Thoughts on 69 Speedy

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2nd post here. Hopefully the pictures show up correctly. Found this on Ebay for 5500.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-Omega...ial/254441126842?_trksid=p2485497.m4902.l9144

Looks pretty good to me. Some Lume loss on the minute hand. I think the hands installed are the original and not service replacements. Is there some corrosion or damage on the back of the watch? Bezel looks good, but it is too good---a replacement?

Doesn't look like the Seller has sold alot of Watches, but has positive comments....how much of a worry is this?

Thanks for the comments in advice....

 
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That serial number should have a DON bezel. Wrong sweep hand. Later bracelet. Lots of misinformation in the listing.
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That serial number should have a DON bezel. Wrong sweep hand. Later bracelet. Lots of misinformation in the listing.
Why the extract states the bracelet 1171/633, i thought this early serie should have 1039/516 combo😵‍💫
 
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Why the extract states the bracelet 1171/633, i thought this early serie should have 1039/516 combo😵‍💫

Yes, that's strange. But even if it came with an 1171, I think it should have the trapezoidal logo.
 
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Nice dial, but the caseback and the backs of the lugs show significant polishing. I'd really need to see more photos of the lugs from various angles. All the incorrect parts are going to hurt the value for a collector, the missing DON most of all.
 
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Thanks! I shouldve caught the DON bezel. Need to get smarter on the bracelets. Looking forward to my Moonwatch book arriving....
 
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This watch is a mish-mash of parts.
Looks like it has been through an Omega Service Center where some of the original parts have been replaced with modern replacement parts at some point. (with the original-ish parts retained).

As @Dan S said, pretty odd to see an extract with such an early production date indicating an 1171/633 bracelet. (the 1171/633 offered with this watch is a more modern one).

You should also note that the original step dial had the Tritium markers stabilized (hence the "puddles" around them).
*I would almost want to call this dial a little later than the commonly accepted one for the serial range (145.022-68 AML 26.555.XXX - 27.719.XXX according to MWO). I honestly can't say that I have seen this dial type on a Speedy with a 27.715.XXX serial, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility that this could be one of the earliest printed logo dials.

In addition, the H/M/C hands are service. (No real difference on the H/M hands but Chrono hand is A) Short. B) completely incorrect for the reference) which may suggest this has not been this watch's first visit to an Omega service center.
If you want to go even deeper into the details; the running seconds subdial hand is a service part as well (notice the tip is not as pointy as the other two originals).

All that said, I actually find this watch pretty attractive. And as a daily wearer, I would probably prefer it (at this price point) over a not so attractive (but all correct) 145.022-69 that you might be able to find at a similar price.

I would also not feel bad about buying it or losing money if I ever wanted to sell as the value of the parts pretty much equals the seller's asking price.
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I would also not feel bad about buying it or losing money if I ever wanted to sell as the value of the parts pretty much equals the seller's asking price.

Although the OP seemed to indicate that the asking price is $5,500, in fact that's the starting bid of an auction listing. No bids yet, though.
 
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Although the OP seemed to indicate that the asking price is $5,500, in fact that's the starting bid of an auction listing. No bids yet, though.
It's a start...
 
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And if the production date was only +12 days, this would probably be one of the coolest Speedmasters ever! 😉
 
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That’s a very early date for a -69 is it not? As noted above I would have expected a July 1969 extract date to be on a transitional -68. The 27.71m serial is more usually seen on 68s too, Eugene’s ILMS has it as such. I wonder if the extract date is wrong. Or more likely the movement could have been swapped into a later case, dial etc. That happened too back in the day. Either way there are enough unknowns here to keep me away. I think this is a Franken, part -68, part -69, part modern.
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A Speedy produced in 1969 must have a bracelet 1039 in my opinion.
 
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A Speedy produced in 1969 must have a bracelet 1039 in my opinion.
I'm not sure I would have said "must". During transition periods like 68-70, a lot of things were possible. It's more likely to have been fitted with a 1039, but the abstract does say it had an 1171. Although the one shown is clearly the present service version, not a vintage one
 
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Thanks! I shouldve caught the DON bezel. Need to get smarter on the bracelets. Looking forward to my Moonwatch book arriving....

The book is incredible, I too looked at this and went thru the book and discovered the issues raised.

Starting to believe there are no deals on the bay unless u catch it early.

I have grabbed some auctions and the mwo book tk compare , great way to get an eduction
 
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That’s a very early date for a -69 is it not? As noted above I would have expected a July 1969 extract date to be on a transitional -68. The 27.71m serial is more usually seen on 68s too, Eugene’s ILMS has it as such. I wonder if the extract date is wrong. Or more likely the movement could have been swapped into a later case, dial etc. That happened too back in the day. Either way there are enough unknowns here to keep me away. I think this is a Franken, part -68, part -69, part modern.
I actually think that this watch could be correct with this dial, caseback, & movement serial number.
Yes, the serial number is right at the tail end of 145.022-68 production, but I wouldn't discount the possibility that this is one of the earliest 145.022-69 and there was an overlap in the transition period.
At the end of the day, none of us were at the Omega factory to see when exactly the last AML dial and the first of the printed logo dials were installed and the exact last serial of the AML.
These are all educated guesses.
 
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To be fair to the lister of the auction - they’re pretty open about the issues.

I see two flat Chrono hands in the listing - a quick trip to a watchmaker to swap one out and youre closer to originaI. I think it’s a reasonable buy at asking.
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Also interesting is the eighteenth jewel has been added during a service.
Is it common to see Omega do that replacement? Or more of a red flag?
 
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To be fair to the luster of the auction - they’re pretty open about the issues.

I see two flat Chrono hands in the listing - a quick trip to a watchmaker to swap me out and your closer to originaI. I think it’s a reasonable buy at asking.

I think the listing has been updated for accuracy, perhaps the seller has read this thread or been contacted by an expert. For example, I think it originally seemed to claim that the sweep hand, bezel, and bracelet are original.