This is my first post here so I am probably not in the right forum, but here goes. I have an Omega which I think was made for the British military in WWII. I have spent many hours checking online trying to find info on this watch, but to no avail. The watch resembles other Omegas from the war era, but I cannot find another that matches this one. My first question: Is the number stamped behind the balance wheel the caliber? On this watch, the number is YT84. This number is not on the Omega list. I do not see a serial number. Is it hidden somewhere else on the watch? Here is what I THINK I know about the watch. The case is an aluminum alloy. This type case originally was fitted with longer band mounting tabs with welded spring bars. These longer tabs were not very strong and would quite often break. The tabs were shortened and removable spring bars were put into place. This watch looks to have been modified in this manner. I will try to put up some pictures. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
oh so fake... I've seen that same package with a "Longines" logo on the face and movement... same movement, just as worthless. The owner had just bought it on ebay for far too much money.
I'll echo @Fritz - it's a pretty terrible fake. For your further searches, @ohmygosh, there is nothing WWII about the case shape, which is more of a late sixties/seventies type. Hope you didn't get burned.
Some military watches are worth serious money, The movement and case are cheap junk, knock off faces are common, engrave the back a little and *poof* one or two grand worth of watch for next to no investment. With Ebay to make distribution easy its a quick buck made easy. The USAAF Longines I saw was much better.... except they spelled one of the words wrong in the US military contract on the back.
Thanks to all who have responded. I accept that it is a fake. I have virtually no money in it. There is a side to this that is hard to understand though. As I said, I have been all over the web looking for another like this and have come up empty. My question is: Who would take the time and expense to make only one (or maybe a few) fakes of a not so popular model. I'm thinking of the tooling and machinery needed to produce a fake like this. It would make more sense if someone was going to make a few thousand of some very popular make that they could fool people enough to make a profit. I have seen fakes (mostly Rolex) and the movements are usually very cheap with un-jeweled movements. Is there anyone on the site that is expert in British WWII military Omega watches?
I have seen other fakes like this one, but the brand can be different : Hamilton, Benrus, US Navy, US army etc ... perhaps sold in south east asia for tourist make them believe they bought a true GI watch ... do a reaserch with « fake Vietnam watch » you will find more...
I have a fake Roamer with almost same movement but with Roamer stamped on. Dial as well is quite common for fakes coming from India. They just take old cheap vintage indian made watches sourced locally and modify them and sell them in the west for a good gain (considering indian economy).
Looks like you are all right. I just found a site with lots of info on the WWW II British military watches. They call the watches "The Dirty Dozen" after the Movie of the same name. The name really stands for the 12 different watch manufacturing companies which supplied the watches. All 12 companies had to make the watches of certain materials and in a certain way. All had Stainless Steel cases, shatter resistant lenses, The big up arrow had to be stamped on both sides of the back as well as the dial. The W,W.W. stood for Waterproof - Wristlet - Watch. They were made with a dull finish. One thing a lot of people do which decreases the value is to polish the dull to a shiny bright finish. It might look sharp, but to a collector it is a big NO, NO. I also found how the fraudsters get the raw stock to begin their sleasy business. Some or all of the companies made and sold the same watches to the public with some modification and minus the military markings. Thanks again to all who responded. Phil
I found one of these in a junk shop right at the start of my collecting. I paid pennies for it and thought I'd made the deal of the century....It happens. I believe these particular fakes (with the 24 hour inner ring) were made in Viet Nam quite a ways back.
These, if coming from the same companies (i.e. Omega, IWC. etc.) are still legit and valuable, albeit a bit less than the actual military ones. The one posted at the opening is just a complete fake.
May I ask where you found the fantastic strap? OP you have found no other watch like this because you were looking for WWII watches and this is not one. It is a horrible imitation of US vietnam era military watches, and there are many other like this one.
I think mine also goes very nicely with the watch. It is from http://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/NATOG10.php
HI there, thanks for the referral, David Boettscher is well known to collectors of military watches for his replicas and creations, but I was specifically interested in that other strap on @jove14 ’s WWW because it looks like an NOS vintage strap from the 1930s-1940s.
Hi. The strap was on this 1946 Omega when I bought it at a carboot sale a few years ago, so could well be a vintage one. I may replace the strap when I have the watch serviced in the future as it is too small between the lugs but will keep it for another watch. At one point I thought you were calling mine horrible and not the other! Thank You. Joe.
Thanks for the reply. I’m a bit confused as I have not called any strap horrible or disparaged any. I just was very curious about yours as it looks so perfectly new and so perfectly vintage. Enjoy it, with best regards, S