Hi All
First time posting here. I've owned a few Omegas before including a very nice original Railmaster from the early 60s and I currently own a modern Speedmaster Professional and a first series 42mm Planet Ocean.

I'm thinking of adding this vintage Speedmaster to my collection. Having read Speedmaster101 and Moonwatch Only cover to cover I thought it wouldn't hurt to get some opinions on this piece. It's a 145.022-ST71 with medallion caseback and what I believe to be an original step dial and hand set. The lume looks a little worse for wear but seems to match the hands quite well. Has anyone seen lume that has gone like this? Anything else about the watch standout as something of concern? The movement looks clean and has a serial number in the 31.6 million range which is correct according to both the site and book mentioned above. It will need a service and I believe a replacement crown and crystal which appears to be a generic replacement with no Omega symbol.

Any input welcome!

Thanks
Speedman

 

To me, everithing looks correct. Only end links are replacement. But that is not so big isue.
I have seen lume goes to this colour.
The main thing is to see movement, is it clean and without any damage!

 

Looks like some interesting patina on the dial. The lume is decent but not the appealing cream color most people look for. On the dial patina, It looks like pretty uniform corrosion, but it's been disturbed around the main and subdial hands due to a past service...

Some pictures of the case sides will also be needed on top of movement pics - if the case has been polished a ton, then that will detract from the value.

 

Thanks for the replies so far. Here is a picture of the movement.


I don't have any pictures of the case sides but I can get some.

 

Movement looks clean and ok. Screwheads are not complete wrecks, which is also positive.
The tear on the dial could indicate moisture/water intrusion at some point in the life of the watch, but since the movement is fine I wouls not worry.

 

The lume has mostly worn off - that is why it's darker and not a light yellow or cream color.

 

The lume hasn't worn off, it's all there but has not aged well and is quite unattractive. In a rarer reference I'd accept this. However, normal production -69's and later are common enough that I'd rather wait to find one with nicer lume.

 

I'm not sure I would agree - the lume appears to be quite thin, to the point where it's almost flat. I'd probably accept it as well on a watch this age, but I wonder if at some point the dial lume had sustained water damage or something to turn this color which attracted more dirt. Is it possible someone once tried to wipe it clean?

 

Are we talking about the same thing Larry? The lume on the hour markers is definitely still there, as it's the lume that's discoloured. If it was gone, you'd be left with the white printed markers underneath.

 

Agree

 

Assuming the lume material is still present, is it possible to clean it? By this I don't mean remove it entirely but to remove some of the staining using a cleaning solution or scraping the top layer off? I have done this before with a Seiko diver dial that had lume plots that had been discoloured by the typical black gunk that afflicts those dials.

 

The layer of tritium on there looks pretty thin. I wouldn't touch it.

 

I think it would be easier to find a nicer example. They are out there!

 

I'd pass on this for reasons stated above, there is plenty of better examples out there.... unless the seller is giving this away.

There is one for sale in the private sales forum, which is quite nice.

 

Nice case, nice hands and original.

Mouldy, unattractive lume plots make the dial a “C”.

Unfortunately the dial is the most important part - you can find better (likely here on the forum sales section).

 

In my book the case is (slightly) more important than the dial. I would however also pass on this and search on. To quote Lemmy: "You know the chase is better than the catch, you know"

 

I don’t entirely disagree with a pre-moon, especially with the seahorse, bevel in caseback, etc, but the case on a -74 is secondary to me.

 

Fair point

 

I’m talking about the dial. There was a post right above mine that I though was concerning the dial lume patina. It looks like it’s way too thin.

 

Thanks for the input gents. If I did want to go with this example what is the likely hood of finding an original dial to replace this one with? The asking price for it places it between running and good on the Speedmaster 101 price guide for this referece, so if a dial could be found it would still make sense. The price is for the watch fully serviced with new plexi and crown and serviced pushers.