Deleted thread? re bezels

I honestly think the issue is perfectly recreating something that is only needed to make it original in a small way.

I still think if he wants to make non standard bezels like a pulse, or time to distance, or deci, or a wierd film frame bezel that don’t looks exactly oem. That’s amazing and wonderful.

it’s a good option for old watches with the wrong bezel. Or modern pieces that want to be different.

Just a thought, what would be the conundrum if Omega started making the bezels again. I mean exactly the same as the old?

Jumped out of the vintage pool before I got wet, so no conundrum from me.
(Pool is looking murky nowadays compared to 7-8 years ago)

But I laugh when a owner declares here, that he puts a fake bezel on his 321 To wear most days because his too scared of loosing the real DON he bought. But changes it back to take WRUW pictures.

People would buy from Omega knowing they were getting a valid product.


People would get incredibly stressed trying to figure out why their "reproduction" market had suddenly collapsed.

My issue with all this monkey business is an ethical one. Supporting someone making a replica bezel that is almost indistinguishable from an original infringes on Omega’s intellectual property.

If another collector commended you on your watch, would explain to them that it was aftermarket bezel? If you didn’t it would be a form of deception.

You want a banger bezel, think about buying a service bezel.

Nothing is stopping you from bleaching it baking it and skipping it down the sidewalk.😜

With all due respect I find it hard to believe that you’d be bothered with the fonts or placement of a “dot” but wouldn’t be bothered knowing your bezel was a phony.

(Edited to insert cheeky face)

I was being cheeky, hard to convey over the webs.😉

So we now live in a Pre-uv and UV world. Okay. This will take a little time to be widely known. But even with uv testing, it is hard for me to think that there won't be several if not many fututre buyers of watches with these replica/reproduction bezels that will think they are original but are not. It may not happen when the watch is sold by the first person who added the bezel but it will happen eventually. This seems a big price to pay for a small profit to the producer. We are more and more reliant on the good intentions of the seller. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous sellers.

Perhaps if he adds an etching on the inside of the bezel? I am mistrustful of the longevity of uv alone, either due to fading or being removed (i know nothing about UV except for black posters from the 70's. I could Google the qualities of UV but am too lazy.)

Still, I get that this is similar to a vintage automobile that has the same VIN plate that left the factory but new sheetmetal and replacement parts. But this feels different. Perhaps I will need more time to consider the impacts.

What if it was a different part he made? How about a replacement case with a few nicks? What about a part that is really integral but hard to find, like a column wheel? I don't know. A replacement case seems like it's what partly makes the watch what it is, at least for vintage. A replacement column wheel seems like a service and will bring longevity to a watch. A bezel seems similar to the case in that it is partly what makes a vintage piece vintage.

What's the attraction of remaking a part that is very valuable and rare? Is it really just so we can dress up our old vintage watch that looks fine other than a nicked and faded bezel? Seems like a lot of effort. I question that reason alone.

I am also feeling a bit naive. The previous arguments in favor are good ones. Why a bracelet and not a bezel? Doesn't this show respect and devotion to an iconic watch? Do I really think it won't be or hasn't already been done? Perhaps. But it makes me more sad than happy. What makes an unknicked bezel on a 60 to 70 year old watch so special are those 60 to 70 years it survived. If it can be replaced in a day, it's just ink and a dot.

If you could not distinguish it from an original you would not know if you had seen it...

$$$$$$ Money

Firstly to sell it (He is not going to give these away at cost price)
Then
either to save it - people that can’t afford the real thing

or make it - people that want to pass it off as an original and get thousands more for a watch from a unknowing buyer ( and this will happen quite quickly )

Replica could be a fiberglass MG TD body on a rusty 1973 VW Beetle chassis. Or a Frazer-Nash LeMans Relplica from the early ‘50s, and the two are worlds apart in quality, value and cost.

In retrospect it seems the original post was a bit disingenuous, but the OP has tried to come clean. I’m not a serious collector but do own, and regularly wear, several quality watches including a 2016 Speedy Pro. My watches wear their bruises with pride. So, I’ll likely never need a replica DON. When mine is beyond use I’ll have a real Omega service bezel installed and not give it a second thought.

1950 Frazer-Nash Le Mans Replica:
👍

vs MGTD/Beetle replica:

😲

Anybody know where I can buy a replica Speedmaster? I want to prevent wear and tear to my original, which I will keep in my safe.