I imagine there are other threads which address this issue, but I don't see any.
We all know that when an item reaches a certain level of value, counterfeiters decide that it is worthy of their attention. I have seen a few attempts at bezel inserts recently that look nice but are not exact reproductions of the DON Speedmasters bezel, which recently reached a new high-water mark at 4K usd. It's not now a matter of if very good fakes will be made, it's a matter of when, and unlike watches, there are few details to examine in order to find fakes among the legitimate vintage items. The originals could be imaged and near exact copies produced to mimic the font style and exact layout. Once these fakes begin to emerge, the DON market is going to be a real mess. There may already be quality fakes circulating. We all know some are clever enough to inflict a certain amount of damage in order to make items appear vintage. The process would be easy enough for a child once fakes are produced. I guess I'm just trying to get ahead of what is almost certainly a future problem. Thoughts?

 

If at any point the fakes become indiscernable from the real thing even by the experts (...and it's not a given this will happen, but it's far from impossible either), then it no longer matters that it's fake - it's real for all intents and purposes. What will matter, is that in that event (1) supply increases, and (2) demand decreases as people will be scared of buying a fake. As a result, prices will go down.

 

Would Omega ever consider a remaking that bezel and selling it to watch makers as they do other parts?

 

More than likely excellent fakes are already on some of our Speedmasters. There is too much money to be made for dishonest people to ignore the potential profit. And these would be much easier to create than a fake Submariner or Daytona, which are faked by the pound. I'm sorry the new girl has opinions, but I assure you, they are based on many years of experience accumulated by myself and my husband.

 

It would be nice to see something bring the prices down, the people that really appreciate the watches are being priced out. I'm not saying fake parts is a good thing, just that 4k for a bezel is ridiculous. I get the feeling vintage watches are being invested in much like classic cars, no room for the enthusiast.

Hopefully it would be pretty obvious if a lot of good condition fake bezels hit the market, they are not plentiful.

 

The people who paid thousands for bezels would probably be unhappy, but it truly would be good to get back to a place where cal 321 owners could love their watches despite having a bezel issue. As for fakes being obvious....we should assume some damage will be added to make them more convincing. The saddest part will be when truly vintage and near mint examples are suspected wrongfully.

 

Many years of experience led to snapping them up when they hit $500

 

Me too, I wear them like bangles

 

We do have a few in reserve, but I applaud anyone who saw this market coming and got ahead of it. We certainly didn't.

 

So here is a tip but don't tell anyone.

These puppies are not going to last forever they may be replacements but in years from now you will only be able to knock on Omega,s door for them

http://www.ofrei.com/page343.html

 

Part of me agrees that it would be nice for Omega to solve this problem for us, but the history buff in me would be saddened. As for no,. 6 ends, I would be completely ok with Omega producing more of those.

 

There's some hope that the DON bezel might come back on a LE Speedmaster (e.g. 50 years Apollo 11).
However I know only a bunch Speedmasters collectors who bought honest watches and need no replacement bezel

 

There are already at least two sources of passable aftermarket no.6 endlinks. Omega doesn't need to make them. Even if they did, they would not be valued the same as vintage ones and I'd bet there would be differences - subtle maybe but still differences.

As for bezels, I'm not sure that having omega remake them would change prices for vintage ones either. It might allow you to have a watch that has a bezel that looks the same, but it's not the same, imho. And there are already fake ones out there anyway. One day, maybe. And one day 3 D printing will make movement parts a non issue too...

Look at what theyve done with alpha hands. They make modern versions, but they are not the same as the originals. Why would endlinks or bezels be any different?

Honestly, for me, it would take the fun out of it. Isn't it the hunt that's fun? Like a treasure hunt, much of the pleasures is the rush of the find. How boring would it be to just walk into an OB and place an order..?

And anyway, why would Omega do it? How many would they sell? Would it be worth the investment when theyre actually in the business of selling new watches, mostly with ceramic, lumed bezels?

 

Yeah but we'd have to wait 2 years for that. Which 2017 watch could a DON bezel be on? The Apollo I fire 50th seems a bit of a grim occasion for a LE...maybe a 50th anniversary Apollo IV / first Saturn V launch? That seems more appropriate (even though it was unmanned). Or what about a 45th anniversary Apollo XVII? A 'last watch on the moon' with a less...shall we say interesting dial than the 40th anniversary one? It'd break tradition (if I'm not mistaken the previous XVII was a 30th anniversary?), but it would make for a great tribute to mr. Cernan...

 

No offense, but are there car guys in Australia? Are there cars?

 

There are but they're all upside-down

 

and when you turn the steering wheel to the right, the car goes to the left. It's messed up.

 

Aussie and Kiwi cars have turning signals that activate windshield wipers.