This is my first post, nice to meet you all! I bought this Omega Speedmaster Professional ref. 145.022-71 about twenty years ago in Finland where I live. I was born in 1971 and I originally bought the watch because I thought it was as old as I am. Later I learned that this isn't the case. I had the watch serviced in 2000 and I still have the receipt from the AD. The glass, the crown and the pushers were replaced but I saved them as you can see from one of the images. I also bought a new bracelet for the watch but I never felt the need to start using it. I do not know if the box is original and I know that it is valuable, it is also damaged but repairable I think. This thread is about the watch though and not the crater box so I haven't taken proper pictures of the box. I'm saving that discussion for another thread.

What is your impression of the watch? How much is it worth today? How original is it? Has it been polished to death? When was it made? Someone told me that only a few of these watches have green hour markers, is that true? Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum!

I think the watch is looking good and has a nice appearance to it to begin with. Best way to get to know more about the production date is to order an Extract of the Archives from the Omega museum. It can be done thru Omegas homepage. There's a good thread about EoA on this forum to explain more about the procedure and what information you could expect to get in return. (watch needs to be opened to get the serial number from the movement)

The case has been polished for sure. For some it's a bad thing, but i think you can enjoy the watch as much like this. Ofcourse if originality is the thing you are after you might want a less polished case.

The caseback looks almost as new... no pictures of the inside so hard to tell. The inside should say 145.022-71.

The bracelet on looks fine and most likely as old as the watch.

The bezel looks original to me, however the print looks a little smeared out here and there... anyone else, what do you make of this?

The box is sought after as i understand you already know.

I'd value this watch to 3500-4000 Euros. (without the crater box)

Greetings from another finn =) wish you a great day!

 

Greetings from also another finn.

Yours looks to be all correct and original. A better shot of the dial would help to verify yours has the step in it to be correct for a -71. Serial of 32.xxx.xxx seems about correct for a -71, but as above mentioned, order an extract from Omega for 120CHF, it’s worth it in my opinion in order to verify the movement, date of production and country of delivery. The crater box alone is today around 2000€, so take good care of the box as well!

 

Hi @Pontus!

First of all, good looking watch you got there!

Pushers & Crown: New pushers and crown, correct but new. A nice extra that you have saved the old.
Dial: I'm a bit confused regarding the dial. The luminus look slightly green, as if they were luminova not tritium, but on the other hand it looks like the correct texture of the period. So maybe it's just the picture that make it look green? @Pontus did they relume the dial? Do you see they slightly green in real life?
Hands: The hour, minute and subdial hands look correct. The chrono hand is newer with luminova, have you saved the old as well?
Case and Caseback: As pointed out by @DotOverNine the case is polished and so is the caseback. The edges are not as sharp as they were when new. It is not polished to death, I have seen much worse.
Bezel: Not sure about the bezel as the print is not as clean as I would expect it to be. So I would consider it to be not original.
Box: Correct for the time of the watch.
Bracelet: Looks to be the correct for the watch. 633 end links and 1171 bracelet (not 1171/1).

The new bracelet, do you know what version of bracelet it is and number on end links?

Regarding the age. https://www.ilovemyspeedmaster.com dates it to 1974, June. However the only way to be know is to request an extract from Omega. Cost is 120 CHF.

Value? Well I would probably place it in the area around 3500 EUR (excluding box and new bracelet). That box has a substantial value as well.

 

Dial is a step, so correct for a -71. From about 74 to mid/late 80's tritium was green (or at leat 95% of speedies I have seen in this period are), and not creamy, so this can be correct imho (-71's usually have a creamy lume, but I have seen a few -71's with green lume like this, and if memory serves, also a few -69's).

I think the chrono hand matches the dial (but the hour/minute hands look yellow, and not green, which has been seen (could be an earlier lumed batch) and is also ok imho). The way to test for this would be with a UV light. Charge should be even, as well as fade-off time. If the chrono hand glows brighter, and doesn't die within a minute, its luminova (and not tritium).

Bezel is period correct.

 

It is very nice.

If all other things were equal in two watches, but one had greenish lume, I will always favour the one without greenish tint.

Bear in mind that like many vintage trends, in a few years the fashion might be reversed.

 

But my tastes won't! Creamy lume is always preferred for me...and I don't see that changing.

 

I never thought I would get so many and thorough answers, thank you all very much! It seems that the watch is all original then (or at least potentially original) with the chrono hand being a question mark. I'll see if I can find a UV-lamp somewhere so that I can find out if the chrono hand is tritium or luminova.

Answers to the questions by @Patrik83: I had the watch serviced in 2000. They did nothing to the dial as far as I know. The hour markers are slightly green. The service was at the official Finnish importer Perkko Oy. A slight polish, lubrication and a new spring, new glass, crown and pushers. Pressure test. All the old parts were handed back to me in a small plastic bag and there was no chrono hand there. So if the chrono hand has been exchanged, it happened before my time.

Regarding the bracelet and the end links. I'm not sure. I have two sets. The loose bracelet clearly says 1171/1 but I'm not sure about the one that is inside the original packaging and the text only says 1171. It looks exactly like the 1171/1 though but I can't see the stamp inside the clasp.

 

Here's a couple of images where you can clearly see the "step" on the step dial. Taking good pictures of watches is not easy!

 

Does this image help in deciding if the chrono hand is tritium or luminova?

 

Beautiful watch and a great set. Well done.

Afaik, you can test the luminova/tritium thing by checking against the dial lume glow. Assuming that the dial is tritium the luminova lume should be much brighter and longer lasting.

And greetings from a third (or is it fourth) Finn on this thread. Torille !

 

Here's the box. Unfortunately the hinges are loose and the upper and lower parts have come apart. I do think that this is repairable though by a skilled artisan.

 

Mene pimeään huoneeseen ja laita kello valolähteen läheisyyteen. Sammuta valot ja katso kuinka nopeasti hehku hiipuu niin taulusta kuin osoittimista. Mikäli nämä ovat tritiumia niin kaikki ”hyytyvät” aika lailla samassa ajassa, noin 20 sekunnin sisällä. Luminova jää hehkumaan huomattavasti pidempään.

(Always wanted to reply to a thread in finnish)

 

Kiitos vinkistä Jan! (a short thanks in Finnish)

I took a strong LED flashlight and charged the dial. Went into a dark room and watched everything fade away except the chrono hand which therefore seems to be a newer one with luminova.

 

Ok. This will be an easy fix though. Have a lookout here for tritium hands for sale now and then.

 

@Patrik83 well spotted! Still not sure How you noticed that the Chrono hand is luminova. And you were sure about it