Once again, my Saleroom alerts filled my inbox the other day as Watches of K'niggetsbridge unveiled their catalogue for the end of this month. History has shown that they are pretty good at estimating what their watches will sell for, but that their photography skills are meagre (often showing a single image, sometimes overexposed).

[EDIT - JUNE 30th - hammer prices listed below]

Link to full catalogue

Here's my take on some of the Speedmasters they are listing; feel free to add your own thoughts and corrections. I am a mere student in the art of critiquing vintage watches, and learn from everyone else's expertise...

LOT 237 - 2998-61 - est £10-15k
Hammer - £10,000 - inc fees, £12,400 / $16,400 / €14,000


The dial looks OK, though IMO the photo is a bit washed out. Subdial hands look very white, so are they replacements or have they been painted? The Alpha minute hand is too short (see here), the crown is wrong and I think the pushers are too. The ghost bezel looks a bit knackered (though some might like that a lot), and the "6" endlinks have 2 slots so are not original... But I bet somebody pays £12k+fees or more.

It's supposedly NAAFI delivered ("ORIGINALLY DELIVERED TO BRITISH MILITARY SUPPLIERS NAAFI ON 18TH NOVEMBER 1963 (CONFIRMED BY OMEGA MUSEUM), WITH ROYAL NAVY CASE BACK INSCRIPTION") - although there's no mention of an extract, it presumably comes with one. Oh and the case back has a named engraving also saying ROYAL NAVY, though not official military markings. Looks like it was done with a pin hammer.


LOT 238 - 105.003-64 - est £6-7k

Hammer - £6,000 - inc fees, £7,440 / $9,800 / €8,400​

Only a single photo. Chrono isn't working properly, dial lume is mostly gone (or is it?) and the hands don't match what is left (service hands?). The bezel is poor. Would you pay £7k + fees (£8,680) for a watch like this?


LOT 239 - 105-003-64 - est £3-3.5k
Hammer - £4,000 - inc fees, £4,960 / $6,500 / €5,600


Wow, that's a really cheap Ed White. Probably because it has service dial, hands and bezel. And who knows what else. Might be a good buy as a parts watch …


LOT 240 - 145.022-68 - est £3-4k
Hammer - £3,000 - inc fees, £3,720 / $4,900 / €4,200

"CIRCA 1970, REF. 145022-68 ST WITH "DARK CHOCOLATE" BROWN DIAL"

That's not a -68, it's a -69 to my eyes (short indices, painted logo, DNN bezel that's not in great shape), but of course there's no case back or movement shot so who the hell knows. I think the main hands could be service replacements too as they just seem too white, and the dial is blotchy in places, the lume colour is not very attractive. Same vendor as lot 268 maybe?


LOT 241 - 105.012-66CB - est £5.5 - 6.5k
Hammer - £5,500 - inc fees, £6,820 / $9,000 / €7,700


This is looking a little more "honest" - some paint missing from the hands, bezel looks a bit scruffy and dirty (so it's not been tarted up, by the look of things). Chrono hand isn't reset properly so doubtless wants servicing. Lume's mostly gone from the dial, but otherwise I bizarrely quite like it.

What's particularly interesting is the bracelet - described incorrectly as a 1035/1501/16 dates 4.66, MWO says the 1501/1035 bracelet (with both stamps) is very rare and only produced for a few months. It would originally have been fitted with no 6 links to a straight lug speedy so at some point, it looks like this one has been purloined for a twisted lug by matching with 16 end links. No photos of the bracelet, links or the back of the watch so probably needs inspecting to be sure.


LOT 242 - 145.012-67 - est £5-7k
Hammer - £7,600 - inc fees, £9,424 / $12,400 / €10,600


Now we're talking. Nice looking DON (slight dink at 8 but that's OK), and the colour of the lume on both dial & hands looks even and pleasing to me. It's a pity it doesn't have a bracelet, but it does have an extract.


LOT 243 - 145.022-69 - est £3,200-3,600
Hammer - £3,200 - inc fees, £3,968 / $5,250 / €4,500


"Showing signs of turning a brown colour" - though the lume isn't great, but at least the rest of it seems to match up.


LOT 244 - 145.022-74 - est £2,500-3,000
PASSED

Described as "CIRCA 1976, REF. 145022-74 ST WITH STEPPED DIAL"; that's no stepped dial, unless it's really faint. A trick of the light more likely. What's not a trick is that it's got a service bezel, though I do like the colour of the lume, which can sometimes be a little less pleasant minty green on this ref.

LOT 245 - 145.022-69 Straight Writing - est £5.5-6.5k
PASSED

Another watch with a new-looking strap. This one has original box & papers (though the serial is very late for a -69, the sale papers are dated 1973). The defining feature of this watch is the straight writing on the case back, but of course, the auctioneers don't seem to think that's important so we just get 2 crops of one picture with the B&P, and the unflattering photo above.

Bezel's a little beaten up, but it looks original to me - dial and hands match though the lume colour isn't as attractive as (say) Lot 242.


Lot 246 - 145.022-76 - est £3.5 - 4k
Hammer - £3,800 - inc fees, £4,712 / $6,250 / €5,350

Looks like an honest watch to me; not in the very best condition, but not at all bad. With 1171/633 bracelet (though no photos of the back), hands and dial look to have known each other all their lives, and in pretty good shape apart from a bit of missing paint on the 6 subdial hand, and is the 9 subdial hand a little too white? Hmmm. It does have box & papers.

… and that's it for now. There are some other interesting Speedies in the auction (a Holy Grail, estimated at £6-7k, and a couple of Italian special edition steel & gold watches supposedly known as "Liberace").

What do we all think?

 

Well I will leave the question of value to those who know what they are on about, but the photographs of some of these watches makes me scratch my head and wonder about these professionals.

How 'the fakk' do they manage to make these vintage watches look so dull? Is this a clever, marketing tactic that I am unaware of, or have I just become accustomed to the photographic enthusiasm of Omega Forums?

 

Some of their photos are less harsh than the straight-on ones seem to be - eg here's a better picture of lot 242, which is my pick of the lot:


… but like you say, how the faak can they put comparatively little effort into the photos and yet turn over these watches for the commission they'll get? If all of the above sell for their low estimate, then WoK will take over £11k in commission from the buyers (inc VAT & online fees), and will probably grab another £7k from the consignors too.

Maybe it's a deliberate tactic to get people to come along and view/bid in person...

 

Based on the piss poor photo, I don’t think the first Ed White is a bad as you suggest. The lume doesn’t look mostly gone to me so I could see that making £10K maybe. As you say, the ‘67 looks the best.

 

Some of these look very average to poor. Especial the CB (lot 241) with its incredibly unattractive dial.

However, the -67 (lot 242) look very nice and will likely go slightly over estimate. My favourite is without doubt the -61. The hands are not quite correct but they look like they’ve been there a while. I’d want to see it in person to check the lume but assuming that’s ok, I think it’s a lovely looking watch.

 

Agreed. I think the first Ed White is quite nice. Just needs the hands sorting. I’d much rather pay £7.5 for the first one, than £3.5 for the second with its service parts.

 

Regarding the photos, a phone call or an email produces a host of far more detailed ones from all angles. More than that, a purchase results in lots of nice, pretty, catalogues dropping through your letterbox periodically.

I'm guessing the -68 without an AML has a service dial on it. The 2998 has appeal, despite it being a later iteration. The -67 seems really lovely.

 

I always enjoy your posts about these auction lots with your assessment. Makes me realize how novice I still am.

 

Or it’s a 69 or 71 with the wrong caseback. Certainly sonething doesn’t add up there.

 

No disagreement here. The calibre/serial number would settle the question but I would suspect a replacement dial or else WoK would have described it otherwise.

 

Well I think it's nice that you put this together for the forum @ewand. Interesting stuff that gives some forum members cause for optimism.

 

OK, maybe I'm being harsh in the criticism... but I think the lume is far from good on that Ed White's dial. At least it is pretty even and it's not gone a horrible colour.

The WoK lot 238:


vs a really nice Ed White (which happens to be mine ):

(and yes, the blobbiness of the lume is normal - They All Do That, Sir)…

So the WoK example looks to have lost a good bit of its lume, and combined with the other issues (hands, crown, pushers), would make me suspicious. Maybe it needs inspecting to see just how it is in hand.

 

As well as no AML dial, it's got a DNN bezel, whereas a transitional -68 should have a DON.

So, let's say it's a -68. It's got the wrong dial, possibly replacement hands and the wrong bezel.
If it's a 69, then it could well all add up and just have been mis-described (or maybe it does have the wrong caseback).

Anyway, further investigation required by anyone who was interested...

 

Thanks - everyone is a learner at the start. www.Moonwatchonly.com and www.speedmaster101.com (as well as the many discussion threads here) are to be thanked for helping many of us figure out the details

 

Tell me about it, here's mine, also nicer IMO gets a bit blobby at the 5,6,7 indices;

 

In all fairness, not all of the EW have the wobbly lume shown by spacefruit

 

I am most curious how much will the all replaced Ed White fetch...

 

I like the 67 as everyone else does, but I also find that the EW has a very nice and coherent look, and my pick of the bunch would be the 2998. I love when watches develop this kind of patina!

 

I believe I had the opportunity to buy lot 245 a while back, details on the paperwork match what I recall seeing. It does have the SW caseback, albeit the more common variety. For me, I wasn't as attracted to the lume as I have been with other Speedmasters but the fact it is a SW and comes with B&P were positives as far as I was concerned. Had I been more actively looking to buy a SW I may have gone for it. I am not going to comment on the condition etc but in my humble opinion it did look to be an honest watch.

 

Lot 237 - Ref 2998
I would add that I believe the lume has been re done after viewing with a loupe.
I wouldn’t bid on this lot unless you can see it and judge for yourself.