1861 with DON bezel?

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Dan S

·Mar 18, 2021

rcs914

Confuse it? No, probably not. But the differences are far more minor than having a DNN or later bezel on a vintage piece. No idea what Omega would be charging for this part wise, but I'm guessing the cost is somewhere around 1/10th what a good DON goes for. But to each their own.

Yes, this would be a personal decision. To me, the modern font and printing would be much more jarring on a vintage piece than using a DNN.

 

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eugeneandresson

·Mar 18, 2021

New transitional?

 

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padders

·Mar 18, 2021·Oooo subtitles!

eugeneandresson

New transitional?

Has the old one left you? 😉

 

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MikiJ

·Mar 18, 2021

padders

Has the old one left you? 😉

😁😁😁

 

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eugeneandresson

·Mar 18, 2021

padders

Has the old one left you? 😉

How stupid of me (I’m quite good with bad words, but that one is new 🤦). I’ll repeat what I actually meant :

new transitional?

 

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watermonkey

·Mar 18, 2021

Omega has just asked me for the warranty card copy yesterday ..... While AD spoke with Omega Canada who are sending the pics to Switzerland.

@eugeneandresson ... neither AD nor Omega have confirmed transitional.

 

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Dor_42

·Mar 19, 2021

watermonkey

Omega has just asked me for the warranty card copy yesterday ..... While AD spoke with Omega Canada who are sending the pics to Switzerland.

The plot thickens 🍿

 

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Twocats

·Mar 19, 2021·Married... with children

I wonder if this watch is just one of a batch of watches that we're fitted with the DON and Eugene is correct with the transitional theory.

We could have an accidental 1861 DON batch from Omega, I see the prices doubling already 😁

 

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eugeneandresson

·Mar 19, 2021

watermonkey

neither AD nor Omega have confirmed transitional.

I'm not even sure they would realize it as such (afterall, one of the reasons my Omega Boutique love me is because I usually know more about the watches then them 😁 ). I don't think they ever knew as such in the past, and 'transitional' is something coined by the collector community (I may be wrong). These days we would expect more accurate supply chain management, but I still could imagine that there would be some variance in part numbers (seeing as most parts come from a different supplier, and there is most likely a human doing the ordering, and orders are most likely done in batches staggered over time etc etc etc) hence some overlap (could be they ran out of bezels, or even more likely someone accidentally picked a new one instead of an old one, or accidentally slipped a new one into a bin containing the old one, as the omega parts supply in the manufacturing are all automated with robots...it’s really great to see). Again, just a 2c theory. If we see more pop up, we will know. If not, I would say thats a unique piece there, and great to have a historical-modern bezel.

I wonder if the 1861 dials and 3861 dials are interchangeable (i.e. same lenght/diameter of feet in same position on the rear of the dial)...

Edited: Mar 19, 2021

 

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Omega-Q

·Mar 19, 2021

The plot continues to thicken...please keep the updates coming! I'm delighted to hear the receptiveness of not only your AD, but Omega Canada...and hopefully Switzerland! 😀

 

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Archer

·Mar 19, 2021·Omega Qualified Watchmaker

watermonkey

neither AD nor Omega have confirmed transitional.

And they won't, because it's not...

 

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watermonkey

·Mar 19, 2021

Got a confirmation from Omega through the dealer that it indeed is a one off...DON bezel is mistake.

I have the option of getting the old bezel ... But I want to keep the DON on.

Edit update : I'm asked to keep the email as a document and Omega has a record on my warranty / Sr # - to preserve warranty ..incase customer service suspects in the future that it's been modified.

Edited: Mar 19, 2021

 

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Evitzee

·Mar 19, 2021

@watermonkey, yours is probably not the only one that slipped out of the factory with the wrong bezel. Anyway, keep the documentation so anytime it has to be worked on, or when you decide to sell it in the future, there will be a clear record that it is factory original.

 

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watermonkey

·Mar 19, 2021

Evitzee

@watermonkey, yours is probably not the only one that slipped out of the factory with the wrong bezel. Anyway, keep the documentation so anytime it has to be worked on, or when you decide to sell it in the future, there will be a clear record that it is factory original.

Yes will interesting to see how many slipped through ... I don’t expect mine to be one n only!

 

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Pazzo

·Mar 20, 2021

watermonkey

Got a confirmation from Omega through the dealer that it indeed is a one off...DON bezel is mistake.

......................

Can Omega SA get to know who assembled the watch/batch the OP has?

@watermonkey - That's excellent. A very nice mistake, IMHO. ... 😀

 

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Twocats

·Mar 20, 2021·Married... with children

watermonkey

Yes will interesting to see how many slipped through ... I don’t expect mine to be one n only!

I would tend to agree with you, but it will be impossible to find out.

Perhaps an Omega employee who frequents these pages orchestrated the whole thing, strategically ensuring a DON bezel was fitted to a selection of watch destined for delivery to every country in the world in the hope some smart cookie would pick up on it..... I need my second coffee and it will be better.

I vote we call it the Eddie Izzard Speedy

 

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watermonkey

·Mar 20, 2021

Twocats

I vote we call it the Eddie Izzard Speedy

🤦

 

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watermonkey

·Mar 25, 2021

Also got a direct email from Omega today ...offering to change the bezel back at no charge. Case is closed from my end.

 

Z

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zefir073

·Apr 8, 2021

Good afternoon everybody.
as I anticipated in my presentation a little while ago, I arrived at this discussion looking for news on the penultimate reference esalite (.005), in particular on the peculiarity of the DON bezel insert.
I was very pleased to learn that I'm not the only one who has this peculiarity happened, also because I was having bad thoughts ...
I am writing to you from Italy, my Speedmaster was purchased new from an official European dealer last March.
I noticed this peculiarity while taking photos for the presentation on the Italian forum and in these days I also asked my dealer for explanations, who sent some photos to Omega.
However, I have read that Omega has already recognized this peculiarity and has also offered the Watermonkey user a document that certifies the originality of the watch, excellent news!
It would be nice to do a worldwide survey, maybe an interesting story could be born!

 

Z

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zefir073

·Apr 9, 2021

I just received an important update from my salesperson
that I want to share with you.
Here are his words:
"Hello,
I just received some information of Omega.
Apparently, there has been a mistake in the production of very few watches with a bezel with the DON.
Omega will not make an official letter about this, but they certanly want to change the bezel.
If Omega should make this official, then nobody would bring back the watch, because this is now a very limited and very special watch and should be very expensive.
I don't know what to suggest.
You have a very special watch. I also contacted an Omega expert to have his idea about this watch. "
This story is getting more and more interesting!