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Buyer Beware: Fake Mitsukoshi Speedmaster 3570.31

Aludic
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All,

Just a quick note to warn others who - like me - might be on the hunt for exclusive Speedmasters. Our subject is a somewhat notorious one; the Mitsukoshi (3570.31). Next to the Japan Racing, those are regularly offered as genuine, whilst in reality being a modded 3570.50. There's currently one listed on Yahoo JP which is a bit more deceiving than the usual suspects, hence this warning.

First and foremost the configuration is fully correct and at first glance, so is the warranty card. Correct country (JP / 5340), date of sale seems plausible and the serial 77102149 sits right in the middle of the accepted serial range. What aroused my suspicions is the dealer stamp on the card, which doesn't resemble the common Mitsukoshi dept. store one I have seen a few times before... A quick validation with @Archer confirmed my suspicions, this is unfortunately a mod being passed off as genuine.

So, buyer beware...

For posterity, here's some pictures.
i-img900x1200-1712056032by1qme140146.jpg i-img900x1200-1712056032fklcdd140146.jpg i-img900x1200-1712056032kro2o4140146.jpg i-img900x1200-1712056032zialcc140146.jpg


Looks nice, right? Pity it is not correct as I wouldn't mind wearing one of these.
Edited:
 
JwRosenthal
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These kinds of factory part mods are tricky. If it didn’t have the card you probably wouldn’t have had any suspicions- and most likely the next seller will know that and just chuck the card.
We’ve had a couple racing mods sell here listed as such at the value of the sum of their parts and I’ve been very tempted- but I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the mod and the real thing.
 
padders
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502 to right 502 to right
For the uninitiated, what has been modified?
At the least the dial, hands and card.
 
Scarecrow Boat
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YY77 YY77
Minus the DON, correct?
I clarified my post by saying “something like this” 😜

502 to right 502 to right
what has been modified?
To show a second example, that’s my wrist shot above. I bought that 1861 speedy intentionally to mod. I found a sealed TinTin dial, sealed TinTin caseback, and had my watchmaker put the correct bezel on. It somehow came with a 3861 DON bezel straight from the factory (I bought the watch directly from Omega).

IMG_5111.jpeg IMG_5112.jpeg IMG_5114.jpeg IMG_5113.jpeg



There are some deceitful sellers out there and unfortunately the watch in the OP was made to look genuine. It’s always good to run the serial for verification as in this instance it saved the OP.
 
Aludic
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M mountainunder
Mitsukoshi is 三越 in Japanese.
IMG_20240405_200416.jpg IMG_20240405_201711.jpg IMG_20240405_201509.jpg

That's exactly what I meant above when I referred to not being able to recognise Mitsukoshi on the warranty card. I just had no clue how to write 三越... 😁 Thank you!
 
pdxleaf
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Thanks for the public service message @Aludic .

For what it's worth, I 've posted this several times in other threads, but it seems relevant to post here.

This is my mod using Omega parts. Take away is meant to be that a mod can be enjoyable to wear, should always be disclosed if sold, and if I were buying a limited watch I would only pay full price if it had paperwork (sales receipt or warranty card preferably.)

20230302_203031.jpg 20230302_201502.jpg
 
Aludic
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Just to put the original story to a closure; the watch sold at the equivalent of about 6K EUR, which in my eyes means that the buyer got him or herself a Mitsukoshi dial, hands and a bog standard Speedmaster 3590 at a price slightly over their parts worth.
I sure hope nobody is going to try (again) to sell it as an actual Mitsukoshi, but if they do, a simple Google search should save an unknowing potential buyer from overpaying... 😗
 
Evitzee
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Aludic Aludic
Just to put the original story to a closure; the watch sold at the equivalent of about 6K EUR, which in my eyes means that the buyer got him or herself a Mitsukoshi dial, hands and a bog standard Speedmaster 3590 at a price slightly over their parts worth.
I sure hope nobody is going to try (again) to sell it as an actual Mitsukoshi, but if they do, a simple Google search should save an unknowing potential buyer from overpaying... 😗
What are you valuing the Mitsukoshi dial and hands in today's market? Just curious as to your thoughts. Even a genuine Mitsukoshi is nothing more than a bog standard Speedmaster with a special dial. Same for the Japan Racing Special watch, standard watch with unique dial, nothing really special about these watches. Just different dials and hands.
 
Aludic
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Evitzee Evitzee
What are you valuing the Mitsukoshi dial and hands in today's market? Just curious as to your thoughts. Even a genuine Mitsukoshi is nothing more than a bog standard Speedmaster with a special dial. Same for the Japan Racing Special watch, standard watch with unique dial, nothing really special about these watches. Just different dials and hands.

Not too long ago, I've seen two Mitsukoshi dials + handsets sell at individual auctions, between 1100 and about 1400 EUR, IIRC.
 
Aludic
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Archer Archer
One for sale here...

FS - Mitsukoshi dial - new in sealed blister pack | Omega Forums

I've seen them advertised here and elsewhere for 3,000 UK pounds in the recent past.

That's quite a different price than I remember having seen paid, steep! Thanks @Archer ! Just looked back and could only find the hands having sold at 240 USD on eBay last January and one dial selling in Japan at approx. 1400 EUR. I was clearly on the low side with my estimate above. Perhaps not so bad a deal after all for the buyer of this piece.

Either way, I don't care much. I'll just enjoy this genuine Panda instead. 😀

IMG_4740.jpg
 
rcs914
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JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
These kinds of factory part mods are tricky. If it didn’t have the card you probably wouldn’t have had any suspicions- and most likely the next seller will know that and just chuck the card.
We’ve had a couple racing mods sell here listed as such at the value of the sum of their parts and I’ve been very tempted- but I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the mod and the real thing.

I'll go one further - when it comes to the Japanese Racing Dial model I honestly don't think it matters one whit if you have one that is in the actual serial number range or one that was just built from the (once readily available) Omega parts. Still kind of kicking myself for not investing in the dial and hands for one when you could get them for $500 or so.
 
JwRosenthal
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rcs914 rcs914
I'll go one further - when it comes to the Japanese Racing Dial model I honestly don't think it matters one whit if you have one that is in the actual serial number range or one that was just built from the (once readily available) Omega parts. Still kind of kicking myself for not investing in the dial and hands for one when you could get them for $500 or so.
Blasphemy!!

IMG_1562.gif
 
Scarecrow Boat
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Here are a couple listings pulled only from OF for an at a glance trajectory:

Complete Dial & Handset
May 2018- $850. Took a couple days to sell.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-speedmaster-mitsukoshi-panda-dial-hands-set.76409/

June 2018- €700. No indication for length of sale.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/mitsukoshi-panda-dial-handset-new.77129/

May 2019- $1,450. ~18 months for sale
https://omegaforums.net/threads/nos-mitsukoshi-dial-and-handset-3570-31.94843/

April 2022- $3,400. No indication for length of sale.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/new-omega-speedmaster-mitsukoshi-dial-and-hands-panda.144865/

June 2022- £2,995. No indication for length of sale.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/mitsukoshi-dial-and-handset-£2995.146455/

Just the dial
July 2023- £3,400 (was £3,999). Still for sale
https://omegaforums.net/threads/mitsukoshi-dial-new-in-sealed-blister-pack.161446/
 
blufinz52
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rcs914 rcs914
I'll go one further - when it comes to the Japanese Racing Dial model I honestly don't think it matters one whit if you have one that is in the actual serial number range or one that was just built from the (once readily available) Omega parts. Still kind of kicking myself for not investing in the dial and hands for one when you could get them for $500 or so.

I paid $1,100 for the dial and handset and $320 for the micro-adjustment clasp.
68866621010__5D84C5BD-D887-4951-95CA-5761662C02D3.jpeg
 
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