All comments welcome .... Just going to post these photos first:

 

someone is going to be very very upset....Are you planning to try and trace the owner?

 

Hand into the police? id imagine some one will be upset

 

I'm planning to buy it ... I'm in love

 

ahh im assuming you met someone in a car park to buy it

 

Only thing I find in car parks are horseapples.

 

Or keymarks/trolley brushes/bent mirrors

 

I found a car one time in a car park!

 

Was it in a boot?

 

In a toy box actually... was hoping to find a nice Speedy similar to the stunner at the top of this thread but alas my hopes dashed one more

 

Exactly ... a "step into my office" moment as you climb into the back of a stranger's car.

 

Anyway folks, wrong chrono hand, wrong bezel (but ain't that a lovely DON?), not sure about the crown and, even using @Pahawi 's bespoke caseback tool, that back was not coming off so no check on the movement or reference numbers. I've seen better looking dials, but I've also seen much, much worse ... and I do like that dial.

I made my offer, which left the owner surprised; I even offered a trade of another vintage speedmaster plus money on top.

He's asked for time to think about it.

 

DON? Are you sure?

 

I'm sure it's a DNN now that you've said!

 

If you have fixed the watch case properly, I'll claim my opener will do the work no matter how stock your caseback is.... ;-) If you damage the opener, I'll pass you a new for free....

Paul

 

Umm no keep trying That's a modern bezel not a DNN. Well technically yes the Dot is next to 90 but DNN is normally used to denote the bezel just after the DON. Easyw ay to spot is the Dot under 70 and the return of é in Tachymeter.

 

Paul, that was the problem ... without a case holder, there was no way that thing was moving. Nothing against your opener at all (which, I think has been said before, is a work of art itself).

 

Done that before buying a watch

 

Folks, can I get some help with this, please?

I'm waiting on site but have my copy of MWO with me along with the originals of the photos above and I'm crawling over every aspect.

The owner bought it some 20 years ago from the original owner - he told me what he paid but, as I hate to see grown men cry, I won't repeat that here. I do not have watch in hand and am still to see under the hood. The original owner claimed to have bought the watch "around 1959" .

So, the case; the case is nice. I love the case. I have no issues with the case.

The dial, though, looks to me to be an A5 but the hands are a mix of everything from the early 60s. Has anyone seen this sort of mix that wasn't on an assemblage of parts rather than an original?

Have to run as my appointment's arrived but all comments are gratefully accepted.

 

looks OK to me. probably a -3 or -4 with those leaf subdial hands. from the -5 onwards, id' expect to see stick hands there. the chrono seconds hand looks legit with it's large center disc that covers the minute hand disc, and no spear head. The hands appear to be slightly convex, as vintage alpha hands should be (and modern versions are not).

agree that the dial is A5, which is fine for -2 to -62.

do you have any specific concerns?

make sure all the pieces match though, movement, caseback, etc.