Esteemed gentle folk, Apologies for yet another bloody photo of one of my (yawn) speedies, but a) I have to boost my post count above the mythical 200, and b) I would like to make a hearty recommendation for Matteo at the Master of Speed. Just received my '67 145.012 which I bought from Matteo. Seamless transaction, a pleasure to deal with and watch just as described. As some of you may recall, I have been emailing Bill (original owner) to get some of the history of the watch and his US marine corp service flying F4 Phantoms in Vietnam. I love this watch! It came sans bracelet, so I matched it up with a slightly elderly '66 1039 and #16 end pieces (incorrect, pending finding a pair of #516's (alternatively, I whip out my engraving tool and add a '5'?)).
You can write a redo for Mateo separately That's an excellent Speedy and I love to see more of these. I think we need to see a post with a wrist photo (or is that already posted at WRUW?) Well done, M
Nice watch with a great history! Do you plan to wear it? BTW, I missed the part about why and when Bill sold the watch. What did he say about it?
No, this one will be kept in the vault for occasional ogling. Bill sold it 3 years ago. It was a graduation gift from his parents when he graduated uni, after which he enrolled in flight school. He got the engraving done after he graduated with his wings. Bill wore the watch throughout his military career including flying F4 Phantoms while stationed in Carolina and later out of Danang and off the USS Midway while stationed in Vietnam during the Vietnam war. Strangely (to me) he was quite unsentimental about the watch. He is now CEO of a business management company, so it seems that $$ was not the reason that he sold it. Really nice guy and very accommodating with all my pesky questions.
"As some of you may recall, I have been emailing Bill (original owner) to get some of the history of the watch and his US marine corp service flying F4 Phantoms in Vietnam." Would love to see a thread on the history if you haven't put one up already (if you have, kindly point me in the right direction). I really enjoy hearing about specific examples such as this. Great catch!
M.D. thanks! Yes, it's not the most valuable of my speedies in $ terms, but it is the one that means the most to me. This is the essence of what I got: Bill sold it 3 years ago. It was a graduation gift from his parents when he graduated uni, after which he enrolled in flight school. He got the engraving "USMC Pilot" done on the case back after he graduated with his wings. Bill wore the watch throughout his military career including flying F4 Phantoms while stationed in Carolina with VCMJ-2 aerial reconnaissance ('the Playboy') squadron. He was later stationed with VCMJ-1 in Japan, from where he flew in the Vietnam conflict out of forward operating base Da Nang and also off the carrier USS Midway. VMCJ-1 also flew in support of 'operation linebacker' when the navy mined the harbor at Haiphong. We had some interesting discussions about the F4 Phantom (one of my favourite vintage jets). Apparently it flew like a truck and was far less maneuverable than the NV Migs. However, at a hint of trouble (and the recce F4's were unarmed), you pointed the nose up, switched on the afterburners and got the hell out of Dodge. Strangely (to me) he was quite unsentimental about the watch. He is now CEO of a business management company, so it seems that $$ was not the reason that he sold it. Really nice guy and very accommodating with all my pesky questions. Looking forward to hopefully buying him a beer at some point, as he travels with work and knows my home province (Ontario) quite well from his youth.
Fantastic, thanks for sharing! That is surprising that he sold it considering the history he had with it and the general heritage of the watch. Regardless, it's in good hands now and there's a great story that goes with it.
I'm a little disapointed...I expected to see several gratuitous pictures here, only two. You owe us a few more me thinks.
............and yes, that is the watch in question on his wrist (don't anyone zoom in and tell me its a Rolex...............)
Wow! Great photos to go with your watch. Well done and very generous of Bill to provide you with so much information.