in Germany, who took the case back off, shrugged and said nein, it spent the next 40 years in an old leather tobacco pouch in a cigar box, where my old boy kept a few trinkets. The broken bracelet, plunger and bezel were unfortunately chucked away at the time of the accident. We came across it a few times over the years when moving house, etc, but it has been in its current condition since it left his wrist circa 1970.

 

Well all this research and investigating has taken its toll! Decided I just couldn’t wait for my Dad’s watch to get sorted so needed another watch in the meantime to keep me going! Think I’m hooked!

 

Lovely watch, been reading through the posts hoping the mystery would be solved by the end but it looks like it goes on!