Hi all,
So much I have learnt from this great Forum, but I have a query about my Speedmaster 145.022 74st.
All the charts regarding the Speedy serial numbers mostly refer to this caseback as having a 32xx xxxx, where as my one has a serial number starting in 3131 xxxx. I'll add some photo's below......

Any comments much appreciated.....

 

ilovemyspeedmaster.com should help. Experts definitely will be of more assistance. Also, if this is yours and you really love it, order an extract. That is a great way to be certain.

 

I've personally seen -74s with 31m serials, and I think there were a bunch of movements that must have been left over being used through 1974-75. The 1039 bracelet on yours would probably be a little too early though.

 

Ok thanks, yeah the 1039 bracelet is pre 74 but I really like the slim feel, as I don't wear it daily...

 

I had a -74 with 3132xxxx and MWO 2nd edition says 31312xxx is the earliest in the range...

Like yours, my -74 had minty green lume, and in fact also came to me on a 1039 (since separated and both sold)...

 

Looks like you might want to add another ] to the end of that [/QUOTE above...
Anyway, here's the FS ad for mine, see what you think about the lume in comparison to yours.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/speedmaster-145-022-74-serviced-1171-633-bracelet-£2800.59952/

 

Thanks for the link to your purchase, I noticed Simon Freese commented that it hadn't been opened for a very long time (which might, he thought, explain why the dial has not discoloured as there's been no moisture ingress) .........

I'm still an avid L-Plater when it comes to the Speedy, but does he mean that the caseback was not sealed correctly for a prolonged period.... Therefore the lume on the dial has not aged the same as the lume on the hands.....

 

Here is a better photo of my dial

 

I'm not really sure - I'd have thought unless we're talking about moisture ingress, it wouldn't have made a lot of difference whether it had stayed sealed for 40 years or what...

There are quite a few circa earl/mid 70s Speedmasters (Mk IIs included) that show fairly green looking dial lume, so it's quite possible the exact mix used in the lume varied and some periods had lume that degraded over time to be different to the more normal yellow. If the hands and dial on your watch above are indeed original, you'd have to conclude that the lume on the dial and on the hands are of different constituency since they've aged so differently yet presumably been exposed to the same combo of light/moisture etc.

If in any doubt about the age of the lume on your dial, try getting your phone and switch on the torch function to illuminate the flash. Hold it right over the watch for a few seconds and walk into a dark room... then quickly switch off the torch and move your phone aside to see what still glows hint: it should be faint and last at most a second or two.

 

Green lume is fine - I think there was a supplier or batch of lume around 1972-75 that ended up turning lightly green over time, as I've seen quite a few -71s and -74s that were greenish... come to think of it, more of the -71 / -74 models I've seen have been green vs yellow.

 

That's good to hear that it is more common than I thought. I'm still unsure why the hands (lume) is different to the dial (lume)....
I suppose the hands & dial are not lumed at the same location/factory therefore might have a different mixture when it was applied.....

 

I have tried this many times & they both (hands & dial) stay glowing for a good 5-10 seconds after switching the light source off...