Straight-writing Speedmaster with DON and 26.5M serial

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Dan S

·May 6, 2020

Listed by a well-known dealer. Incorrect sweep hand is disclosed. Thoughts?

Based on my limited knowledge, 26.5M serial is far too early for a SW case-back. Also, in my opinion, the hour and minute hands are also wrong (too short), which is not disclosed (the listing only says they are re-lumed). Buy the seller?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Omega-Spee...092182?hash=item1f0f80e716:g:5mgAAOSw0BBeswGM

"Notes: Very rare model. One of the first “Man on the Moon” Speedmasters. Case back is different than that of the later man on the moon watches. This watch was made in 1969."

Edited: May 6, 2020

 

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connieseamaster

·May 6, 2020

To me, it would be perfectly plausible (and I've possibly gotten this hypothesis from another OF thread) that the owner of the watch at the time of the moon landing had a SW swapped on to commemorate the occasion.

The rest, I've got no clue.

 

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apsm100

·May 6, 2020·Noob taxpayer

Saw this. Immediately noted how cobbled together it is. 👎

 

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Dan S

·May 6, 2020

connieseamaster

To me, it would be perfectly plausible (and I've possibly gotten this hypothesis from another OF thread) that the owner of the watch at the time of the moon landing had a SW swapped on to commemorate the occasion.

That's a nice thought, I think you are probably a kind person who tends to give others the benefit of the doubt. 😀

 

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Dan S

·May 6, 2020

apsm100

Saw this. Immediately noted how cobbled together it is. 👎

So, these are issues that should be noticed by one of the top dealers in the world? Not just us OF geeks? 😕

 

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queriver

·May 6, 2020

Sure it's 26.5x? I'm leaning towards 28.5 from comparison against the other 6s and 8s in the serial, but can't be certain. 28.55x makes it a Feb '70 production, still early though.

 

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Buck2466

·May 6, 2020

Probably why it's being sold on Ebay.

 

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pascs

·May 6, 2020

Its just a put together parts watch imo. The serial number, case back, hands, no dust cover (but an odd white plastic gasket) all indicate a watch put together from parts, even the sub dial hands have flat tips instead of pointed tips.

 

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ndgal

·May 6, 2020

Dan S

Based on my limited knowledge, 26.5M serial is far too early for a SW case-back. Also, in my opinion, the hour and minute hands are also wrong (too short)

You missed one pretty important part...

 

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ndgal

·May 6, 2020

pascs

The serial number, case back, hands, no dust cover (but an odd white plastic gasket) all indicate a watch put together from parts, even the sub dial hands have flat tips instead of pointed tips.

You too...

 

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pascs

·May 6, 2020

You mean the dial 😉

 

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ndgal

·May 6, 2020

pascs

You mean the dial 😉

 

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Dan S

·May 6, 2020

ndgal

You missed one pretty important part...

You're right, it's funny that I missed the missing step. 😁

 

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ndgal

·May 6, 2020

Dan S

You're right, it's funny that I missed the missing step. 😁

That's because it's missing...

 

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Dan S

·May 6, 2020

ndgal

That's because it's missing...

This would have been a great quiz watch for newbies.

 

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Dan S

·May 6, 2020

queriver

Sure it's 26.5x? I'm leaning towards 28.5 from comparison against the other 6s and 8s in the serial, but can't be certain. 28.55x makes it a Feb '70 production, still early though.

You might be right about that, but as you mention, it doesn't really change things.

 

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ndgal

·May 6, 2020

Dan S

This would have been a great quiz watch for newbies.

Often times we see a 145.022-69/71/74 listed for sale somewhere with crappy pictures or bad lighting and we see people on the forum trying to figure out if it is or isn't a step dial.
Though there are several other small differences between C1 & C2 dials, the most obvious one (other than the step of course) is the E in OMEGA.
The middle stroke on the E on a C1 dial is dead center, while on C2 it is more towards the top.
That's how you can tell if it's a step dial or a flat dial even if the picture is crappy or the lighting or photo angles are bad.



Even the "MOONWATCH ONLY" book does not mention this.
In fact, the book's description of the OMEGA print on the C1 & C2 dials is exactly the same:



#tipoftheday

Edited: May 7, 2020

 

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Cuttysark

·May 7, 2020

ndgal

Often times we see a 145.022-69/71/74 listed for sale somewhere with crappy pictures or bad lighting and we see people on the forum trying to figure out if it is or isn't a step dial.
Though there are several other small differences between C1 & C2 dials, the most obvious one (other than the step of course) is the E in OMEGA.
The middle stroke on the E on a C1 dial is dead center, while on C2 it is more towards the top.
That's how you can tell if it's a step dial or a flat dial even if the picture is crappy or the lighting or photo angles are bad.



Even the "MOONWATCH ONLY" book does not mention this.
In fact, the book's description of the OMEGA print on the C1 & C2 dials is exactly the same:



#tipoftheday

This is what I call true passion. Knowledge first.

 

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alam

·May 7, 2020

What!? 😲 my big/heavy MWO reference is slightly off!? 😜

 

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Davidt

·May 7, 2020

Interestingly I have a 145.22-68 which came with a straight writing case back. I got it dirt cheap (I think around £1300 in 2015) and it’s certainly a daily beater.

It has the original step dial (lume is gone), DoN, 26,555xxx serial etc and although the condition is very ‘running’ it is largely correct. I’ve since swapped the SW back for a correct -68 one. It also had incorrect hands so given the overall condition, wrong hands and wrong bezel, it’s likely it was serviced using whatever parts were available at the time. However, I always wondered whether I did the right thing in swapping the case back in case it was swapped at the point of sale as the buyer wanted a ‘moonwatch’.