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The Flightmaster thread

lindo
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I have not been a Flightmaster fan - I never really looked at them or their history, and thought they looked just plain odd.

However my moon watch was looking a bit lonely amongst a collection of vintage Constellations: when this Flightmaster came up recently it seemed worth a closer look. It has never been polished/refurbished, and has what appears to be the original 1162/172 bracelet link combination in reasonably tight condition. Although the case has lots of small dings it is still sharp, and the pushers and crowns are all original.

The movement is nice and clean and running 12 seconds/day slow, which is not bad for a watch that I suspect may not have been serviced for a long time. It came via a dealer from an estate.

So I surprised myself by buying it - I am glad I did.

IMG_0408.jpeg IMG_0409.jpeg IMG_0416.jpeg IMG_0421.jpeg
 
Flashgordon80
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The flightmaster case is one of the most challenging to work with. Each surface isn’t that hard to restore, its getting all of them to meet correctly thats the challenge, and getting the surface structure consistent.
This one is my own after I restored it.
EC978A05-A47E-474F-9059-816F72F98412.jpeg
 
spacemission
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jaegodylan jaegodylan
This ref 911 turned up for sale on Instagram yesterday in London. Full set in remarkable condition £4250.




👍
 
lindo
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incabloc incabloc
There is not a great story behind. A friend who has looking for one since years has bought this one last year. But the real thing for him was one with the gold bracelet. So the hunt was ongoing. End of last year a near unworn BA345.0801 with box and papers was popping up at Christie's Australia. He was the winner of that auction and I called dibs for this one. So I'm now a very happy owner of something really nice and special.... 😀
IMG_5626 (2).JPG

Here is the one your friend bought at Sothebys Australia last December. I tried it on - but I like the one you bought from him better. I can see why he wanted the one with the gold bracelet, though - but it felt like a brick in your hand.

I wonder how rare these gold models were.

Gold Flightmaster 1972.jpeg
 
cornishgiant
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Wow!! That gold one is something else. I think I should rearrange my small collection and get one of these! Love them!
 
esperando
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lindo lindo
Here is the one your friend bought at Sothebys Australia last December. I tried it on - but I like the one you bought from him better. I can see why he wanted the one with the gold bracelet, though - but it felt like a brick in your hand.

I wonder how rare these gold models were.

Gold Flightmaster 1972.jpeg

i do not like the gold version, but i can understand that being so rare is desirable

nice that the needles are black and the OM SWISS MADE OM is cool, what does OM stand for ?
 
Lonestar
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lindo lindo
Here is the one your friend bought at Sothebys Australia last December. I tried it on - but I like the one you bought from him better. I can see why he wanted the one with the gold bracelet, though - but it felt like a brick in your hand.

I wonder how rare these gold models were.

Gold Flightmaster 1972.jpeg
wow 😲
 
incabloc
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lindo lindo
Here is the one your friend bought at Sothebys Australia last December. I tried it on - but I like the one you bought from him better. I can see why he wanted the one with the gold bracelet, though - but it felt like a brick in your hand.

I wonder how rare these gold models were.

Yes this is the FM he bought. Meanwhile it was at Omega Biel for movement service and replacement of the inner bezel. Yes it is a brick...😁

IMG_6486.JPG
 
Oysterquartz
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esperando esperando
i do not like the gold version, but i can understand that being so rare is desirable

nice that the needles are black and the OM SWISS MADE OM is cool, what does OM stand for ?
It stands for Or Massif, solid gold.
 
Dr. Green
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incabloc incabloc
Yes this is the FM he bought. Meanwhile it was at Omega Biel for movement service and replacement of the inner bezel. Yes it is a brick...😁

IMG_6486.JPG

Wow. Big thumbs up for both 👍
 
Fryewerk
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The iconic Flightmaster case (left) side view comparing in thickness to the stunningly tall Speedmaster Mark III. I love them both! Next to the Speemaster, the Flightmaster looks quite thin!
 
96406E52-6EC9-4012-AF3E-AA0E8900C4B4.jpeg 65C8D571-A5B7-457A-918A-CDE12B0E9390.jpeg
flqt-9000
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Fryewerk Fryewerk
The iconic Flightmaster case (left) side view comparing in thickness to the stunningly tall Speedmaster Mark III. I love them both! Next to the Speemaster, the Flightmaster looks quite thin!
looks like the case of a 145.026 with the dial of a 145.013...😕
 
Fryewerk
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257
TwistedVicar TwistedVicar
It does. Flat crystal also.
Yes, definitely a replacement crystal but I never noticed the case discrepancy. I will have to look at the book and check again...can’t remember the difference.
 
FreelanceWriter
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Fryewerk Fryewerk
Yes, definitely a replacement crystal but I never noticed the case discrepancy. I will have to look at the book and check again...can’t remember the difference.
The most obvious difference is that on the 026 and 036 cases, there's about 1 mm of steel on the vertical surface in between the tops of the crowns and pushers, whereas on the 013 case, the crowns and pushers occupy the entire vertical surface.
 
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