You dont have to spend a fortune to have fun

...with a speedmaster. In fact I often have more enjoyment out of rescuing a watch and bringing it to life.

This just arrived from an Australian family, a well worn and used watch:



It is filthy and used.

Look at the crown:



There are some other issues too...



First lets identify the watch, then the issues.

From what we can see, (which was all I had to base my offer on, no movement shot).
1. A domed dial, with no step. The "S" does not descend to the tail of the "P", indicating a -74 or 76. T marks, short indices and professional.
2. Asymmetric steel case with stamped medallion and engraving.
3. Dot next to 90, with tall TACHYMETRE letters.

So I am expecting a calibre 861 and -74 or -76 inside:



(Filthy!) Note the photo above shows only one side of the bracelet has released - the other is corroded in, and in spite of having a hammer and chisel I have found depths of patience and will let Simon Freese do it.



A lovely, relatively intact movement. Often with these family watches we can see extensive screw damage, but not here. Just the apparently obligatory hairs inside.

The movement number is in the low range for -74, and I have seen many 145.022-69 Straight writing with this range. I will get an extract and see when it was made. It is possible the case back has been swapped.

A quick check on the wonderful:

https://www.ilovemyspeedmaster.com/productiondateprediction/

And I have this:



Note there is no pearlage in this, some have it, some do not. Plenty of service marks, which makes the excellent movement condition more remarkable.

What about the issues?

Specifically?

Major case damage, though otherwise un-messed with:



Not much to do with that. It is priced at a level where I can accept this as a part of the charm.

The dial:



Now this mark, headed downwards across the 40, had me worried. However, I can now see it is on the crystal:



There may be a lot of debris on the dial, which I am hoping Simon can remove. I have no plans to adjust the lume.



There are also some scratches on the surface of the dial. Not a disaster at this level, but in anything above this level it would kill the watch for me. It is a good reminder to check when buying, as these marks rarely show on sellers photos.



An issue with the pusher fitment :



And of course I have to fit a correct square end Chrono hand.


The bracelet is a correct, but absolutely shagged 1171 with trapeze logo and narrow clasp. One end link is repro.

All in all, this should come in serviced for under $3200. Not a bargain, but I never underbid privately offered estate lots from private people. (If it comes from a dealer, I will try to skin him - old habits).

This is off to Simon next week, and we will release that bracelet, find a hand, clean and service.

This is what collecting speedmasters is all about for me, finding a one owner watch and sympathetically restoring it.

Ill post an update as and when.

This was a very nice and instructive reading, thanks for sharing!

All older watches should look like this one. It means it was used as intended.

Thanks for the lesson sir. @Spacefruit I have a question.

You mentioned Freese. I always figured that you being a “prolific Speedmaster hoarder” was also servicing your own watches.

How do you maintain your “hoard?” Do you have a Scheduled maintenance list? Or do you wait until some attention is required before sending one in for service?

Thanks in advance for your response.

I do not service my own watches. Watchmaking is a skill that takes many thousands of hours to learn, and I havent learned it.

For 12 years I lived somewhere somewhat isolated, and I taught myself to dismantle a speedmaster down to the movement - so I could clean everything, but this was spurred by impatience, and I learned that I can screw up the simplest thing with financially drastic consequences.

Simon has been servicing my watches for about 15+ years. When he was still at STS I rang Tony and asked him why I had so many watches needing correction after service. He told me that his return rate on vintage servicing was 25%. (And that I should be lucky as my return rate was much lower)

I acquire far less than I used to - largely as the values have risen so high. So I can afford to service a higher percentage of incoming.

If I sell a watch, which I have to in order to keep my collection to an enjoyable level, I always service it.

If I get a watch that is a project or restoration, I service that too.

Lastly, and this have not done for a few years, if I get an extremely valuable watch, especially from an auction, I service it immediately to remove any auction stench. Or rather, I service it immediately in case of any deep deception inside, and to make sure it's all OK.

3200 after serviced, that’s basically my dream.

For me, there is a difference between a watch that has aged through one owner, and one that has passed through many hands, with multiple interventions with different owners (and thus instructions or requirements in maintenance).

One owner is patina, like Robert Redford

Multiple owners is like Charlie Sheen.

...two hours later I am still chuckling over this.

Pure. Metaphorical. Gold.

As always, thank you.

Close-up pictures are really sharp! Secret?

Oh, you mean the watches- sorry.

In my experience, the improvements by simply servicing and cleaning will be immense.

The only way to repair that dent in the lug will be to laser it and then re-finish the entire case. That will change the entire character of the watch and leave me with a reconditioned case Conflicting with the rest of the watch’s condition.

My plan is to do as much as possible to it without severe intervention.

That means servicing the movement and cleaning everything, refitting correctly the pushers. I also have high hopes for improving the dial by simply cleaning and removing the loose material and it is possible we can reduce the effect of those scratches which by the way are barely visible under normal circumstances.

Remember my background is diamond grading, and my habit is to go in under severe magnification, then change the lighting until whatever I have found is highlighted. Kind of the opposite of what a seller wants to do. (Compare my photos with say, Phillips who in my opinion are the best auction photographers).

My photographs fiercely critical and part of my assessment process. Most of what I find many people won’t notice until I tell them. Those dial scratches for example are minimal, and you can’t see them with the naked eye.

all part of the fun. The flip side, is when I tell you a dial is clean, it is.