 - Written
by Chuck
Maddox
- on
15 October 2000, certain
rights reserved.
- Last
Revised: 3 December 2001 4:35
GMT
-
Gerry Luppino posted
TZ
Classic 1140: Customizing the Omega
Speedmaster: Part 1
which detailed his journey in creating his
display back. Originally Gerry had posted
portions of this article and pictures of his
c.321 in both the Omega and Public Forums.
This prompted a number of us in the Omega
Forum to do similar conversions.
Here are a couple
of thoughts on the display back with regards to
c.321 movement watches...
The current display
back will fit on a c.321 movement watch, with
either the pre-crown guard case or modern cases.
Sometimes a spacer will be necessary in order to
insure that the movement is held tightly without
the anti-mag/dust cover in place, but it's best
to check it out before worrying about the spacer
(as you might not need one)
For some reason
1967 model year Speedmaster Professionals seem
to be more easily adaptable to this conversion
than previous models as it seems that a spacer
is not necessary more than half of the time.
I've had the display back on my 1965 Speedmaster
Pre-Pro briefly... The movement was loose enough
in the case I immediately took it back off, but
the caseback threads on properly. With a
properly made spacer there is no reason to think
that you couldn't do a display back conversion
on pre-pro model Speedmasters as well.
Here is a gallery
of Speedmaster c.321's that have been modified
with display backs:
The author's 1967 Speedmaster
Pro c.321:
  
I haven't converted
my 1965 Pre-Pro Speedmaster to sport a display
back yet. If, or once I do I'll update this
article...
Robert Jan Broer took a
different route on his display back conversion.
In his own words:
" I
also have a '67 Speedmaster Pro and I fitted
a display back on it. Handmade, because the
official Omega Displaybacks are VERY
expensive and they have the ugly inscription
in it. First watch worn on the moon, while
mine was pre-moon. So that didn't sound too
good. I bought a spare caseback for the new
Speedmaster Pro and a goldsmith in my
neighbourhood fitted a glass in it. the see
through caseback on my watch was made by
Gerton Van Der Laan who
he deserves the credit for such nice work. It
looks marvelous, the cal. 321 is very nice to
look at. A seethrough caseback gives the
watch a whole new dimension in my opinion. It
is even more fun to wear!"
    
In the process of
securing permissions to use the pictures used in
this article RJ elaborated on the spacer issue
in regards to his 1967 Speedmaster:
I think
you already know it, but I didn't use a
spacer ring, but an extra gasket... The new
type of caseback (145.022 is printed in it)
doesn't have the same dimensions as the
caseback of the 145.012 or 105.012. It is a
bit smaller and it doesn't have the same
height. The smallness is bad for the
waterresistance, but it will fit (for the
eye). The lower height causes the movement to
be loose in the case. Normally, the caseback
keeps the movement in place by pressing it
into the watchcase. I used an extra gasket to
solve this.
The inclusion or
exclusion of the standard Omega inscription is a
personal choice. As RJ indicated it's a
post-moon inscription. He didn't want that on
his pre-moon watch. But to me, the display-back
is a post moon item anyway, and both RJ's
Speedmaster and my 1967 are most likely the same
model that was first worn on the moon by Buzz
Aldrin. Since the display back is not original,
I'm not worried about the inscription being on
the display back. But as I said it's a personal
preference thing... To thine own self be true!
Edwin Leung also has done a
c.321 Speedmaster conversion:
Click
on the picture to see the full
resolution version of this
picture
(442k download)
Edwin Leung
writes:
"If
PP5070 were Miss Universal with many
professional people helping her to dress and
make up, then I would say my Speedy Pre-Moon
with saphire back were an innocent village
girl ~ simple, natural but beautiful!! If I
finally can keep only three watches among my
collection, this should be one of
them!!"
Stephen Sugiyama is a
Speedmaster expert who has also done a c.321
Speedmaster conversion:
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Steven
writes:
"My
watch is a ref. CK 2998 from 1962,
and has a display back that was
added by Gerry Luppino. I had Gerry
polish off the inscription on a
lathe. This is my favorite
Speedmaster model with the dauphine
hands, no-crown-guard case, 19 mm
band, and cal. 321
movement."
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Bill Sohne is a
noted Chronometre and Chronograph collector with
a strong collection of Omega's of all stripes.
His 1967 Speedmaster is one he received as a
"Hand-me-Down" from his brother Marshall. Bill's
collection received an extensive write-up in the
April/May 2000 edition of
InSync.
- It's
interesting to note that if you prefer to
have a standard Omega Display-Back part, but
would rather not have the standard
inscription on the back you can do as Steven
has, and have the inscription removed and
avoid having to make the part from scratch as
RJ's Goldsmith did. So there is more than one
way do to this conversion.
- Recently on
ebay
another
interesting c.321 display back appeared in an
auction. I posted a picture of the watch in
question on the TZ Omega Forum and received
an interesting reply...
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- Hi
Chuck,
-
- the
watch on eBay is from me; I
sold the watch last year in
September to the gentleman,
who sells it now! I have a
watchmaker, who produce this
saphire crystal backs
especially for me and my Omega
watches; I'm a collector of
Omega, especially Speedmaster
watches, but from time to
time, I have to sell some of
my watches, because you can't
only buy and collect, but I
have to get some money for
some new vintage watches,
which I'm always hunting on!
Feel
free to contact
me,
if you have any further
questions. There is no need to
say, that all my watches(ref
2998, 105.003, 145.012, etc.)
are all in mint/NOS and
original quality, proofed by
Omega CH!! Please feel free to
post my information, perhaps
it will be possible for me to
help some other Omega
Speedmaster collectors!
-
- Kind
regards, Dirk
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RJ is absolutely
correct about the display back adding a new
dimension to the watch. The original metal back
while of passing interest is fairly boring (at
least the pre-moon ones are). But when you have
the display back on the watch if you are bored
you can always take off the watch and look at
the movement count time away! This is great if
you are stuck in a boring meeting or waiting for
a train or plane!
So
to sum up:
- The current
Speedmaster Display Back will fit on
c.321 Speedmaster Cases.
- The threads are
the same so the back is screw on/screw off
interchangeable.
- All
you really need to try this out for yourself
is a Speedmaster, a display back and a
caseback wrench:
 - I bought the
wrench from SEP
Tools in
the downtown Chicago Wabash Avenue Jeweler's
mall. It cost me $8.70 {before
parking!}.
- When I got home
I took the wrench to the '67 and opened it
up, removed the dust/anti-mag cover and tried
it out. There is a very,
very slight amount of play when
I wind the Speedy but the rest of the time
there is no play of the movement inside the
case, so a spacer or gasket isn't absolutely
necessary. I have added a couple of gasket's
from the F&B bulk assortment (below) to
minimize what play there is when winding the
watch.
- Of the people I
have talked to who have done this conversion
on 1967 Speedmasters only RJ's example has
needed a a additional gasket to hold
the movement.
- On my 1965
Pre-Pro Speedmaster, the display back screws
on quite easily, but for some reason there is
a great deal of play without the
dust/anti-mag cover, so for it (and I suspect
many other Speedmasters) a spacer or gasket
would be necessary.
- Frei
& Borel sell an assortment of case back
gaskets for $9.95 that may have a suitable
gasket for this application:
 - Case
Gasket Bulk Assortment
This is a
popular bulk assortment of 50 O-ring style
case gaskets.
FB-2705
$9.95
- You can
access this item via TimeZone's Tool
Shop on the " Case Openers &
Gaskets" page.
- I
make no claim that one of the
gaskets in this assortment would be
suitable for this application, but
at $9.95 it may well be worth
trying...
- My advice if
you are interested in trying this for your
self, is to get a display back and a wrench
and try it out before worrying about a
spacer. It won't cost you anything to try it
out first and might just be good to go as
is.
- If
you do need a spacer, you can try the bulk
gasket assortment from Frei & Borel or I
have recently located an Omega manufactured
spacer made from a patented material called
Accrolon 903. This is a nonmetal material
with carbon and Teflon in its composition.
This seems to be perfect for any Speedmaster
and will fit perfect and remove the slack
that exists from removing the dust
cover/anti-mag shield... A couple of pictures
follow:
-
- Dimensions
(approximately) 30mm Outside Diameter, 28.5mm
Inside diameter, 1 mm horizontal thickness,
1mm vertical thickness. Again these are
approximate dimensions.
- Even though the
spacer was made with the c.863/c.1863 in mind
it works great with c.321 movements. The
spacer took all of the slack from my 1967
145.012-67 Pre-Moon Pro, and I've also tried
it on my 105.003-65 Pre-Pro and it works
great with it as well!
- If
you are looking to purchase a display back
and/or spacer, email
me and
I'll provide information on how to contact
the persons I obtained mine from. The typical
price for a display back is in the area of
$200 US, and the spacer in the area of $10
US. I do not sell these items or have a
supply of them personally, but I will forward
information to where you may obtain
them.
- An estimate of
the cost of doing such a conversion is as
follows:
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Item:
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Cost:
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Display
Back
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$200.00
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Spacer
Ring:
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$10.00
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Case
Back Wrench:
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$8.70
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If you
intend to do the work
yourself...
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Estimate
TOTAL:
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$228.70
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Less
Shipping expenses, taxes, etc.
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- Of course if
you need additional spacing you might have to
combine the spacer ring with some gaskets
from the F&B set.
-- Chuck
Acknowledgments...
I'd like to thank
Edwin Leung, Robert Jan Broer, Stephen Sugiyama,
Bill Sohne and Dirk for permission to use the
pictures included in this article. I'd also like
to thank Gerry Luppino for his pathfinding work
on this topic. Most if not all of us would be
staring at steel backed c.321's without his
efforts in this
regard.
Statement
of rights retained and permissions
granted...
Permission is
granted for Damon, Derek, Ross or RJ to include
this article within the FAQ's they are writing
as long as the people who have contributed to it
(see acknowledgments
above) are given appropriate credit, Permission
for personal, educational or non-commercial use
is granted. The author retains all other rights
not specifically mentioned
here...
For all other use please contact
the author.
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