yes, but their hoovercrafts are full of eel ..

 

Speaking nominal value, yes. But relatively speaking also base 500 speedies have appreciated really really fast. And they are much more easy to value correctly, base 1000 watches that are selling all seem to be more or less iffy and hence harder to categorize.

 

That's true, but my point is that the kind of person who drops $30k on an early 2998 with a Base 500 DON probably is also willing to drop $10k on a Base 1000 to make it correct, but it's a different equation when you've spent $4k on a 145.022-69 and don't want to spend another 75% of that value on a bezel.

 

You're rigth and I get your point. But the person that spends 10' on a base 1000 might spend 3' on a base 500 for his 145.022-69.
But generally speaking it's not the same markets for 40' watches and sub 10' watches and the former seems to be more volatile, probably because of the smaller supply and fewer presumptive byuers.

 

But it does mean that one HAS to be wearing a seat belt.

 

Hi all,

Reviving an old thread on the topic of - potentially - fake DON bezels; I've found it as part of a listing of a 145.012 which apart from this bezel that comes separately looks very legit.

AFAIK and studying MWO; a bezel with a Dot-over-Ninety without an accent on the TACHYMÈTRE makes little sense, and it must therefore be a clear fake. Additionally, it looks a lot too crisp for a fifty year old bezel and the position of the dot diagonal to the Seventy seems off as well.

What do you think of it?

 

I guess it’s one of those inserts sold on eBay for 50€ or so, isn’t it?

 

it looks like junk..... but if I owned a nice vintage Speedmaster with banged up DON ( like most of them here lol - even the ones YOU all like ) I might pay $50 tor this before I'd pay $ 4,000 for a 50 year old used, banged up DON !

 

That’s indeed what I’d guess...

 

And when they piss in the sink it goes down the plug hole the other way around!

 

Are people paying $4k for banged up DONs? Honest question. My sense has been that the market has been down on the banged up ones, I thought I recall a few struggling to sell in the $1500 range in the past several months....

 

If Omega started remaking bezels you could pretty much guarantee that it would be a base 500 LE. The next month there would be another base 500 LE.

The risk of fakes clearly increases with value but I would be sad if that prompted Omega to start supplying new vintage bezels because in my view the bezels should be consistent with the rest of the watch and if that watch is 50+ years old it will be well worn.

 

Nope - the DON price curve is extremely steep. Even one with just a few marks on it will struggle at $2500, and banged-up ones have been selling in the $650 range for a truly messed-up one, to $850 for an intact one with a very scratched-up insert. $4000 and up is for perfect bezels.

 

Frankly, if you have such attention to detail as to know what a DON is, I think the reproduction bezel above will irk you a lot more than a scratched up genuine bezel. I know it'd certainly bother me - and not just because it's fake.

 

This is all getting very Rolex-y....

 

This is one of the inserts from eBay seller 'wholesaleoutlet' and it isn't even the correct diameter to fit the bezel correctly. It is marginally too small.

 

I completely agree. The font, print thickness, and overall finish of the bezel looked off to me even before I started comparing against the MWO book.

That being said, I do firmly believe it's only a matter of time before reproductions will catch up in the this market. I mean, the bezels were SUPPOSED to be replaced. Like it's a feature and not a defect to be able to bang them around and use them in your every day life. Being able to bring down the price of a vintage speedy by $2-3k opens the reference to a lot more collectors.

 

Same or lower supply, same demand, I don’t see a reason for those watches to get cheaper. Especially for the all original ones, compared to repros... see watchco seamasters, want one? Come on, they are cheaper !

Too much text in this thread, here’s a random genuine DON :

 

yes, we are Larrikins.... we like to watch the tourists drive around with working windshield wipers in draught stricken areas and cursing the lack of blinkers. kind regards. achim