Speedmasters at Antiquorum March 2020
There are 24 Speedmasters in the March 21 2020 Geneva Sale at Antiquorum, but only seven of them interest us in that they are pre -78
The sale can be seen here
Of the Geneva Houses, Antiquorum consistently has the largest number of watches on offer, and these watches in the past have required more due dilligence than the others. I would rather see more watches on offer, less currated, than the narrow selection sometimes seen in other Houses.
As with any auction, the burden of inspection and verification must lie with the buyer. There will always be more potential issues in an Antiquorum sale given the sheer number of watches, but I do not hold that against them. remember auctions are agents, not retailers.
Lets put it another way, without knowing what was on offer, I would always choose to view the AQ sale if I had to choose only one. (Watches of Knigtsbridge in London is another house with a consistently good number and spread of watches).
On to the watches. A couple of notes. Estimates are all in Swiss Francs which are almost a par with the USD. Do not forget the added buyers premium. My observations are based at the moment only on the photos. If you are going to buy I strongly urge you to inspect the watches in person.
- Lot 146
- 145.022-69
- 4000 6000
- 28426158
- 1171/677
- January 19th, 1970 and was delivered to Japan.
Initially attractive, if you could get it for low estimate. It is correct and the dial seems attractive. DO90 Bezel is poor. Dial might have damage at edge near 7. Otherwise I like this – but I really think it needs to be seen, there are marks on case and case back that I would want to verify the extent of.
- Lot 147
- 145.022-69
- 4000 6000
- 31629907
- 1479/812
- Extract from the Archives
- Flight Qualified SW case back
Another good watch, not fine but good. The dial is attractive and the hands look original and go with the whole look. The DN90 bezel is fair. The case back is nice to have, (although I have seen more in the last 12 months than any other 12 month period). The bracelet is rare and sought after by some. At low estimate its good.
- Lot 150
- 145.012-67
- 3000 5000
- 25006151
- Omega no marks
- Box, additional bezel insert, additional crystal back
- Extract from the Archives
This is the cheapest Speedmaster in the sale. At the low estimate I am a buyer. The dial is attractive and I think those lume plots are original. The hands also look like they could have come from new. The crown in wrong. The bezel is modern service and the accompanying DO90 bezel is poor. The bracelet looks quite wrong, and the end-links do not fit. This is a fixer upper and I like that. Case looks ok.
- Lot 151
- 145.012-67
- 8000 12000
- 25007178
- Telemeter Bezel
- Leather
- Extract of the Archives
The dial is poor, with all the lume missing. It is an ideal candidate for a re lume. The bezel is not valuable (I do not think, it is not to me!) and so I do not see how they arrived at the estimate of 8,000. Only one photo in the catalog, whatever this watch’s charms it is keeping them well hidden.
- Lot 289
- 145.012-67
- 22000 32000
- 26076838
- Ultraman
- 1039/516
- June 6th 1968 delivered to Sweden
- Fitted with Orange Hand
The dial is fair, with the lume either missing of dirty. The underlying body is good, and so another candidate for a re lume. The DO90 is poor. The orange hand looks to be too short and therefore not original. I expect this was one of those lucky extracts. I am not a buyer for these kinds of watches at this level. It just looks a lot of money for a watch that has issues and also it is becoming clear that there are more of these than first thought.
- Lot 290
- 2998-1
- 17301445
- 45000 90000
- Brown Dial
- 7077 / 6
- January 29, 1960 and delivered to the Republic of Zaire
This watch has numerous images in the catalog. We can see this beautiful brown dial, though it has damages both on the hour and the running subdial from incorrect hands. When we start talking these telephone number values we are justified in diving very deep into the minuscule damages.Case has some corrosion on the back, in the crease near the lip. The BASE1000 bezel is faded, but the print matches known examples. This watch deserves a deeper review.
- Lot 292
- 2915-2
- 15997985
- 80000 120000
- 7077 / 532
- Box and blank Omega Paper
- Extract of the archives
This is a boomerang. (It just keeps coming back)
Bezel is probably aftermarket. Dial is Oval O, short indices subdials, and spotted.
It has an extract, so its a proper 2915, and it will be interesting to see where this ends up. Fine examples are still fetching high 100’s so this is not trying to be something its not.
Further notes on lot 292
This has been sold two times before by AQ, in 2010 and in2013.
Your can see them in full here
