Greetings, I have a Speedy here with a 145022-69 ST stamped straight writing back case but the serial of the movement does not fit the range on the popular charts. According to the moonwatchonly.com charts, the range should be 31.009.xxx-32.857.xxx. On speedmaster101 post, the acceptable serial is shown as even broader range of 31xx xxx – 32xx xxx. The watch I have shows 32.859.xxx serial. As you can see, it is acceptable by 101 standards and it is very close but still off the MWO charts. I am no expert so I wanted to ask the OF community and see if the serial I have is acceptable as the 145-022 ST 69 straight writing. Do any of you have a true straight writing Speedy that is off the range of the charts? I will put up pictures if it would help. Thank you.
I think that both serial ranges were made on observation. Not real Omega range. I woud say that if you think it is SW, then it is! Show us some pictures!
options..... It is correct It is correct but the bridge holding the serial number was switched for some reason or The movement was switched for some reason and a fourth, the back was added at some point Your choice
Thanks for posting TexOmega. What do you mean by " it is correct?" Are you saying that the rest of the watch looks correct but just the movement is not right?
What does that mean? Extracts don't mention casebacks. Here's an example: https://omegaforums.net/threads/145-022-69-speedmaster-professional-straight-writing.79122/ There are 2 questions here: (1) Is that a genuine straight writing caseback? Answer: yes. (2) Was it original to that watch? Answer: Hard to say for certain, and an extract won't tell you. I lean toward yes.
I think what @TexOmega was trying to say is first to check if the Extract confirms that this movement is from a Speedmaster. (I see no reason to doubt this at the moment?). I don’t know of his comments about the bridge being switched, I don’t know how to sport this difference. Is it so that all US exported watches have a “Unadjusted” sign on the bridge? My observations is that the OP’s caseback looks from the inside to have some traces of previous corrosion or pitting from water ingress or humidity, that is not normal. If the caseback looks like this, then the movement, dial, hands and case will usually be destroyed or heavily tainted also. Most likely the OP watch is all correct for a SW caseback, but maybe this particular caseback was never with this watch from the factory, as the rest of the watch is in very nice condition. These are just my thoughts, please correct me if i’m wrong.
If I read correctly and understood the OP's concern, he was stressing over the serial on the movement.
Yes. I think you hit it on the head. The seller of the thread you are referring to also states acceptable serial range to be 32xxxxx but how far up the 32xxxxx does it go, that is hard to say for certain. When I first saw the discolorations on the inner case back, I too was concerned about this as well. Although the real life back case is in better shape than the way it looks in the above photo, this was why I was even more concerned that the movement may be suspect. I don't think this was an earlier straight writing version so actually, to me, the plastic part is consistent with the later run and serial number but I may be completely wrong. To add, the seller states that the watch is from a single elderly owner and although there is no way to prove it, that owner bought it from a legit source and was his personal watch. The seller has been forthcoming and great to communicate with so I have no reason to think that he is lying about this. Thanks everyone for posting. Any other input would be greatly appreciated.
Just to reinforce this point and add some detail: According to MWO, Delrin brakes began appearing around serial number 32849xxx in -69 and -71 references, around the end of 1971. See the excerpt here: https://omegaforums.net/threads/speedmaster-pro-delrin-brake.44982/#post-1048024 Therefore, the OP's watch checks out in this respect.
Thank you kind sir! This may sound dumb but my favorite part of the watch is the severe ding on the bezel right above the 500 mark on the tachymeter. Something about that damage reminds me of my own scars and damages as well.