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No one started one for today! I`ll do it! 351Ti on backpacker strap..

http:///www.smugmug.com/photos/i-3MDgHZ8/0/X3/i-3MDgHZ8-X3.jpg After finishing my 6263 Daytona build back in the summer, I hesitated to call it a Grail. To re-cap, I'm not a big fan of the term and the way it's carelessly applied to any watch of interest. There will be no such reservations here. The Omega Speedmaster Professional was my first "real" watch after years of wearing quartz Swatches, Bulovas, and other $100 fashion watches. (I also sported a hand-wind Vostok through high school, but that died in my final year and I didn't know enough to get it fixed.) I underwent months of research before deciding on the vanilla Moon Watch, but during that time I learned a lot about the Speedy's rich history. That was my first exposure to the original '57 Speedmaster, and I started dreaming of owning one, one day. Obviously, I didn't have a clue about how much these things actually cost! Harsh Mistress So let's take a step back and take in a brief history of the Speedmaster. We tend to think of the Speedy Pro as timeless, but the design was only frozen -more or less- in the late 1960s. In the decade before the moon landing, the Speedmaster was in a constant state of evolution. Released in 1957, Speedmaster ref. CK2915 was arguably the first modern chronograph by virtue of its innovative, external tachymeter bezel. (Prior to the Speedmaster, tachymetric scales were drawn on the dial itself. Within a few years, rivals like Rolex (Daytona) and Universal Genève (Tri-Compax) would follow suit.) Beating inside the case was Omega's version of the venerable Lemania 2310 movement. Calibre 321 has become a legend in its own right: First movement to the moon, famously hardy, and a prettier movement than its successor (c.861), to boot. The Speedmaster started out as a flashier watch than it is today, but it wasn’t long before took a backseat to functionality. Omega was dedicated to producing the ideal tool chronograph, and legibility under all conditions was a top priority. The Speedmaster existed in its original form for less than two years. By the end of 1958 and the introduction of the CK2915-3, the engraved steel bezel had been swapped with a black-painted hoop. The distinctive hands (now commonly known as "Broad Arrow" hands, to the chagrin of British military watch buffs) were replaced in subsequent generations by white-painted sticks. Even small details like the applied metal Omega symbol and the polished crystal retention ring were eventually deleted to ensure maximum readability inside a poorly-lit, shaking, and spinning command module. 1966 saw the twisting and thickening of the Speedmaster's lugs. More metal now protected the crown and pushers, while the entire watch was noticeably enlarged. It would be a few more years before 'Professional' was added to the dial and Cal.861 would be introduced, but the '66 145.012 would essentially define the look of the Speedmaster for all time. That's a lot of changes for one watch in nine years, but then again, only seven years separated JFK's Rice speech and Neil Armstrong's one small step. The CK2915, to me, is like a diamond in the rough. Refinement brought to the Speedmaster a stark utilitarian beauty, like that of a Staedtler drafting ruler or a Smiths automotive instrument. But I believe that there is even greater beauty in the irrational details of the earlier watch. Sure, the wide, polished-metal hands may block the subdials and produce distracting reflections. But someone decided that they belonged on the watch, perhaps for the simple reason that they looked terrific. How appealing is that sort of will compared to the careful design tweaks that led to the Professional? Interest in the original Speedmaster spiked in 1998 with the release of the Speedmaster ref. 3594.50. Also known as the '57 Reissue, it was basically a standard Moon Watch with a steel bezel, a retro-styled dial, and a new handset. The hands would reappear on the automatic Broad Arrow line of Speedmasters, and then in modified form on the Seamaster Planet Ocean. Either out of respect to the past or due to a bad case of writer’s block, Speedmaster DNA could be found everywhere in the Omega lineup. More recently, Omega unvelied the First in Space aka the "Wally Schirra". This was more of an homage to the 2nd-gen CK2998, but the biggest attraction was its revival of straight lugs on a smaller case. There are a lot of details about the Schirra that I don’t like, but it did get me imagining a “’57 Reissue Done Right”. The UnProfessional For the past two years, it's been a dream of mine to put together a CK2915-alike using a mix of parts from vintage Speedmasters and the '57 Reissue. (More recently, I imagined using the case from the Schirra, but I don't have that sort of money to throw around.) The trick would be finding a straight-lug case in the wild, and that's why the project remained a dream for so long. Post-'66 cases can be plentiful (especially when Watchco has a sale), but in two years I only saw one straight case show up on eBay. It sold for close to $2000. Similarly, Cal. 321 donors have stayed expensive at $1500-2000, and are desirable watches in their own right. Shopping for Valjoux 72s suddenly seemed very cheap, and it was looking as if I'd be better off saving my funds for a genuine, vintage straight Speedy. To my surprise, it turned out that someone had had the same idea as I did, and acted on it. All I had to do was buy it. I saw the listing when it first went up in September. My jaw dropped; here was the literal watch of my dreams, in the metal. Unfortunately, the price was much higher than I could afford, especially since I was in between jobs. The sale was set up as a Dutch auction, but I figured that someone would grab it before it fell within my reach. It hurt, but I gritted my teeth and resolved to forget about it. A week and a half later, my friend and fellow Speedy fanatic Five of Clubs PM’d me about the same listing; we’d discussed my project on several occasions. It turned out that not many people appreciate a good franken outside of our little hobby, and the going price had taken a big tumble. I told 5♧ that I still couldn't afford it, but I started tracking the auction again. Well, long story short... I got it. Here’s how it looked when I received it at the end of September: This watch has a 105.003 case, which was the last of the straight-lugged Speedies (and aka the "Ed White"). Inside is a Cal.321, visible through sapphire. All the parts in front are from the Reissue, including a steel bezel that had been trimmed to better match the 2915’s dimensions. It came on a braided NATO strap. The previous owner had fitted it on a non-Speedy Omega bracelet, but wasn't too concerned about historical correctness. It was a beautiful watch, but I could already see plenty of room for improvement. I’d never used The Zigmeister’s services before, but I’d heard many glowing recommendations from people I trusted. There’s also that amazing reputation he enjoys on the boards, and I can confirm that he fully deserves it. Zig is meticulous and really knows his stuff. It sucked that I had to send my Speedmaster away less than a week after I received it, but it’s always best to take the pain early. Here’s the end result: So what was done? Dial and Hands As mentioned, the dial and handset come straight from the Reissue. Omega did a terrific job on this dial (in contrast to the somewhat slap-dash appearance of the Schirra), but the white/green SuperLuminova bothered me. Zig is famous for being able to match the color and texture of vintage lume, and I was eager to see what he could do. I sent several color-laser printouts along with the watch so that he'd know exactly what shade of peach/yellow I wanted. I had also wanted to give the dial surface a bit more texture, but Zig thought it might be risky. I could have forced the issue and taken on the full risk of a possibly-ruined, genuine dial, but I'm a bit low on funds at the moment! I figured the lume would be enough to sell a vintage look. I also asked Zig to paint the subdial hands white. Most people don't spot this detail; maybe the '98 Reissue convinced everyone that they should be polished metal? I know I didn't even realize it until two weeks after I'd sent the watch away (and viewing many, many photos of genuine examples)! Now I think it plays a crucial part in forcing even experienced Omega spotters to blink twice and think about what they're looking at. Caseback Here's the single biggest tell on the watch, but for once I don't care. Replacement Pre-Moon solid casebacks are readily available, but fitting one would mean not being able to see the sweet-looking Cal.321 inside. Is it the column wheel, the horseshoe-shaped chronograph bridge, or the coppery hue of the movement? Whatever. It's beautiful. Speedmasters sold with display backs are supposed to have a spacer to hold the movement in place. Curiously, Zig discovered that a piece of a crystal compression ring had been used for this purpose. Zig tossed it and manufactured a new brass spacer ring. Crown As received, the Speedmaster came with a 6.5mm crown--the same as on a modern Moon Watch. Modern crowns are also found on many genuine CK2915s that have been serviced by Omega. (This is a familiar, frustrating story for vintage Rolex guys.) I couldn't find a 2915-correct 6mm crown, so I went with the chunkier 7mm unit from the early-60s. The important thing is that it has the pinched Omega symbol, same as on the dial. Bracelet and Endlinks I love the look of old Omega bracelets. A brief search yielded a folded/expanding-link 1035 in decent condition. The 19mm 1035 is not quite right for the CK2915, but the more-correct 7912 and the ideal 7077 sell for roughly twice and thrice the price, respectively. The only difference between the three is the clasp; from the front, these bracelets look identical. Years of wear had left the links with a dull shine. I asked Zig to refinish the links to their original polished/brushed/polished configuration. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the correct '6' or '506' endlinks. (If anyone spots a pair, contact me immediately!) Instead, we used the modern '617' endlink, reshaped and refinished by Zigmeister. The only hitch was that Zig was unable to enlarge the opening at the bottom of each endlink. As you can see from the drawing near the top of this post, the deep notch was a distinctive feature on these early Speedies. To be continued... Straps Much as I love rattly old bracelets, it's always good to have options. Many genuine CK2915s can be found on leather, and even the Reissue was available with a brown calfskin option. This Hirsch Camelgrain was a good match, and suitably thin for a watch from the 1950s strap. I'm not certain if the buckle is correct for a Speedy, but it does date to the 1950s. There are a lot of fake Omega buckles out there, so be careful. And then there's the donerix (Hamilton Leather) canvas strap that I wrote about elsewhere. Why was this strap such a big deal? There's a picture floating around the Internet of a stunning CK2915 on a similar strap. I first saw it back in 2009, and it's been my image of a Grail Watch ever since. It seemed like a perfect addition to this project, and I'm fortunate to have a friend who could put a strap together based on that one photo. Thanks, E! And so we end with the photos I couldn't squeeze in anywhere else. Seasoned LHOOQ observers will undoubtedly notice that these are all taken with natural light, for a change. This is a very special watch to me. I hope you enjoyed reading about it.

Proud to be a member of such a great community.

If I were you I would buy the latest bp sd from cartel and then order tc sd bracelet, sd dial, crown and hands and if possible a gen insert/crystal. Once finished you have an awesome watch!

This is a moody dial

Liking that Bombfrog bud!! I started one dafty! Vlydog anniversary wristies! .

Bombfrog T-25 for today

Anonimo

Happy Anniversary...VC Overseas for a Tuesday

Have an oem dark leather strap that will be going in this badboy tonight! I really want the oem croc leather honey coloured strap, but where to buy?! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here is my common sense estimate (not eBay/VRF prices) of what the parts are worth: 15000 case...$150 if not corroded around gasket area, $50 if corroded Eta movement...$35 if balance/hairspring is Ok with no guarantee of recent service Hands...$3, hour hand is doa and no telling about the other two Spacer...$0 because, what does it fit? Case clamp, screw etc...$1 Dial...$20 to $200, your guess is good as mine, worth very little if no dial feet for rolex 1530 All together...$200 max. Why am I so cheap? Because this is a small collection of parts, some good, some not so good, with an unknown dial. Fyi...1002 etc no date cases have the same internal dimensions as a 5500 AK and can be used for 5500 AK Explorer projects. The 15000 case will accept a rolex 1570/75 date movement and opd dial as well as the original 3035 with opd dial. Will accept Eta 2836 with proper spacer. Bezel from 15000 will work on 5500. Will also accept all the $$ you can throw at it. Ha!

Like this?

[censored] the reps, i wanna see more of your WSBK shots

Gentlemen and ladies ( if we have any) good watch smiths in the EU are hard to find that will work on reps, We have seen time and time again people who take on too much work and their quality suffers, if Jesus is good ( and I have no reason to doupt with a name like that, then don't mob him) If you have positive experiences then share them, if you have cause for concern then share them, To the OP, please warn Jesus off that by you advertising his services here his work load can increase very quickly, ask him to maintain quality and communication rather than quantity.

Funny, she never says that to me.

My 15300 Yes, it's genuine

Reps are getting more and more expensive. Soon I will receive a message from paypal saying my account has been sexually violated. I think in a year or two I'm done with reps and save up for some nice Sinn watches...!

Man that is a seriously nice looking watch. I would hope that for 500 bucks, it has gen Quality. I'd be seriously [censored] if the goddamn crown stripped, keyless went off or the bezel wasn't Sapphire etc.

Excellent post Iceman! I agree. It simply comes down to this, "Are you willing to live with a potentially problematic movement in order to get that look?" For me, that's a huge "YES" but each person is different. You can make it more reliable as Iceman says, for a cost. For me if I could get one with AR coating I would go for it. The look is worth it. Plan on changing the strap though as it is total crap IMO. I'm going to contact Domi and see how much for the AR coating. So far mine is working fine but I haven't had it that long. I wonder if these A 7750 movements came squeaky clean and then properly oiled how much longer they would last. what I mean is, how much of the failures are due to fundamental part defects vs. "fit and finish"/quality control of the assembly? If it is a fit and finish issue then servicing it properly would give long life, at least in theory.

A couple of examples of my photos from 2012 World Superbikes: So, yeah, I still take pictures.