The hunt is over... NWA 105.003

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This story actually begins about ten years ago. Like many, the Speedmaster was a watch I was fascinated by at the start of my vintage journey. In particular, pre-moon with the 105.012 reference making the most sense. As luck would have it, I was able to find an unpolished 66 with the -CB case locally. Met with the seller on the weekend and made an offer. He accepted and we agreed to meet the next day at a bank to complete the day. Unfortunately, I receive a text the next morning with the seller reneging on the deal. At the time, I was pretty disappointed, but what can you do? In retrospect, it was probably for the better, as I realized years later that it had a couple of service parts that wasn't mentioned.

A little while later, I got caught up by vintage Rolex and didn't really pursue the Speedmaster side of things for a number of years. The irony is that I really didn't like Rolex before this. Turns out, I just don't care for modern Rolex.

Fast forward to last year; I decide to revisit getting a Speedmaster to commemorate a milestone. At the time, I refined the search to a 105.012-65. I found a nice unpolished -65 from @ndgal. Bank wire sent / received and waited for Fedex. As luck would have it, the package goes missing. Sigh. In the end, everything was handled very professionally and insurance made me whole. Still, the experience soured me once again.

Fast forward again to a month ago, I started considering 105.003s in the search. The more I thought about it, the more the 39mm case, pre-pro dial and no crown guards appealed to me. As it happens, a nice 105.003-65 with b+p popped up on instagram from @DB1983. This time, it gets delivered.

It's a wonderful 105.003-65 with 7912/6 with extract. Everything original minus the service crown. I can honestly say that it was worth the wait.

PS: Anyone got an A1 flat foot crown?

 
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I got caught up by vintage Rolex
You can't just drop this and leave. Lets see those crowns.
 
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Really lovely, congratulations!

And it's just tragic to hear about a 105.012-65 that vanished into oblivion...🙁
 
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Very very nice! Thanks for sharing - post more photos when you have time!
 
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A nice little story while I enjoy my morning coffee. A splendid catch indeed!
 
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Wow it’s incredible!! How much was it?

No need to politely and discreetly tip-toe around the question, I’m sure you can just ask him.

@steversaurus thanks for sharing and congrats, the condition looks absolutely spectacular!
 
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Very, very nice indeed.
Could you please post a picture of the pushers and eventually measure the width of the end links?

Thank you
Edited:
 
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This story actually begins about ten years ago. Like many, the Speedmaster was a watch I was fascinated by at the start of my vintage journey. In particular, pre-moon with the 105.012 reference making the most sense. As luck would have it, I was able to find an unpolished 66 with the -CB case locally. Met with the seller on the weekend and made an offer. He accepted and we agreed to meet the next day at a bank to complete the day. Unfortunately, I receive a text the next morning with the seller reneging on the deal. At the time, I was pretty disappointed, but what can you do? In retrospect, it was probably for the better, as I realized years later that it had a couple of service parts that wasn't mentioned.

A little while later, I got caught up by vintage Rolex and didn't really pursue the Speedmaster side of things for a number of years. The irony is that I really didn't like Rolex before this. Turns out, I just don't care for modern Rolex.

Fast forward to last year; I decide to revisit getting a Speedmaster to commemorate a milestone. At the time, I refined the search to a 105.012-65. I found a nice unpolished -65 from @ndgal. Bank wire sent / received and waited for Fedex. As luck would have it, the package goes missing. Sigh. In the end, everything was handled very professionally and insurance made me whole. Still, the experience soured me once again.

Fast forward again to a month ago, I started considering 105.003s in the search. The more I thought about it, the more the 39mm case, pre-pro dial and no crown guards appealed to me. As it happens, a nice 105.003-65 with b+p popped up on instagram from @DB1983. This time, it gets delivered.

It's a wonderful 105.003-65 with 7912/6 with extract. Everything original minus the service crown. I can honestly say that it was worth the wait.

PS: Anyone got an A1 flat foot crown?

Absolute beauty of a watch. Congrats! (I must admit that since you and @cqing both found watches from DB1983, I went on a search both here and on Instagram to see his watches. I came up empty on the search…)
 
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The dial looks amazing.. happy for you that you managed to break the "curse"
 
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Wonderful watch and quite a story as well, congrats !
 
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Congratulations! That's pretty much my dream speedy too... That lume is gorgeous.
 
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Congrats! But what kind of a luck is that, can't imagine losing a Speedmaster with Fedex - but I guess you are in US, as shipping companies are worst in their home countries - with the exception of Aramex that sucks worldwide
 
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Very, very nice indeed.
Could you please post a picture of the pushers and eventually measure the width of the end links?

Thank you

Sure thing. Endlinks are the 19mm double notch no.6.
 
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MtV MtV
No need to politely and discreetly tip-toe around the question, I’m sure you can just ask him.

@steversaurus thanks for sharing and congrats, the condition looks absolutely spectacular!

I think both my watch and @cqing 's watches are in the archive section.
The price was public knowledge and listed on their site at 15k CHF. But for the sake of discretion, I'll say that like most dealers, there is some wiggle room.

Good experience and no surprises. Which isn't a bad thing.