So my vacation brought me to Munich the same weekend as the watch show. I got a little out of control....Mercifully, the vendors deal only in cash and I left my ATM card back at the hotel. I figured it would be a bit obnoxious to start individual threads for each, but if the mods want to split these out, please feel free. I made it a goal of mine to find a pre-moon speedy at a decent price. Sadly, there only seemed to be overpriced straight-lugs or twisted lug examples with replacement bezels, hands, etc. I have also been keeping an eye out for transitional Speedmasters, particularly those with the "First Watch Worn on the Moon" casebacks. I saw two of these, with different bezels. I ended up picking up the dot-over-90 because the case and bezel were in better condition. Moreover, I was uncertain about which bezel was correct and erred on the side of the one I could sell for a bit of a profit if it were wrong. I also snagged a Zenith Sporto and a manual-wind Longines in a deal from the same vendor. Whereas many people fall for "oooh, shiny!", I fell for "oooh, big!". Both are sizeable pieces with good wrist presence. Lastly, I spotted a vendor selling several polerouters. A couple of them were black dialed early models, but there were some odd scratches that made me feel uncomfortable. I went with a later model that included the original bracelet. The whole gang: I am looking for brutal honesty here. I know I didn't get any stunning bargains out of the following pieces, but it would be nice to know that I didn't get completely bent over without so much as a kiss. I will list the prices. Please fogive the crappy iPhone pics. Once I find my camera cable, I will get some better ones. 1. Transitional Speedy, dot-over 90 bezel, "First Watch Worn on the Moon" caseback. 1800 Euros. 2. Longines manual wind. I got it along with the following Zenith Sporto for 460 Euros 3. Zenith Sporto. 4. UG Polerouter Date on original bracelet. 380 Euros.
I can comment only on the speedmaster - I like the "first watch..." transitional and it is the only cal. 861 speedmaster that I own. That being said, I think your price was a bit on the high side - the case has some wear, same as the dial (may have even been relumed); the bezel is incorrect but by itself more valuable than the original one; the seconds hand and the subdial hands look like later replacements or have been repainted. Also it will need servicing as the hour totalizer does not zero properly.
Many thanks. I will try to take some better pics, but one of the things that made me feel safe about it was the matching lume in the seconds hand and on the dial. If nothing else, I will be able to part out the bezel, get a proper replacement and recoup a little of the price. The cost of a service was a given as the seconds hand zeroes out, but, yes, I noticed the hour totalizer did not.
Haha, there were MANY squirrels today. The Speedmaster was the first purchase, so I feel I was not actually distracted. Moreover, I made a contact with a gent in Rome who has a couple pre-mooon Speedies that weren't with him here. I will be in Rome in about a week and might see if I can make a trade. Seriously, for those who have not been, the Munich watch fair is a bit insane, particularly for a newb like me. I am playing small ball with non-Omegas because I fear getting burned too badly. I saw a ton of TDMPs that caught my eye, but I didn't want to buy myself into a project I couldn't handle. I fell in love with a JLC Memovox Deep Sea, but my eyes are bigger than my wallet. Sigh, so many watches...
With regard to the UG, I associate that type of crown with the "Super" models. Perhaps they were used on other models, but I'm not sure that was the case.
I am no expert, but I agree with Tony. I have only seen that type of crown on the "super" model. I like your Sporto, looks to be in pretty good shape!
