Considering going vintage with a speedmaster

ask about service history and polishing as well

I did, the seller does not know either.

The watch will be tested on a timergrapher before buying though.

Looks nice, but keep in mind that vintage means maintenance and going vintage with a chronograph means more costly maintenance. Saying that Omega will service any piece from their past so that is not an issue. Looks good, nice patina 👍

also make sure to have a good independent watchmaker

if you can see the watch in person, look for

any noticeable scratches and run your finger nail over it. if it's rough there's likely no polish. its not

foolproof but it gives an idea

Let’s say there is some polish, is that such a bad thing? Does it hurt the value?

it does decrease the value a little, but its usually more of a personal preference

Thanks, is there something to look for when looking at the polish? (like the lugs, caseback etc..), again thank you very much for the help :)

just keep an eye on the overall case shape and any polished off serial numbers. also if an older watch is suspiciously shiny, it might have been heavily polished

This is one of those times that the knowing the seller is key. Try to see if history is available, and what parts if any have been changed.

What’s the reference number on this one? I’m a bit confused as to why the hour and minutes hand were changed but the seconds hand wasn’t. You can see it’s a tritium dial in the creamy, sort of orangish color of the indices. The hour and minute hands were changed at some point to what appears to be superluminiva service hands, but the seconds hand has some rather heavy patina. You can see the lume in the hands is white, where the rest of the lume has started to change color because they’re tritium, not superluminova. I’m not used to seeing only 2 out of 3 hands swapped during service. It’s not a red flag necessarily, but it is a bit strange and would make me question the watch.

Edit: I’d also want to see more pictures. It’s hard to say for sure with these pics, but it does look like it may have been polished in the past. The like from brushed to polished on top of the lugs looks a bit soft. Polishing as a whole isn’t a problem, but it does effect value if vintage pieces.

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

Yes, the seller (who is a professional watch dealer) did tell me that it was polished. I am not sure how I feel about it, to be honest.

Regarding the replacement of the minute and hour hands, he did not tell me about this, thank you for pointing it out.

Considering all of the above, is 4300$ too much? if so, what price should I try to negotiate?

You’re welcome! I’m not a Speedy expert like some, but I’ve had a few over the years. Happy to help when I can. What’s the reference number? Does it come with box or papers? What’s the amplitude and timekeeping of the movement? Does the crystal have the tiny Omega logo in the center above the handstack showing that it’s authentic? It’s standard for Omega to swap hesalite crystals during service and Omegas hesalite actually have their logo on it. If it’s missing, it means someone other than Omega did the service and didn’t use Omega parts. An Omega certified watchmaker will have access to Omega parts and not use aftermarket crystals.

• What’s the reference number? - Omega Speedmaster Professional 3590.50 Box Tritium 1992 145.022 Cal 861 SN16

• Does it come with a box or paper? - Box only

• What’s the amplitude and timekeeping of the movement? I asked the seller to give me this information, will update here once I get it

• Does the crystal have the tiny Omega logo - Yes (see image below)

Again, thank you very much.

How will you be wearing this watch? That’s always my dilemma when considering vintage. I want a watch that I can wear….that I don’t have to baby.

If you like it and it works- buy it. You are probably not timing Olympic races so who cares if it loses some time!

I would

I think you can get the price below 4k

If time the movement is healthy, the price seems about in line with what professional dealers are charging for this watch in this condition. I've considered this reference numerous times as my birthyear falls into this reference.

This generation Speedy won't need babied. Parts availability is plentiful so any model should be able to get serviced and be as good as new.

You need to get as comfortable as you can with the service history. Servicing Omegas is expensive, particularly Speedmasters. Unless you can confirm it was recently serviced, you should budget for that, too.

At one point, Omega published its service prices on its website. I don’t know if they still do that, but it’s probably worth a look before you make your decision.

Is this the kind of watch that must be serviced by Omega, or can any independent watchmaker do it?

I have the exact one. No regrets. Service can be expensive on them because of the chronograph… so ask for service history and warranty if offered.. good luck

What is expensive? Just so I have a figure 😅 thank you

It could easily be $1000 … I got lucky and have a great watchmaker close by (Los Angeles) that serviced mine for $600

1000$ is definitely expensive, thank you for letting me know, that’s more things to consider.

How often does it require this kind of service?

If everything is running smoothly, I think once every 10 years is fine… over servicing is not necessary good for the watch

I asked the seller (who is a professional dealer) to put the watch on a timegrapher, will that indicate if the watch need service?

I think that would be a good idea. but some warranty would be even better.. although that might be a big ask

Oh man, this site is going to be reallll bad for me 😂😭. I need all of them!