About Omega buckles

The seller is a certain bill shaine from Amherst, Massachusetts, so probably not the person you guys thought.

Anyhow, doesn’t look original anyway so I’ll tell my friend.

Thanks for all your input!!

Judging by the last example shall I assume that this 16 mm buckle is also fake?

Thanks @gatorcpa. Anyone else?

Unlike @Aryen ’s example, the sun’s rays on mine aren’t symmetrical much like a genuine buckle.

Hello, guys,
i bought this buckle a while ago, but can't find it in this article.

Fake or not, what do you think !?

Be careful, Mr. Lego shoots sharply 😁

You’re not paying attention man...

There are so many exceptions and that EK. buckle that annoyed me a lot because it broke all my theories, but you always need exception. I believe that early buckles were not signed properly or nobody cared.

Thanks for your answer !

So i can say approved !!

Thought it could be usefull to add to your thread !!!

Picture and text come from the thread !
You are not paying attention...

You are right, finaly i got it 😵‍💫


Thanks again …………..

I'm having an issue with "PLAQUE G". French for gold-plated is PLAQUE OR. This leads me to assume that any buckle marked PLAQUE G is suspect. But, some of those look right. Anyone puzzle out an explanation?

Tom

In my record, plaque G is pretty normal. Like Gator I have never seen a plaqué or buckle. But I own or have seen plenty of plaqué g which I think are genuine.

I have read on several French sources that the G mean "galvanoplastie" - which is kind of the same as electrolysis. That would make sense as the French law concerning hallmarks is not fond of English terms or initials (so g would not mean gold here).

But this does not come from an official source (customs or any other government source). So I take that with a grain of salt, as concerning this topic I prefer to refer to official texts.

By the way, I shall add that plaqué or is a precise hallmark for the French law. A "doré" item can have as low gold as 1 micron, but plaqué must be 3 microns for jewels and 5 for watches. And in my record, 10 microns would actually be the low side for watches. Most often, good pieces would have 20 microns, and the best (Lip for instance) could have as much as 40 microns. (Not to mention Swiss Made Omega with 80 microns).

I do not know the standards for buckles. But at least, 3 microns - as I do not think bucles belong to the same regulation as watches.

I aknowledge I do not know as well the Swiss law. But considering gold plated watches and buckles, I am under the impression there are similitudes with the French law, but also differences.

First, solid gold must be stated by a precise hallmark. I have seen online so called brand made gold buckles without any hallmark, but have always considered them as suspect.

Another well known similitude is the fact solid gold is indicated by numbers (750 for instance) or by "imaged" hallmarks (eagle head or Helvetia for instance). The use of numbers is much recent in France though - although it has been used in the past.

Third, gold plated has its own hallmarks, which are pretty different from solid gold. In France, the hallmark stated a number of microns and/or the maker in a square - the maker's name is a lozenger for solid gold. Concerning Swiss gold plated watches, I do not know the rules and can only rely on my limited experience. But as far as I remember I have always found a clear hallmark stating the micron content. Omega Swiss made 80 microns cases also often indicate the way it was produced with a "plaqué or L" (L meaning "laminé", that is to say a gold sheet has been applied to the base metal, by distinction with methods using electrolysis). These watches generally also indicate the maker in a square with rounded angles.

I aknowledge I do not know much about gold plated bucles. I know small French products (less that 3g as far as I know) do not have to have a hallmark, wether they are solid gold or only plated. I would say that many buckles weight less than that. But, as I already said, all the genuine solid gold French made buckles I have seen - and I think it is also true for Swiss made ones - had a clear hallmark. I am
aware there are interesting examples that could be out of this rule - see for instance this very informative thread launched by @omegastar - but I have not seen any in person.

Now concerning gold plated buckles, my impression is everything is possible! I would not try to set any general rule. But it is worth noticing that a "plaqué g" buckle belongs to a precise rule in France as I said above. I wonder like you if it is also the case for the Swiss law. I would be surprised if the same distinction between "plaqué" and "doré" would occur. But "plaqué g" could still obviously be a specific Swiss hallmark.

Maybe someone more knowledgeable than me could give an insight about the Swiss law concerning those issues.

I have just read - non governmental source, but still reliable - that Swiss gold plated watches must be at least 5 microns. So it is like French ones. I do not know when this regulation has been set though.

I spoke to a watchmaker who worked for 40 years with Omega. He told me that the older buckles were 80 micron gold plated and when this was the case, these were considered as 18kt buckle. Is this right or are the 18kt buckles really solid gold?

Obviously, gold plated and solid gold are never the same! That been said, the question is wether "18k" implies solid gold or not. I would distinguish between three issues.

i) If you are talking of official definitions and inscriptions, it depends on the low of the country where it has been made - and where it is been sold. In France, you cannot talk of 18k (in an add for instance) and write that on an object if it is not solid gold. So a "18k" buckle should be a solid gold one. On the contrary, in the US, it is perfectly fine to talk of a 10k or 14K, etc. gold filled items. 18K gold filled is pretty rare in my record - neven seen any watch with that inscription! But I guess it is not impossible to find a 18K gold filled or plated buckle. It will not necessary be written on the buckle.

ii) Now from a collecting point of view, the expression "18k buckle" could be misleading because of the bad habits of some sellers. But in my view, if you do not say anything else, a "18k buckle" should be solid gold.

iii) Now back to the question of wether a solid gold buckle should always have an inscription like 18k, 750 or an imaged hallmark. In France, it is not mandatory to stamp a hallmark on small items (less that 3g + maybe some other exceptions for complicated small jewelry). This is why solid gold bezels for snap back classical Omegas of the 40's-60's do not have the eagle head. But all the true 18k buckles I have seen (in person and onlline) had the eagle. It is also true for the Swiss 18k I have seen - online as I do not own any. I am not saying that 18k buckles with nothing written on them do not exist, but I think it is safer to assume they are always suspect and you should buy them only after a test has been made.

Thank you. That sounds logic. (I have always assumed that an American "14k" would be solid gold - if nothing follows this marking.)