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'Straight Writing' Eye candy

tigertom
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kov kov
Or the previous owner sourced a commemorative caseback, and put it on his watch. There is no way to prove this alternative to be wrong as well 😗

Also possible, but imho highly unlikely, as I got the watch directly from a very well respected Austrian dealer (R.I.P. Heiner), who was living in Argentina and brought the watch over from there.

And yes, you are right, there is unfortunately no way to prove wether the caseback was mounted at the Omega factory or not, as they have no records of the exact caseback versions for each and every watch back then. Therefore I would be very interested in getting more information/input from the community here (not just written book „facts“, but own empirical findings and evidence)
 
K
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abrod520 abrod520
Not only that, but I think that caseback may not be genuine - the font is wrong for these.

Very nice case/dial/220 bezel. The case back does not look like an authentic Apollo XI seen in 3.1-3.2 serials only and delivered exclusively to Japan. 220 is in correct serial range according to MWO
 
kov
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tigertom tigertom
I got the watch directly from a very well respected Austrian dealer

With this sentence I have enough information to make my own opinion on what could have happened.

Since there is no way to prove who’s right or wrong, I will stop this conversation here 😀 Enjoy your watch and have fun with gathering the empirical findings - I will silently follow with attention 👍
 
tigertom
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kov kov
With this sentence I have enough information to make my own opinion on what could have happened.

Did you know him personally? Did you ever buy a watch from him? Any bad experiences with him? Would be interesting to hear! Otherwise please hold back from posting such ambiguous comments.

I obviously wrongly thought that this would be a good place to discuss some topics of this highly interesting period in the speedmaster history, but getting responses like this one and using mainly killer arguments is not my preferred way of communication. As I see you started the thread in order to promote the sale of your own watch, I do not want to disturb here any longer.
 
kov
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tigertom tigertom
Did you know him personally? Did you ever buy a watch from him? Any bad experiences with him? Would be interesting to hear! Otherwise please hold back from posting such ambiguous comments.

No I didn't. And sorry if this sounds ambiguous but I am not intending any bashing of a person that is not part of this world anymore - not my style. Your watch could have been altered a hundred times before it lands in your hands, agree or not, it is what it is.

tigertom tigertom
As I see you started the thread in order to promote the sale of your own watch

LOL. This was posted one month before the watch goes for sale - proactive promotion? ::facepalm1:: The reason it went for sale is mentioned in the sales post.
 
tigertom
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kov kov
Your watch could have been altered a hundred times before it lands in your hands, agree or not, it is what it is.

Of course it could. Every watch that was not bought brand new at an official retailer or in NOS condition could. Thanks for this last killer argument, I am out here.
 
Barking mad
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I have no dog in this race and not passing any judgement in relation to the watch surrounding most of the discussion. At the end of the day you buy the seller based on history, logic, rationale and maybe a modicum of emotion. However if using the swiss cheese principle if enough anomalies line up you will have a hole all the way through.

There are always exceptions to most rules but normally not a number of rules. I have a transitional 68 Speedy purchased a number of years ago with a 220 misprint bezel. Why did I buy 1. It was from a trusted and knowledgable member of the forum. 2. I liked the watch. 3. The explanation for the anomaly made sense and it was the only anomaly. 4. Worst case scenario I could instal a DON 90 bezel.

Explanation below from the original listing..
Bezel: Features an extremely rare “220 bezel,” which is one of a small number that left the Omega factory with a misprint on the “200” spot in the normal Tachy bezel. While 220 bezels are typically seen on early 145.022-69’s, it’s my firm belief that it is original to this watch. I’ve drawn this conclusion based on three main pieces of evidence: 1) a 220 bezel would not have been used as a service bezel from Omega (especially given the extremely small window of time in which they were accidentally produced), 2) the 27.3M serial is towards the very end of the -68’s, and 3) the watch was not owned by a watch collector who would have actively sought out this bezel. The only possibility is that it was swapped on by a third-party servicer in the 70’s or so, but I highly doubt this to be the case given the rarity of these bezels.

Cheers
 
queriver
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tigertom tigertom
And yes, you are right, there is unfortunately no way to prove wether the caseback was mounted at the Omega factory or not, as they have no records of the exact caseback versions for each and every watch back then. Therefore I would be very interested in getting more information/input from the community here (not just written book „facts“, but own empirical findings and evidence)
Posters, don't leave this thread in frustration. If anyone with information about SW A11 casebacks that don't seem to fit the pattern comes forward, that can only be good. I don't have the Davidoff book, don't know when it researched compared with MWO, but if anyone well hooked into the brothers reaches out to them, perhaps they can be asked to shed more light about the watch referenced in their book.
 
tigertom
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queriver queriver
If anyone with information about SW A11 casebacks that don't seem to fit the pattern comes forward, that can only be good. I don't have the Davidoff book, don't know when it researched compared with MWO

Thank you @queriver for this post, this was exactly my intention! I have no intention whatsoever in selling this watch, I am just interested in broadening the research base on this topic, and probably there are new findings with the help of this community.

Re Davidoff book: the book was obviously produced in 2015 with the help of some quite respected Omega specialists, with Grégoire Rossier, Anthony Marquié, Petros, Robert-Jan and yes, Heiner amongst them. One can still order the book through their official website - and no, this is not an advertisement.


587BE1CB-A487-4B13-A9E3-C3DBF8A8AC12.jpeg 739834D0-78E9-499C-ADF8-17ABA4B363D9.jpeg
 
pdxleaf
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Bump. This arrived today from Tokyo (Thank you @krogerfoot for making it happen.)

Ser no. 310061XX, Nov. 1971. Has the 1116 bracelet 👍. Pretty nice dial and bezel. The bezel has some fading that changes in the light. It's a nice feature that only comes with age.

Case was polished but still has decent edges (Japanese seem required under law to polish a watch). Nicer than my last one so unless an even nicer one pops up, this should be my keeper.

20231023_145738.jpg 20231023_114436.jpg
 
Aludic
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My humble “regular” Straight Writing says ‘hi’. 😀 Originally delivered in Germany and most likely on the 1171 trapezoid logo bracelet it’s currently on. (Testified by the clasp bearing the original owners name).

FFE55D72-74DA-410F-A8FA-26A486E7250C.jpeg 3F08CD8F-8C69-4BDD-92BA-5A703A65F44D.jpeg
 
levkov
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What a lovely example 🥰
My plain Hippocampus back 220, manufactured just 6 weeks later, says hi 😀
IMG_7570m.jpg IMG_7944 - Copy2.jpg IMG_8078_M_2.jpg
 
gbesq
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My '69 Flight Qualified. I go back and forth between the 1175/640 bracelet which is correct for the reference and assorted straps - black suede is probably my favorite.
1608459-bc4388009f3453a63f3215bb109a443f.jpg
x1653459-5fdc15da0fee76eff9af2c53707f17c8.jpg.pagespeed.ic.sJ--rCOZG7.webp
x1649037-d8f0091d9fc9736f12cb7b2107afc62d.jpg.pagespeed.ic.UYOYQkKQGI.webp
x1679586-125f761b5783926a37cc2c2a7c38f563.jpg.pagespeed.ic.x1SZNPOGvN.webp
Edited:
 
tigertom
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Just found some strong evidence, that not only my Apollo XI was delivered to Argentina, so I think the common believe, that they only were delivered to Japan has got some more cracks. Or do you really believe that two casebacks were swapped back then in Argentina? 😉

https://omegaforums.net/posts/1967788/ Marcel81
Marcel81 ·
Good evening,

i also have 145022 straight writing with apollo xi engraving. i ordered a extract from omega with pictures of the straight apollo xi writing.

But my watch was delivered to argentina inNovember 1970.

so is this possible?
 
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