Noticed this Speedmaster for sale elsewhere and the description sounded funky. Wanted to share with you for your opinion. Seller states this is a ex-Omega worker who created this prototype Speedmaster and used a movement bridge from Chronostop.



For me this is absurd and BS. For whatever reason somebody changed the bridge to remove the serial number - so without doubt this is a stolen watch.

 

Thats most definitely complete BS. I know the seller and he's a dodgy dude. Just recently he auctioned of this terrible UG polerouter shown here: https://omegaforums.net/threads/cobbled-together-polerouter.67476/

 

The seller is Monaco1970 on the Swiss auction site Ricardo.ch...

 

Without doubt you are making assumptions based on no evidence. There could be many reasons for the changes.
There are easier ways to remove the serial number from a movement.

 

A service part wouldn't have a serial number.

 

its the rare 861/865. Metal brake replaced serial number bridge...

 

It can, but to your point it doesn't have to. I agree that to claim this is stolen based on the bridge is dubious certainly.

Cheers, Al

 

it’s been offered to a good friend of mine for a half of the auction starting price...

Run away unless you like it for what it is and want a nice beater that has no collectible value

 

Why would anyone, anywhere, replace the bridge with a bridge from 865 movement?

How often, and why a bridge would need to be replaced? I honestly have never seen it.

Even if the bridge needed to be replaced, wouldn't the old bridge be kept? Given that dial and hands seemed to be matching in color.

Or we believe the prototype story?

I don't have any proof this watch is indeed stolen. But given that somebody changed only the part bearing the serial number and made this watch untracable, I highly doubt that the aim was to make exactly that, untracable watch

 

The best way to find out is to buy it and bring it to the Museum. You’re local, shouldn’t be a big deal.

But be ready to all kind of outcome

 

I know you are joking

I don't need to go there, I have contacts that I can call. As none of the usual sharks were bidding on it, gives me an idea of the looks I will get if I show up there with this piece

I am not interested at all, bidding finished, I personally wouldn't touch it

 

For the prototype story to be (eventually) confirmed a call won’t be enough, let me strongly doubt on that

 

I think you are a little confused. My post was referring to the escape wheel bridge, which should have the serial number on it, not the balance bridge that has "865" stamped on it. The serial number and movement caliber number are very different things.

I have no idea what your experience is, but bridges get replaced for many reasons, and it depends heavily on the type of bridge in question. Some are wear items, some get damaged through mishandling by amateur or less than careful professional watchmakers, some have steel parts that get damaged by water entering, and rather than disassemble the rusted parts off the bridge, someone changes the entire assembly.

Just because you haven't seen it before (that you know of) doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. It's not common, but certainly does happen, and I will likely replace several bridges over the course of a year for various reasons - mostly because those particular parts are wear items. In fact I'm assembling a movement right now that I had to replace the bridge on...the automatic device upper bridge that has a bearing for the oscillating weight pressed into it.

If the bridge is replaced, and it has a serial number on it, the bridge can be kept and replaced with an unmarked bridge as it appears this escape wheel bridge has been done. If you want the serial number put on the new bridge, the old bridge would be sent back to Omega so that they can ensure that only one bridge with a given serial number on it is out there at any one time.

I don't know anything about dials and hands, because you didn't post any photos of dials and hands - I only see a movement photos and no link to a sale somewhere, and I'm not going to spend time looking for this sale somewhere.

I have no idea what prototype story you are referring to, because again I've not read the text. It's clearly made of up of a bunch of parts, but that in itself doesn't point to it being stolen. As you have stated you have no proof of that.

Cheers, Al