Fake Omega Constellations Surface Again

Even some of the better eBay sellers, so it seems, cannot be relied upon to offer only genuine Omega Constellations for sale.  (1) Link to this eBay listing by Californian seller jjw2838 and (2) download this essay on fake Omega dials and cases, and begin to make some comparisons.  A cursory exercise in contrastive analysis will reveal to you that jjw2838 is offering a home to a poor, forlorn calibre 561 in a fake case and giving it a Constellation personality with a fake dial!!!!

 It challenges my sense of credulity that a seller who has serviced and sold many, many Omega Constellations over the years cannot be aware of these Chinese/Vietnamese fake case and dial ensembles. It further stretches belief that jjw2838 is not aware that a calibre 561 should not be housed in a case (fake though it is) stamped with the model number 167.005, for it is common knowledge that calibre 551 Constellations were awarded this case number.  And, surely, a perfunctory examination of the dial and dial underside should, for any experienced watch mechanic, raise serious questions about the dial. 

Given the above facts, I will leave you to make a conclusion about the seller’s intentions, save to say that these fake dial and case ensembles have been sullying online and geographical vintage watch markets for more than five years.

Every now and then, this seller seems to go off the rails and compromise his reputation by offering suspect or franken watches on eBay. For another example click here

Some of the more sagacious vintage watch collectors proclaim that one must “buy the seller and not the watch”, but I would suggest that this statement reflects a pre-internet value system that has little relevance in today’s global markets.  Yes, one must evaluate a seller to ensure that s/he is not a linear descendant of a horse thief, but then, one must examine closely the watch for sale to ensure that it is genuine and that it meets factory standards.   In a global market, the phrase, “a seller, no matter who, is only as good as the watch s/he is selling now” would appear to be a much better principle by which to abide. 

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