Hi OF friends, I am here for about three years now and IMHO very active on this Forum, great pleasure to join this amazing forum on daily basis ! With this Thread I want to discuss the value drivers of my Speedy 105.003-65 with you. I bought my watch about 2 years ago and was not very experienced with this modell, but a watch friend assisted me buying my first ( and only) Ed from a private French Forum. I was very happy when receiving the watch and ordered an EoA for it, which states it was delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force (see pic) Is this something which is value creating against other deliveries? I also saw that the serial of my watch is 24.002.xxx which matches Neil Armstrong’s 105.012 worn on Apollo 11 within 1000 numbers. Is this something interesting for collectors ? My watch has a Telemetre bezel, which might be reasonable for the use in the RCAF. But all recent discussion is on the DON bezel and their extrem importance and value for the watch. The condition of my case and caseback is excellent. It seems to be unpolished and very slightly worn. I ask myself, whether the quality of the case and caseback is more important than the existence of a DON bezel. You can change the Bezel but IMHO never find an untouched excellent case. Last but not least the dial of my watch looks a bit brown in the sunlight, which may be attracting the value a bit. Pics are not edited in any way. I attach some pics of my watch and would be very appreciated for your kind comments. P.S.: I don’t intend to sell my beloved watch Best Hajo
I am not knowledgeable enough to comment on the value of the provenance or the bezel. But before people start picking apart your watch, I just wanted to say that for me, the fact that it is aesthetically attractive overall is appealing to me. The well-matched and attractive (but not fake-looking) lume, the modestly-faded-but-complete dial and bezel, the slightly scratched but sharp lugs .... all of these things make this watch a great package. There are no major flaws, but it has an honest vintage and un-restored look.
nice speedy. i dont know what bezel variant that is. but, value wise as a whole, it's always vintage market driven. as long as there are sharky collectors of speedmasters, the value is always steady and upwise.
An absolutely stunning looking watch you got there! I agree with above posts, a very modestly faded parts. Love the bezel turning ghost! I haven't seen so many nicely aged Telemetre bezels... My modest thoughts on the value: There is always nice with "some kind of provenance". If the EoA only states a country, you have no idea what the watch has been thru. Now you know it's been in the Air Force. It's cool, but how much value it may add. I'm not sure. The DO90 bezel is considered the "original" bezel and the most fuzz is about the DO90. However in this case the watch most likely is delivered with this bezel it doesn't make it less valuable. This is my opinion. This bezel belongs to this watch. Some might think otherwise... It is also a "cool fact" that the serial is close to Neal's watch, but it's not the same reference. No added value in my book for this.
A really cool looking watch with an equal cool provenance. Don't know how much this provenance can add value if you only have this info from a EoA. If you could track it down (for example) to a fighter pilot wearing the watch in some pictures, then I believe this would add attraction and additional value to it. Yours will just keep raising in value, as long as you take care of it and keep it original. I would try to source a DON for it in time. The telemeter bezel looks to me to be a later service bezel, beautifully aged though, don't know if this has been put there in the 90-ies, but don't think it was delivered with the watch as new. Check the link for vintage bezels here: https://omegaforums.net/threads/ome...pecial-bezel-medical-telemeter-decimal.27085/ A side profile picture would help establish the condition of the case.
Nice watch! It seems a shame you seem more interested in the value divers than the watch itself but I will give to my 2p worth anyhow. Yes I do think the RCAF link adds value, it would be more so if the watch were military marked in some way as it could just be a NAAFI/px purchase (like mine) which is interesting but not the same as an issued watch. Watches sold through US forces bx/px/mcx outlets come back with extracts like that so there is a high probability it was purchased not issued. No I don’t think the serial number proximity adds anything other than curiosity value since it is a different model of watch to Armstrong's so is a little irrelevant. I personally like the Telemeter bezel but not everyone does so that may limit your watches appeal and be value neutral or even detract slightly unless you can find a buyer who desires it. They certainly have their fans though. As noted above, you do need to be sure it is an original one since there are modern ones and a repro won’t be good news for value. In your shoes I would be researching any other RCAF watch and see if that had an optional bezel like this as it could just have been changed by a dealer as the original was damaged. If it’s a later one then it’ll knock $3-5k off the value vs an original DON. I wouldn’t get too excited by the slight browning, many EWs have it and it is nowhere near as brown as the Pro dials go it seems. Perhaps in 20 years they may be considered tropical! It does seem a desirable piece. Were I buying I would be looking closely at the hand lume since ironically it matches rather too well vs many other similar watches where a disparity is often seen. It’s probably fine though.
Thanks you so much for all your very valuable contributions. I really appriciate that The Telemetre bezel may have been changed during a service, because it has a scripting that MWO calls a "Service Part". IMO the change was performed long before the 90s because the bezel has a strong fade. But who knows ... I am not very motivated to buy a DON for the watch, because I like it as is and the prices for good DON are astronomic. Unfortunately I have further Information about the provenance of my watch, but I am happy to have an EoA. I had a discussion on the phone with the Museum when I ordered the EoA and they told me, that the watch was delivered to RCAF as a single watch order, not as a batch of watches, which was usual when they delivered to the Military shops. So it may be that the watch was ordered by the RCAF for an individual, not for sale to the crowd. But I have no further evidence for that. Thanks again and Best Hajo
Personally i love this watch as is. Love the non-DON bezel, the color combo and the overall condition. This would make a great daily IMO. i have a 145-022-69 coming that i plan to wear as daily, and it's no where near as clean, but i am going for the "used" and "old" look i think it makes a great conversation piece. Keep it and when you are ready to sell, let me know I'm interested LOL
Very attractive vintage Speedmaster. Personally, I like these Telemetre bezels but I think most people would value a decent Dot over 90. I think the Neil Armstrong link is a bit thin, as it isn't a 105.012. I would say that the main driver for the value of your watch is that it is 'attractive'. Also the case has very sharp lines and the engraving on the back is very well defined. Some Ed Whites that come up for sale on eBay or Chrono24, look a bit tired and sometimes have bezels that are quite damaged. To me, your watch looks more attractive than some, that I've seen offered lately, and I would pay a bit more for that.
Amazing watch. Razor sharp case, beautiful dial and to top it all off, Canadian. What else can you ask for