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Endlink authentication - numbers 6, 506, and 516

w154
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The repros that are in the eBay link in @Rasputin ’s post above look quite different. The 6 is nothing like the one @michael e described on the first page. Also they look very roughly cut. I’d have to check whether mine have the same poor finishing or not.

Are these the only know type of repro or are there others ?

CEC7830B-5B80-465C-91B9-85784574578C.jpeg ECE27AF8-9264-45B5-A4CD-D72450715058.jpeg
 
JohnSteed
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omegastar omegastar
Missing those things here ?
DE8495DE-8825-4672-80BB-43C0770FEF3B.jpeg

also....Left side cutout too short. And would add it’s so important to but a Speedy from someone you know + reputable/honest aka on OF

For those missing 2cents hahaa
 
td69
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I agree with Michael E that the most distinctive feature to consider whether it is original is the style “6” and the made quality of the end link itself.

Having had both repos and originals in hand, I can easily tell they look and feel different. Not so long ago, one #6 end link was offered on eBay by an Italian seller. It came with ridges that look like they are added on and the “6” looks very off.

Here’re some of the #6s I have, the bottom of which though has no ridges shares the same distinctive “6”.
31AE824D-E90C-4128-904B-565461E43A40.jpeg
 
JohnSteed
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@dsio comments ring true....”This is one of the reasons I'm thankful for Niel's 617 suggestion, genuine part from Omega, cheap, and readily available. I'm a fanatic in most cases but these have gotten the point where sellers are just taking the piss.”
 
w154
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I’ll try and communicate with the seller and see if there’s any history to the lot (i.e. did they just come into their possession, or have they been sitting in a loft since 19xx or whenever).

And this is only speculative, but the price of the lot was very good even if the only contents were the stretch links. So certainly the seller wasn’t pushing the endlinks, and the photos on the listing showed some blurry photos of endlinks but nothing good enough to see numbers. So no intention to deceive by the seller.

And I think all the other parts are correct, and this includes correct and packaged Omega crowns, plus NOS vintage parts from Tissot, Mido, and Heuer. So it’s strange (but of course not impossible) how four repro no.6 endlinks would have ended up in there. Does anyone have an idea of the date when repros started cropping up ? Is it only as recent as 2015 which is when gemini4 created the thread ?

I’ll take some macro pictures later this morning. Focus will be the sixes and the finishing of the edges.

Edit to ask: @gemini4 do you have any of those repros still ? Do you have the possibility to weigh them ? Same question for @Spacefruit too.
Edited:
 
w154
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Not easy to get great photos as the surfaces are quite shiny. But here’s one of the sixes, and one showing the finishing on the ends at the bracelet side. They have really nice edge surfaces and the six looks good against those shown by @michael e

6C4BC65B-055C-4AA0-B219-CD541459A0DE.jpeg 224A9CC9-40F3-499B-8ADD-85A1AEA22627.jpeg
 
ConElPueblo
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So, after concluding his Moo-watch scam, @michael e has now teamed up with notorious crook @w154 in a fake endlinks collaboration, no doubt lining their already bulging pockets... Clever indeed, seeing that endlinks has to be the most expensive good on the planet based on price/weight ratio.



Naturally, I am only kidding. This is a particularly interesting subject and I agree with @Spacefruit in

...However I am certain that if you put two pairs up for auction, the ridge pair will sell for circa $2500 and the smooth pair will sell for significantly less.
So I will say this. Ridged No6's are worth a lot, and ridge-less are worth much less, perhaps as much as the repros that they are indistinguishable from?
Of course if someone can come up with a defining observational test, everything changes.

Until bullet-proof provenance can be established there will always be a shadow of doubt over the origins of the "non-confirmed" parts, even with very convincing circumstantional evidence (I am not a lawyer and may have just spouted rubbish) as presented here. Of course it would have to be watch part scavenger extraordinaire W154 who found this treasure trove. I am sure he stalks old watchmakers in his spare time.



(If you ever come across some odd Certina DS parts, be a pal and call!)
 
michael e
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I withdrew my offer of the cow watch, after careful research it was found to be the first Watch worn on the Mooooon, by the cow that jumped over it.
ConElPueblo ConElPueblo
So, after concluding his Moo-watch scam, @michael e has now teamed up with notorious crook @w154 in a fake endlinks collaboration, no doubt lining their already bulging pockets... Clever indeed, seeing that endlinks has to be the most expensive good on the planet based on price/weight ratio.



Naturally, I am only kidding. This is a particularly interesting subject and I agree with @Spacefruit in



Until bullet-proof provenance can be established there will always be a shadow of doubt over the origins of the "non-confirmed" parts, even with very convincing circumstantional evidence (I am not a lawyer and may have just spouted rubbish) as presented here. Of course it would have to be watch part scavenger extraordinaire W154 who found this treasure trove. I am sure he stalks old watchmakers in his spare time.



(If you ever come across some odd Certina DS parts, be a pal and call!)



I think the 6 itself is quite important on these end links, I could of course be wrong but I got my colouring book out and did a right good sketch.
Edited:
 
61AFDEC7-8CE9-44F0-A3A6-8443B123CDA3.jpeg
w154
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A bit of measurement info...

I checked the widths and have:

18.75mm x 2 links
18.76mm x 1
18.77mm x 1

So quite tight tolerances.

They are quite light but all four register as 0.5 grams each. If I weigh all four together I get a flickering value between 2.1g and 2.2g, so let’s call that 2.15g. I’d therefore estimate the weight of each individual end link at approx 0.54 grams.

Anyone able to measure known repros ?
 
w154
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No useful information from the seller. They’d picked them up recently from a house clearance of an ex-watchmaker. They were in the attic. They didn’t know how long ago he retired.
 
michael e
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w154 w154
No useful information from the seller. They’d picked them up recently from a house clearance of an ex-watchmaker. They were in the attic. They didn’t know how long ago he retired.

I would bet my left testicle that the end pieces are good 👍
 
w154
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Not sure that there’s much more to say here, unless someone with knowledge of known fake links can feedback on the differences.

Where am I ?

1) I think there is reasonable circumstantial evidence that these have some age and are from Omega, from what they came with in my lot and the comments that they were also found on an original owner 2998 here.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/number-6-end-links-question.35630/#post-403084

2) The sixes seem correct and the quality seems better than the fakes that I’ve seen. Finishing looks to be just like on the ridged ones, except for the ridges if course 😉

3) I think the mantras that “ridges = genuine” and “no ridges = fake” are too simplistic. Particularly the former is dangerous for buyers. Others have posted already that they’ve seen no. 6s with very dubious looking ridges.

4) If i had to guess, I’d say they are a service version of the 6 that was produced after the contemporary Speedmaster moved to 20mm lug width. The 516 is ridgeless so this might make sense. It’s a guess though, and I’ll leave it up to @michael e to risk a testicle over it !
 
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