One of the least important criteria when evaluating the attraction of vintage straight-lugged Speedies is the polished state of the case and specifically the lugs and the lack/distortion of facets (hard straight edges / flat surfaces thereof). There are only so many of them in the world...and they have simply been around for too long and reworked too much, are external to the watch and exposed to the environment and daily friction (especially as tool watches). This is what one usually gets and accepts as normal when one sees a Pre-moon straight-lugged Speedy: Nothing wrong, fully attractive...most folk have/would trade-in their organs... Over the last few weeks however I saw the following pictures, and they somehow struck a few chords in my mind to the tune of looking back through time / time travel / walking into a museum where one would be able to see what these glorious watches looked like the day they left the factory... 105.003-65 105.003-64 Gene Cernans 105.003 And I figured : you folk must have some insane condition straight-lugged Speedies...so this can be the 'portal' looking back through time to before they got polished into how we know them today. @Tom Dick created an excellent thread about the '64 Ed Whites which have no faceted lugs (https://omegaforums.net/threads/spe...designs-calling-all-64-ed-white-owners.45695/ ) but that's a single sub-reference out of decade of straight-lugged Speedies (15 sub-references). When looking at the reissues (CK2998, FOIS, 60th Anniversary) its also clear to see that there were well defined facets, but not if those are how all of the various straight-lugged-references came out... So where have all the original unpolished facets gone? What did they originally look like back in the day? If you can, please do play and show us the facets on your gorgeous unpolished straight-lugged Speedies. Many Thanks! Here is a similar thread that @oddboy started before me : https://omegaforums.net/threads/nice-crisp-straight-lugs-got-some.34079/ Here is a summary of the visually well defined facets of some of the contributions further down in the thread. It would appear from similarities between all that these are more or less as unpolished/finished as can be, as close to how they came from the factory... Various 105.003’s 105.003-65 105.003-64 2998 It would appear that the early straight-lugs had almost the same case profiles/finishes/facets as the 60th Anniversary Trilogies... Mint 2998-3 ... just look at those bevels! https://www.instagram.com/p/BzGp8NdIP0d/ Mint 2998-1 (@MSNWatch 's doozy) ... 2998-1
What's interesting is the third photo you pasted up there is my 105.003-64, which doesn't actually have pronounced facets. For example, compare the two cases - both of which are extremely thick and unpolished (and had crisp casebacks). 105.003-65 (with faceted lugs) 105.003-64 (No facets)
As the OP so kindly said I've written a fair bit on this in the past but in short the 64 was a one year only case band and the overwhelming majority have no facets I've seen a few with facets but only a very very few
Hi @ChicagoFrog Yes, you are right, it's yours ... and congrats on a superb find. My thinking is if it had no facets, there should be no reflection of the light source where one would expect a facet, or in the shape of them... However, I am by no means an expert, and am enjoying the learning process, so am open to whatever light can be shed on this : I don't want to start a debate on this particular watch, or to question @Tom Dick's thread Would simply love for folks to add pictures of gorgeous (as unpolished as possible) facets for those reference that have. And in all honesty, when I saw your pic, I was not thinking 'what reference is it'...which is my bad. Many thanks for contributing the first pics.
I'd welcome finding a new old stock example of a 'non facet' 64, a lot of the flown 'smithsonian' NASA watches are 64 and I guess this is one of the best references I can find for untouched and unmolested watches (as per my original thread) It could well be there they did have a tiny facet as its would appear @ChicagoFrog 's example looks like it has. Kov I suspect yours had a standard case (pre 64) band looking at the facets themselves
Here is my 65 prior to service and with and incorrect bracelet, watch is now serviced with the correct second recorder added. Case is untouched and the facets quite clear
I'm quite certain that the facets in modern examples like the FOIS are not the same as those on vintage Speedmasters when they originally left the factory. The FOIS facets are larger. Incidentally, the first pic in the OP (second set of pics) is my 105.003-65. Acquired from the original owner, never serviced before I bought it. I don't have any more pictures of the facets to hand at the minute though.
Loving it...thanks guys for the awesome pics thus far...so nice to see....keep them coming... Yeah, my feeling too is they match the CK2915's...which is more pronounced then those seen so far... (this is from a '57 coaxial, but the facets match all the reissued straight lugged Speedies) ...or see this as an excuse to whip out the real cameras and lenses and focus in on those lugs
a question. what is the original finish of a 105.003-65. From the top? polished-polished-brushed or polished-brushed-brushed (in this order TOP-FACET-SIDES) Any guru can help?
I think @oddboy created a similar thread a year or so back with some fine examples. Can't find it at the moment though.
I did search all threads that contain 'straight lug' in them before posting If you do find it, I would be ok to kill this one and add the eye candy to that...