Upgrade or Downgrade of my 105.012-65?

maxbelg · Oct 10, 2020

mr_yossarian
What really irritates me is the caseband. Looking at the caseback the lugtips appear to be typical for a CB case. And the lower left lug seems to have traces left of a CB caseline.

Thanks for your input. I've seen a few 105.012-65s with these case bands, but I guess they could have been wrong? Maybe someone can chip in who knows more. EDIT: Thanks Eugene, for chipping in! By the way there's no trace of a CB case line on the lug.

I now know and have pictures to prove (thanks Bjarven82!) that this watch was in this same condition since the first owner owned it and that it had lain in a safe for 10 years before Bjarven82 bought it. The only possible time that the case band could have been swapped would have been during the early years of ownership of the first owner, but this seems highly unlikely. I think the 105.012-65s came from the factory with either type of case bands but wouldn't mind hearing further opinions on this.

mr_yossarian · Oct 10, 2020

eugeneandresson
Here is a bad pic of mine (-66 CB), which has not seen a polish since it left the factory. Looks quite different to me (specifically the flat quadrilaterals of the button of the lugs)

You may be right..and I might not..

HF

CB

eugeneandresson · Oct 10, 2020

mr_yossarian
You may be right..and I might not..

Always can be the case, and vice versa, being an amateur hobbyists with a <2c opinion 😀

Bjarven82 · Oct 10, 2020

The caseback i the right one

maxbelg · Oct 10, 2020

Bjarven82
The caseback i the right one

Yes, but the "upgraded" case back I considered was also correct for the reference i.e. marked 105.012-65 inside, just not original to the watch...

Bjarven82 · Oct 10, 2020

maxbelg
Yes, but the "upgraded" case back I considered was also correct for the reference i.e. marked 105.012-65 inside, just not original to the watch...

I just wanted to kill the CB discussion.😉

Concer · Oct 10, 2020

Is nobody else curious about the background story of the watch? ☕ I would like to hear it too, if it doesn’t share too much private infos.

btw, nice watch. Dibs! 😀

maxbelg · Oct 10, 2020

Bjarven82
I just wanted to kill the CB discussion.😉

😁

maxbelg · Oct 10, 2020

Concer
Is nobody else curious about the background story of the watch? ☕ I would like to hear it too, if it doesn’t share too much private infos.

btw, nice watch. Dibs! 😀

Well I'm happy to share the following:
The first owner was John Johansson from Sweden who wore the watch every day, unfortunately passing away unexpectedly 13-14 years ago after which the watch was in a safe for 10 years before the sister of the John sold it to Bjarven82, who provided me with pics from that time. Bjarven82 sold it in 2019 to Janne2000 who sold it to Bille who sold it to Ryanbk who sold it to me. So I'm the 6th owner (7 if you count the sister of John) but it wasn't serviced or altered in any way by anyone since the first owner---Well I changed the crown and almost the case back, but that you know!---Here are pics which Bjarven82 sent to me today from when he got it and you can see the case back was already worn:

So a bit of passing around the last year or so after the second owner (Bjarven82) sold it. Here are all the threads I could find on this watch. Amazing what one can find on Omegaforums, what a great resource!

https://omegaforums.net/threads/arr...y-recently-watches.8930/page-637#post-1207533
https://omegaforums.net/threads/inc...12-66-hf-and-a-zenith-a386-mk-ii.93116/page-3
https://omegaforums.net/threads/speedmaster-105-012-65.94604/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-speedmaster-105-012-65.98992/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-speedmaster-105-012-65-cal-321-price-reduced.111895/

Bjarven82 · Oct 10, 2020

maxbelg
Well I'm happy to share the following:
The first owner was John Johansson from Sweden who wore the watch every day, unfortunately passing away unexpectedly 13-14 years ago after which the watch was in a safe for 10 years before the sister of the John sold it to Bjarven82, who provided me with pics from that time. Bjarven82 sold it in 2019 to Janne2000 who sold it to Bille who sold it to Ryanbk who sold it to me. So I'm the 6th owner (7 if you count the sister of John) but it wasn't serviced or altered in any way by anyone since the first owner---Well I changed the crown and almost the case back, but that you know!---Here are pics which Bjarven82 sent to me today from when he got it and you can see the case back was already worn:

So a bit of passing around the last year or so after the second owner (Bjarven82) sold it. Here are all the threads I could find on this watch. Amazing what one can find on Omegaforums, what a great resource!

https://omegaforums.net/threads/arr...y-recently-watches.8930/page-637#post-1207533
https://omegaforums.net/threads/inc...12-66-hf-and-a-zenith-a386-mk-ii.93116/page-3
https://omegaforums.net/threads/speedmaster-105-012-65.94604/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-speedmaster-105-012-65.98992/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-speedmaster-105-012-65-cal-321-price-reduced.111895/

a correction only I did not sell it to Janne2000 there was someone else who had it before him but I do not know who because I got help from a friend who is a collector and he knew the buyer. but the rest is true. The sister's name is Christina Gustavsson. the pictures are from when i bought it from her.

maxbelg · Oct 10, 2020

Bjarven82
a correction only I did not sell it to Janne2000 there was someone else who had it before him but I do not know who because I got help from a friend who is a collector and he knew the buyer. but the rest is true. The sister's name is Christina Gustavsson. the pictures are from when i bought it from her.

Thanks Björn!

Concer · Oct 10, 2020

Very nice watch and thanks for the story! Wear it in good health! 😀

maxbelg · Oct 10, 2020

Concer
Very nice watch and thanks for the story! Wear it in good health! 😀

Thank you! I I ever do decide to sell (which I can' believe at present), I can refer to this thread, post some new pics and I'm done! 😁 ....but Björn (Bjarven82) gets first dibs and Concer second dibs....

maxbelg · Oct 10, 2020

I'd just like to add here that I've learnt a lot from the speedmaster101 website and also where to get this Pahawi case opener. Without it I would've added unnecessarily to the patina with my case back and crown swapping experiments. 👍

I also noticed one interesting difference between the 2 case backs. The "upgrade" is stamped 105.012-65 whereas the original was stamped s105.012-65. I believe this is because I have a very early 105.012-65 and all 105.012-64 case backs I've seen are also stamped with an s before the reference. Later 105.012s didn't have the s anymore.

Upgrade or Downgrade of my 105.012-65?

maxbelg

mr_yossarian

eugeneandresson

Bjarven82

maxbelg

Bjarven82

Concer

maxbelg

maxbelg

Bjarven82

maxbelg

Concer

maxbelg

maxbelg

Similar threads

A huge leap from a modern to a vintage 321: my 105.012-66 HF up close

Price reduced - Omega Speedmaster 105.012-65 HF

My latest Speedmaster purchase, a 105.012-65

Appraised value of my 105.012-64

Assessment of my 105.012-64. Please help me fill the gaps

Opinions of my 105.003.64 Ed White.