Hi all, For a while I've been considering buying a Speedmaster professional. The other day the pictured watch was offered to me (see below, sorry for the bad quality), which the owner thought was a 145.022-78. Upon inspecting the movement, I found a serial number starting with 45, which made me conclude it's a 145.0022 from 1984 instead. Now, I told the owner I wasn't buying it because I was looking for a 145.022-78. On second thought, however, I'm reconsidering. Wouldn't this be a nice entry-level Speedmaster that I could use as a stepping stone towards the older references? The watch is in great condition, all original parts, unpolished case and with nice patina on the dial. It was offered to be for $2.500. Looking forward to hearing from you folks!
According to the little spreadsheet I keep, 45,xxx is in fact around 1984. Seems like a nice clean watch, and $2,500 is a good price.
Do you have a better picture of the dial which hasn't had the colour removed? It's hard to tell if it has a nice patina or not from that pic.
I know, the seller's pictures are terrible. I've inspected the watch in person--patina looks pretty good. This is the best close-up he has, hope this helps: