Haven't seen the fake 163.001s come up in a while. This one affects to have a chamfered date surround. Must be a newer batch See: http://www.ebay.com/itm/OMEGA-CONST...es_Watches_MensWatches_GL&hash=item4ac6636cdcPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network Please report
Hi Desmond, What is the indication that it is a fake, as opposed to a Franken/redial? The dial looks very different from a genuine Connie - the font, the star, the t-swiss made-t all look wrong. But how can you tell it is fake, not just a bad redial? The movement is a genuine movement (albeit not a chrono) So is it the inside of the caseback that gives it away as fake? It certianly looks odd/wrong, the font of the inscriptions look incorrect, it should have a model number, not serial number The description says the ">> The Constellation emblem on backward has been lost. <<" which presumably isn't possible on a genuine solid gold Connie, as (presumably) it would be one piece? Thanks Daniel
Hi Daniel, The actual pie pan "plane" is smaller in area that genuine pie pans. The faceting around the date window is rather crude and when compared with an original you can see the difference. The star looks flat and shows no facets and peaks. The dog leg of the lugs sticks out too far from the case body and there is no sign of chamfers between top and sides of the lugs; instead of a nice angled chamfer between the case body and the bezel there is a curved "bar" that runs too deep. The case back gasket recess is too narrow, holding only a very thin gasket; Also note the poorly rendered Helvetia lady and crude stamping of the other details on the case back. One way to tell if solid gold is to get a closeup of the Helvetia, as underneath the bust there will be an assay office stamp. The case maker is stamped as key 33 (Jules Megevand) who never made Constellation cases for Omega. A few other things are wrong too, sunch as the poorly perlaged inner surface (whereas grain finish was usually the norm in these models) but the most glaring mistake is that 163.001 is not a Constellation case number. The case is made out of pinchbeck a bronze alloy that when polished can look like gold. BTW yes, the case medallion is moulded into the case back as one piece. Cheers Desmond
Thanks Desmond, I can see all that now. I thought the number was an old style case serial number, rather than a model number.
Odd coincidence, but I had an email exchange with this seller today. Reproduced below: Me: Hello, The caliber on this watch is not a chronometer, so I think it does not belong to a Constellation. Can you confirm this? Seller: Ηi Give me your EMAIL to send you as many photos as you want. Thanks Me: Thanks for your reply. The photos you have supplied are sufficient, I'm just trying to find out why the movement seems to be incorrect for a Constellation. If this piece is authentic, I think that it may have been put together from a few separate watches. Thanks Seller: Really i do not know . Constellation was of my mother's father. Me: I see. I do not mean to be rude, but if you are going to advertise something as "100%Authentic Omega Constellation Pie Pan", don't you think you should be certain of that before posting it? Based on your photos, I suspect that this may be a counterfeit Omega, but even if it is not, it is certainly not 100% authentic. I think you might want to update the auction with accurate information to avoid a dispute from a potential buyer. Seller: OK thanks i will do end the auction And...it's gone. Interesting.