ok and? i'm a trained therapist and I don't see any problems with a little light hearted joking.

 

99.6% if the time, OF feels like a respectful and inclusive space. The post just rubbed me the wrong way (light hearted pun intended).

 

So.....
I wonder how many Ultramen we are up to now. 60, 70, 80?
I might just take the orange hand off and replace it with a white one to make my watch look more exclusive

 

I may have missed it so where exactly did the number 50 come from in the first place? omega themselves or some self-serving dealers?

 

From a very knowledgeable source, I hear it was self serving dealers, not Omega themselves.

 

OMG: Is it an Ultraman?

 

Very nice pair of watches with big kudos going to you for keeping them, personally I would research the servicing very well, one tiny mistake from a kack hand and the dial could be marked which would seriously hurt the value, maybe store the UM for future unserviced and service and wear the other.

Yes they are strong value at the moment but give it 10-15-20 years and the sky's the limit for a watch like that, good luck with it

 

But by then the exponential growth in examples will mean we all have 5 each.

 

Haha shots fired!

 

why would I not want to send it to omega for repair and servicing?

any recommendations for insuring the watches?

thanks everyone for all of the advice and information !!!

 

Omega could change extremely valuable parts for service parts, plus you could be sending a £40/50k watch away, I would want to hand it over personally and guarantee insurance before it leaves my hands.

 

Omega will polish the watch case (a no-no on vintage, pls leave the finish as original), and even if you trust them to oblige the request to not polish the case they will very likely replace "worn" parts like hands, bezel, dial, and crown with new service parts. Omega would destroy the collector's value of the watch's vintage patina that could be worth more than your car (the watch with orange hand).

Never polish things like a vintage watch, gun, or coins (nor replace the cosmetic parts with valuable patina for new parts if avoidable). Many people would be okay using some polywatch creme to remove scratches from the crystal, but if it was going to be sold then it's always best to leave things like that to the buyer, and don't clean it up for them in advance - the buyer may not want the mismatch of a vintage looking watch with a sparkling clean crystal that stands out.

Until you know for sure what you want to do with it, I would not wind it or use it if has been over 5-7 years since it was last serviced, because you may wear down difficult to replace parts which could increase the cost of a service. Any service should be limited to taking the movement apart to clean, oil, and adjust, with new gaskets and mainspring. The original crown and pushers may not be watertight anymore, but a buyer paying what an "Ultraman" is worth would value originality over water resistance, and they can always replace those parts later.

If you MUST, only replace the pushers and crown with appropriate water resistant vintage parts from the same year vintage Speedmaster, not a new service part - some collectors will count the number of ridges and width of the crown, etc to determine that it's not the right part. And even one from a vintage watch that was made a few years away from yours could be the wrong part.

If you get an Extract of the Archives from Omega and it shows that it's really an "Ultraman" then it's quite rare, and possibly worth $20-50K in auction, depending on originality and condition. If it's just a modified Speedmaster (such as the orange sweep second hand) it could still be worth over $10K, especially with the excellent condition "DON" dot over 90 bezel which adds $1500-$4000 to the value of a 1960's watch (condition condition condition).

If I owned one of the watches and it was an "Ultraman" (on the left) owned by my father, I would keep it forever, and I would do the above but only wear it on special occasions (meeting or party) and around the house. For just a regular vintage Speedmaster I would also service, but would more likely wear it on a daily basis, as a reminder of my father.

 

The above is terrific advice for one of these stupid valuable watches. Why certain older Speedmasters go for tens of thousands of dollars is beyond me, but they do.

But remember ultimately the choice is yours to do what you see fit with your own property.

Tom

 

http://speedmaster101.com/blog/why-we-do-not-send-our-watches-home-to-omega/

 

That page on your site is very helpful in that it clearly shows the differences in the preserved watch vs the one Omega butchered, but it doesn't explain to the layman at all "why" it's a problem. The untouched all-original one on the right has retained a value that is considerablely higher than the that one Omega messed with, which some would almost call a "frankenwatch" since the parts on it don't match the age of the original. Omega "polished the coin".

 

Thanks for your advice! I appreciate you taking the time to share all that info.

 

Picture of the movement.

case says 145 012 -67 SP
Caliber is 321
Serial number read off by the watch maker is 20079873.

Not sure if that's a correct serial number?

I have the form for getting an extract from the archives.

 

If you submit that serial I guarantee you will be $150 out of pocket with nothing at all to show for it. There are no refunds anymore for a lack of hit due to incorrect info. He will have read the second digit (and maybe some others) wrong. A -67, inc the non Ultraman variety will have a serial in the 24.00-26.55m range. A genuine Ultraman is usually between 26.076.xxx and 26.079.xxx* so if yours is incorrect only in the second digit it may actually be OK. You need to get a second opinion, either check it yourself with a loupe or take a in focus photo then blow it up and check. if it turns out the serial really is 20m then you have a big problem which will knock $10k's off the value but I think that is unlikely. Hopefully it is actually 26,079,873

*range from SP101

 

awesome. love reading . stories like this

 

Thanks for saving me $150, and the time wait for the results.

where exactly is the serial number?