Hi,

After I saw more and more examples of what magic STS Is able to do with the reworking of cases, the thought of sending them my Speedmaster Is slowly groing on me. As my descent into vintage watches Is rather new and i'm normaly more of a "shiny new" guy when it comes to watches in general, the posibility of getting my case redone to nearly the spec as it left the factory appeals very much to me. I understand that you would take away some of the history and persona as well as "Vintage" appeal of the piece but then again, I could add my own history to my speedy with the inevietable ding and scratch here and there.

The case of my watch Is in rather nice condition, and seems to be unpolished. Question i'm asking myself Is if you do rework the case, how much material would be taken away by that? And does it matter that the case Is in unpolished condition or "fat" as some say, and therefore less material would have to be removed. Or Is the amount of removed material always the same?

And Last but not least, what do you guys think? Am I mad for considering to rework my case, or could you see yourself considering the same given the condition of my Speedy?

Sorry for the Long Post, here are some pics of my Speedy:

 

Hi, very nice straight writing!! Just my opinion, but I see a watch with little to no deep gouges, scratches, dents, dings, or pitting. The entire thing looks great together as is and I don't see a need at all to pay to have it refinished. As you said, if you have it redone you are effectively wiping away all the vintage charm that's been built up over the last 45 years. I get the part about putting your own stamp on it, but you can still do that while adding to the already lengthy history of the watch. I vote for not refinishing the case.

 

I do not see anything wrong with your case. As sky21 said. There are no major dents or dings and is a very attractive case overall.
Im with sky21, no refinishing needed.

Personally, i think you are just showing your watch off......

I also notice someone took a screwdriver or needle nose pliers to your caseback.... damn rookies

 

Personally I would leave that case as is.....but it's really up to you

 

Maybe, maybe both . I think I just needed to hear from someone else that they wouldn't refinish the case. Think I should get my self a nice New Speedy to scretch my "need shiny New stuff" itch ^^. Thanks for the input and kind words guys !

And yes, the First owners Son admitted to using a screwdriver for opening the watch to take some movement shots .

 

you made the right call, IMHO. no need to refinish, and plenty of new ones to pick from for the "ooo shiney" factor.

 

Kill two birds with one stone and get a nice new watch which will start out shiny, and will grow along with you over the years.

Your current Speedmaster is quite nice and should not be polished

 

I wouldn't touch it...

 

Too familiar, as the grandson of the original owner did something similar to my Straight Writing before he figured out that he should just sent it out for a professional sympathetic service.

The really good news is that it's never been polished and I can live with a "little" character

 

There should be a requierement for buying one of @Pahawi 's marvellous case openers when coming in possession of a Speedmaster or Seamaster! All the casebacks that could be unscratched . Or Omega should Ship them out with every Steel caseback SM/SP.

 

There are plenty of ways to open a case without scratching them, some with even less risk than said opener...

BTW Omega makes one too - but I don't use it personally. It's a very rare thing that this does not do the trick, no matter what the watch is...

 

@Archer does that have prongs or is it the professional version of the rubber ball?

 

Urethane friction die...no prongs involved or needed...

 

No need to refinish that beauty, I think you'd find you would wear it less after a refinish to try and preserve that "shiny new" look too!
Just wear it and enjoy

 

I'm with them. Don't have it refinished. It looks great as it is. If you need something shiny and new, buy something that is shiny and actually new. I'm sure STS does good work but there is always the chance that something goes wrong and more material than (you think) necessary is removed. Then you get back something that is not what you expected. I remember a certain thread by @efauser that discusses the horrors of case polishing and what can go wrong.

Your case ain't broke, so don't fix it!

 

I'm with the crowd... please please please do not polish that case, its perfect the way it is... better yet, just sell it to me so you don't have this dilemma to deal with

 

don't do it. It can never be undone.

 

You will receive a thousand virtual lashes if you touch that glorious case!!!

Killer looking Speedy and congrats.

 

Ok I get it . The speedy will remain as Is! Thanks for all the compliments .
I think I better invest the money in something else than a refinish and start to look for a nice 1039/1171 !

 

Late to the party, but +1 for leaving this beauty untouched.