Vintage Speedmaster Birthday Present

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Wow what a present! The 2998 are my favorite. 🥰

Yeah, look like a swap was made of the case back but you have a good one to trade with 😉

Is it just me or does it look like the hour hand is flat but not the minute hand?
 
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Thank you for all the compliments. 😀

I'm trying to look into the hour hands, theres an angle that it looks curved specially if its sideways but it also looked flat on the picture.
I think its because of the patina on the hour hand that is making it look like that, but yes it has a flat lume end on the hour hand.
I'm trying my best on macro shots but I don't have a very decent macro lens. See additional pics below.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post outside links from different forum. But I have read that the last batch of 2915-1 casebacks are similar to 2915-2 which has the hippocampus.

I cant really say much about the previous history of this watch coming from the previous owner or when it was last serviced. Can Omega provide service history details if it was brought to them?
Edited:
 
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Very restrained for you Jonathan. Wot no, “ Fakk my old socks.....fakkin’ lovely!”😀
Great great story, amazing Watch - congratulations OP 👍
Nah Nathan! 😕 It's far too 'fakkin' lovely for that.😀 He got this lovely old Speedmaster from his Mum! 😀

My Mum threw the box and papers, for my Dad's Speedy, in the bin!.... after he ran off with the 'Scottish old tart' from the pub! 🙁
 
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I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post outside links from different forum. But I have read that the last batch of 2915-1 casebacks are similar to 2915-2 which has the hippocampus.

That would be most interesting! Please do post links if you have them saved. It only adds more - potentially useful - information to this discussion.

What a gorgeous watch, by the way. Congrats!
 
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What a stunning piece. Congratulations, and well done on picking up the knowledge you needed by being patient and sifting through the forum (as did I). Most envious we all are. I wouldn't sweat the case-back at all (current working theory from multiple sources who all know/knew old watchmakers : guys serviced several watches at a time, and had a table full of parts, and were sloppy with correctly grouping them, thus getting some muddled up)...

I tend to agree with @ndgal regarding the dial lume. Untouched, original, and perfect. Naturally a geiger counter check would clarify that, as well as a quick charge/discharge test with a UV lamp. But I'll put my money on there being no surprises.

I'm trying to look into the hour hands, theres an angle that it looks curved specially if its sideways but it also looked flat on the picture.
I think its because of the patina on the hour hand that is making it look like that, but yes it has a flat lume end on the hour hand.
I'm trying my best on macro shots but I don't have a very decent macro lens.

I would guess the hands are 100% spot on. The tell, apart from the curvature, would be the length/position of the lume inserts (especially on the minute hand). Its long at the bottom, and shorter at the top (if that makes sense, and experts, if I am mistaken, please correct me).

Here is some more info...

http://speedmaster101.com/blog/2998-alpha-hand-length/

Edit : what is strange (not negatively in anyway) about the dial is the lack of oval 'O', and lack of step. This could also be a 2915-3 dial (which would have transitioned to the early 2998-1's). I am a bit out of my league here...I'm sure Mr SpaceFruit will be along shortly...but it does look identical to this one : https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/omega-speedmaster-reference-2998-1
Edited:
 
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I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post outside links from different forum. But I have read that the last batch of 2915-1 casebacks are similar to 2915-2 which has the hippocampus.


By all means post your link. Moonwatch only does suggest the Seahorse engraving started during the -1 era but the text moving from the rim to back of the caseback was supposedly later, on the -3 model. It’s not often they are wrong, but it does seem they are slightly out on this, or there is another issue. Here is the MWO data for your back



And what it would be expected to look like

Edited:
 
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Edit : what is strange (not negatively in anyway) about the dial is the lack of oval 'O', and lack of step. This could also be a 2915-3 dial (which would have transitioned to the early 2998-1's).
According to MWO the first round O was indeed with the 2998-1 and -2 references which existed with flat and step dials (A4 in MWO)
IMO the very very first 2998-1 had these Oval O and the came out with the round O A4 flat dial and then with a A4 step dial
 
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Ok, I fυcked up on the relume, happy for OP. I thought the 2915-1 always had speedmaster on the edge with or without seahorse. Has anyone seen a -1 with back like OP's watch? Regarding the 2998 dial, -1 can have oval or round O. -1 should not have step, -2 can or may not have step. (But everyone here already knows this 😀 ).
 
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By all means post your link. Moonwatch only does suggest the Seahorse engraving started during the -1 era but the text moving from the rim to back of the caseback was supposedly later, on the -3 model. It’s not often they are wrong, but it does seem they are slightly out on this, or there is another issue. Here is the MWO data for your back



And what it would be expected to look like


I managed to find the link. here's the exact post that I read from another watch forum. There was a mention on the caseback with a reference picture. https://forums.watchuseek.com/f20/my-speedmaster-ck-2915-2-a-725305-4.html#post5295572
 
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I managed to find the link. here's the exact post that I read from another watch forum. There was a mention on the caseback with a reference picture. https://forums.watchuseek.com/f20/my-speedmaster-ck-2915-2-a-725305-4.html#post5295572
Ok well that is pretty persuasive. Looks like the MWO guys weren’t aware of that. You have a pretty rare caseback as well as a lovely 2998 too! Someone out there maybe has a nice late 2915-1 with your 2998-1 caseback. You should be commended for having done your homework thoroughly.
 
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Regarding the dial lume it sure looks original for the dial in any way from the pictures, really nice looking too!
Hands are 2998, are there service hands with the length of that hour hand? Not sure but I don’t think so.
In all, I thinks it adds up quite nicely except for the caseback and there we can only speculate what happened but we have all seen watches before with both earlier and later casebacks.