hi all - I just picked up this clean looking 145.014 Speedmaster Mk II supposedly from 1970, although its serial no is 30-odd later than the one featured in Fratello so I suspect it's a bit later.

Either it has spent its life in a drawer and never been worn or (more likely), it's ben re-lapped and serviced. I don't know what the service history is, but I presume the dial is a service item since the markers are showing a bit more green than I'd expect.

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Thing is, a modern service dial wouldn't be tritium, as I have another SMII that had a new racing dial fitted, and that just says Swiss Made... The marking on the baton at 5 also makes me think it's not a new dial, but it might have been a replacement sometime before they stopped using tritium.

What does anyone else think?
I wish @Spacefruit would cover 145.014s in www.speedmaster101.com ;-)

 

I see nothing on dial and hands that screams 'service replacements'. How strong and long do they glow when you charge them?

 

Thanks - maybe I'm just being a bit paranoid The lume glow is pretty even across the markers and the hands, and it's not all that strong and only lasts a few seconds. I'm presuming that even if the hands and dial are service items, they must have been done 20 years ago - but who knows, maybe they are original to the watch.

 

Agree. Looks original to me.

 

Considering the case on that, I would vote for original and kept in a drawer.

 

Based on your pics, it looks pretty original to me. Overall seems to be a great example on the Mark II. Good luck with it and wear it well.


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dial and hands look ok (original) to me as well. the case is a bit tougher. one thing that might help is a pic of the lug ends. Sometimes you can tell if the case has been redone by how thick the ends are. a redone case will be very thin on the edges.

 

Thanks for the advice - does this help, @oddboy?

 

Those don't look too bad to me, but I can't find a pic of a never polished one. I'd guess it was refinished though.

Here's some ccmparables.

Here's the reissue. I don't know how close this is to the original.


And some vintage ones...

 

Thanks - I suspect the watch has been refinished but I don't have a problem with that. Here's my other one (which I know had service hands and a Racing dial put on not long before I bought it):


... and after some lapping TLC at STS:

 

Here are the 2 Mk IIs side by side...