What you don't want to happen to your 105.012 CB case

michael e · Jun 10, 2015

sulaco
Great, i hope this thread made clear that this watch is only usable for someone who has a nice spare case for this watch (like me) and that all of you stop bidding on it, so i can get it for a nice price. 😁😗

Funny you should say that, I have been seriously considering the pulling this one, the lack of clear facets doesn't really bother me but anyone reading this thread will probably run a mile.
One more for the collection I think.

Nobel Prize · Jun 10, 2015

oddboy
Just wanted to drop back with a thank you for the lesson, both here and via PM. Very helpful. I can now see the facets - like those 3D images made up of dots.. they are now clear to me.

High fives all 'round!

+1

sulaco · Jun 10, 2015

michael e
Funny you should say that, I have been seriously considering the pulling this one, the lack of clear facets doesn't really bother me but anyone reading this thread will probably run a mile.
One more for the collection I think.

And gone it is.
Actually i think that was a pretty bad move ...
you should have accepted that the case wasnt as good as you described it and let it run, i am pretty sure you would have still made some profit.
Mhhh, i really dont know if i like your decision, but its yours anyway

TNTwatch · Jun 10, 2015

Saw it yesterday and didn't think the facets were polished away as all the top edges are very sharp and it's consistent for all 4 lugs. Most likely it is a variant of the CB case, if we could find another one like that out there. If not, could be a mixed up.

richardew · Jun 10, 2015

Saw it yesterday and didn't think the facets were polished away as all the top edges are very sharp and it's consistent for all 4 lugs. Most likely it is a variant of the CB case, if we could find another one like that out there. If not, could be a mixed up.

It's not. They have been polished away.

michael e · Jun 11, 2015

richardew
It's not. They have been polished away.

I don't agree.
"Polished away" would suggest a mirror surface to me, the lugs show zero signs of being polished on the edges and that is through a loupe, the edges of the inner lugs are very crisp and sharp, the center lug lines are good too and are not rounded. Facets can be seen when rotating the watch but I totally agree they are not as obvious as the other CB cased Speedmasters I have owned.

The watch case has not been touched cosmetically in regards to a refurbishment for many many years by the looks of the case, it shows genuine age and what looks like to me original brushed lines. If it has been refurbished I would estimate the work was done at least 25 years ago.
If refurbished many years ago, the "watchmaker" has you put it who did the work would have had no idea watch geeks like us would be having a discussion like this today.

If these cases were hand finished at the CB case factory a tiny difference in the degree of angle in the finishing process would have made the facets less obvious. I think the case would still have made the Q.C test.

Without a crystal ball I cannot make a statement of fact, I wasn't there when the case was produced.

sulaco · Jun 11, 2015

Michael, it the inside of the lugs could have been sandpapered long ago when the case was in a service.
It is to follow the slope with a Latte instead of trying to keep the facet.
As i said wrote you per PM i am still interested in this watch so if you still want to sell it please let me know.

michael e · Jun 11, 2015

sulaco
And gone it is.
Actually i think that was a pretty bad move ...
you should have accepted that the case wasnt as good as you described it and let it run, i am pretty sure you would have still made some profit.
Mhhh, i really dont know if i like your decision, but its yours anyway

Not really a bad move Rene.
I have the watch on now and love it.
Yes a profit is good and a profit it would have made but I am not wildly driven by greed or profit like some dealers are thankfully, yes it is my business selling watches and yes the profit would have paid the bills this month but looking at the comments yesterday and then looking at the watch I just thought the watch was much nicer and deserved better than to be thought of as a watch that had a knackered case that needed replacing in jest or not.
I will hold my hands up and will admit the lack of obvious facets should have been clearly pointed out, I am super aware that I might sell a watch to a fellow Omega forum member or any other forum member which I visit when listing watches on eBay so I try to be careful with the description almost as if I am selling the watch to myself too, the facets were not a obvious problem to me but others will disagree.
Badly described watches waste everyone's time and that is not my intension.
Cheers Michael

michael e · Jun 11, 2015

sulaco
Michael, it the inside of the lugs could have been sandpapered long ago when the case was in a service.
It is to follow the slope with a Latte instead of trying to keep the facet.
As i said wrote you per PM i am still interested in this watch so if you still want to sell it please let me know.

Thanks for the offer Rene, I have had a few people who have asked, I would rather keep the watch for the moment than sell it with any bad juju attached to it 👍
For me it is a great watch, if I change my mind I will relist it with a clearer description.
Onwards and upwards.
Thanks Michael
P.S
Watch in archives is 105.012, with production date of 25/10/1967 and sent to South Africa.

richardew · Jun 11, 2015

I apologize for any bad juju that has attached to the watch. That was not my intention. When I first acquired a CB case and posted the watch, there were several replies about not letting anyone polish away the extra facets on the lugs. I had never seen one where this had happened. As none of us witnessed any of the watches' past history, there is no 100% correct explanation available. However, considering that the only speedys with this facet are the 105.012-66 w/CB cases, it's reasonable to believe that at some point the case was worked on by someone who did so in the usual way they do speedys. Funny thing is, to the masses, we are just wearing an old watch.

TNTwatch · Jun 11, 2015

richardew
I apologize for any bad juju that has attached to the watch. That was not my intention. When I first acquired a CB case and posted the watch, there were several replies about not letting anyone polish away the extra facets on the lugs. I had never seen one where this had happened. As none of us witnessed any of the watches' past history, there is no 100% correct explanation available. However, considering that the only speedys with this facet are the 105.012-66 w/CB cases, it's reasonable to believe that at some point the case was worked on by someone who did so in the usual way they do speedys. Funny thing is, to the masses, we are just wearing an old watch.

You don't know or have proof that all 66-CB cases have those facets so your belief is not reasonable, especially when you don't consider other aspects of this case. It must have been a weird person who ground away just the facets and leave everything else on the case alone - only reason would be to spite collectors decades later.

A mid case from another reference has much higher probability than your belief.

dsio · Jun 11, 2015

TNTwatch
You don't know or have proof that all 66-CB cases have those facets so your belief is not reasonable, especially when you don't consider other aspects of this case. It must have been a weird person who ground away just the facets and leave everything else on the case alone - only reason would be to spite collectors decades later.

A mid case from another reference has much higher probability than your belief.

Quite the opposite, the CB facets are not a feature, they're a mistake. Its quite possible that someone at some point saw that and tried to correct it to make it look like a Speedmaster should, I wouldn't blame for that, these faceted cases are frankly defective.

From that perspective and the desire of watchmakers to restore watches to how they should be it wouldn't be surprising for an Omega watchmaker to see one of these and think "Another one of these shitty ones, I'll fix it up for the client".

TNTwatch · Jun 11, 2015

dsio
Quite the opposite, the CB facets are not a feature, they're a mistake. Its quite possible that someone at some point saw that and tried to correct it to make it look like a Speedmaster should, I wouldn't blame for that, these faceted cases are frankly defective.

From that perspective and the desire of watchmakers to restore watches to how they should be it wouldn't be surprising for an Omega watchmaker to see one of these and think "Another one of these shitty ones, I'll fix it up for the client".

I agree with your first sentence, but I think that it's the manufacturer who would be more likely to correct the mistake. Hence my suggestion of a variant. I'm sure people have seen a few 66-CB cases without the facets before.