lhooq

Late submission for Saturday.

Jealousy... Bad for Christmas. Congratulations!

Hike: I know I've got more manual Daytonas than I need, but yours is looking better and better. LLD Monday

I didn't realize that the going rate for c.565s had become so cheap. A year ago, they were selling for USD300-400. Of course, three years ago the dials were ~$80 and the 166.0324 was ~$750...

I don't think it's possible. The commonly available vintage SM300 rep (i.e. the one that Josh sells) has almost no dimensions in common with a genuine case. Just look at the diameter differences between the rep's dial and a gen-spec dial: The bigger question is why you would even want to bother putting a c.565 into the rep case. It has a good resemblance to the gen when you're looking straight down at it; at other angles, it's not an accurate rep at all.

I do love seeing Snowflakes in December.

I'd be nowhere without J. Skilled, clever, patient, persistent, and a just plain good guy!

Rolex-2, Omega-2:

I remember you showing me the inspiration pic a while back, M. Very well done!

Thanks, E! Have you read through my writeup about it? Likewise, your shots are making me rethink my indifference to Hublot. It's an unexpectedly beautiful combination.

I guess I missed this one. Fantastic job, Rolexman!

I've got the Wakmann version of that Breitling Datora, also with a Valjoux 7734 inside. If you like the way it looks and the shape of the tonneau case, I say go for it!

Terrific Omega turnout today.

Obfuscating AND dissembling.

What an obfuscating ass.

Thanks, all! C: Definitely back to the books! Exams are in less than two weeks. Ubi: I'm glad you were able to drop into RWG and see this piece. Maybe one day I'll branch out to Pateks, but for now this is my "ne plus ultra" build. jtiis: Yes, it's a 1450 that I spent quite a bit of time (and cash) to acquire! Definitely a Grail bracelet. (Great, now who's tossing that term around carelessly? Jimster: That's a modern 6.5mm crown (with newer, fatter Greek letter Omega), same as on a contemporary 3570.50. It will work on any of the Speedmasters, but it's period-correct only for 1966 and later. I shall clean up my inbox immediately!

Hi, R! The PP looks wonderful! Like you, I've had a rough month that's been slightly offset by a remarkable watch that I recently got back from Zigmeister. Things are scheduled to get real crazy real soon, so I hope this Speedmaster has a similarly calming and focusing effect. Read about the Speedy here!

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.

Many of us know donerix for his very beautiful and very exotic leather straps, but lately I've been seeing a lot of his canvas creations. As I was wrapping up my Speedmaster CK2915 project, I suddenly remembered one of the Grail Inspiration photos I had downloaded many years ago. It was of a '57 Speedmaster in remarkably good condition, and fitted with a military-looking, OD canvas strap. I wondered if I could rep this photo? The watch was receiving its final touches from The Zigmeister, but I wanted to try and get a strap ready before it returned to me. I emailed E with my request and a few reference photos. As always, everything went smoothly as we nailed down the color, dimensions, and the buckle. Unfortunately (or not), one side effect of the transaction was that E is now looking for a straight-lugged Speedy of his own. The more, the merrier! The 19mm strap came in a serious-looking pouch and fit my Speedy and Daytona perfectly. How well did it match up to the reference? Other than the texture of the canvas... well, just look at it! The strap was surprisingly more robust than I expected. I hadn't realized, for example, that the entire backside would be lined with leather. It's very comfortable, and adds about a couple millimeters of height to the watch head. Stunning piece of work. I highly recommend it and anything from donerix. Thanks, E!

Thanks! I hope to have more to say about it really soon.