Hello all, this is my first query here and I have signed on specifically to ask it. Though have looked about here for quite some while. I am not a watch collector but rather a mere everyday watch user, and as such am quite novice regarding finer marques and mechanisms. Therefore I appeal the following to the resident experts and enthusiasts.

To speak plainly, what exactly is the detriment to owning a frankenwatch, viewed from a non-collector, everyday user perspective?

I am and have been very lightly in the market for an Omega timepiece for some several years, but have never gone deeply enough into the lore and literature to effect a comfortable purchase. I believe I fall also into that confusing space between the fellow who wishes to own such a thing purely for the label and logo on the face (who won't do his research and thus may pay high for comparative 'junk'), and the fellow who is looking to purchase as a collector and an investor (who is looking for perfection and is willing to pay for it when found). There doesn't seem to be much literature produced regarding those watches which may be less-than-original but still function well and remain aesthetically pleasing, if such is possible.

I am a fellow who wishes to find a good, solid, well-functioning, genuine Omega, but who is looking for a user watch, and not an investment, not with an eye toward later profitable sale. I would actually prefer the piece to look its age, and if found the right machine, at the right price, I would be happy to pay what is necessary for a proper servicing. I am familiar (in a very novice fashion) with such things as dial re-finishing and case polishing, etc, but beyond some notably cartoonish examples would likely be unable to spot examples in the flesh. I am in short hoping to find something that many or most here would likely call a beater and wouldn't bother with.

I see such watches, Omega examples, quite frequently at a weekly street antiques fair in the city where I live (large european capital). Looking at them, I see regularly here and there a few which look enticing to me, which I would not mind enquiring after. However, the thought of the vast rabbit hole of the "franken" appellation yawns before me, and so I come here to ask once and for all, what is the true bane of the 'franken-watch?' Does it apply only to those who purchase as collectors, insistent upon 100% originality? Is it possible that a watch which looks on the outside like a lovely old worn-out Omega is really, on the inside, something 6 months old and made in a laotian sweatshop? Or, is a franken-watch, nowhere near in 'original' condition, but still Omega through and through, capable of serving its owner just as well, functionally speaking, as something which has not been tinkered around with? I would be upset if I found I'd spent 100-200€ on a machine only to find out later it was entirely fake and made in the orient. But if I bought a nice-looking watch which made me happy to wear, and it gave me a good life of service on the wrist even if cobbled together from parts of different watches, I would not regret the purchase.

I hope someone might make an ounce of sense out of the above. Can a relatively inexpensive, beat-up old Omega of likely less than 100% original parentage keep time, function, and wear on the wrist as well as a 1200€ authentic original? For a simple, plain, steel-case, humble, everyday user watch (I like very much the seamaster 600's with no date), is it foolish to buy from a street fair vendor? I am not a super-wealthy man, I work as a sailor, but strive, when I am able, to own quality items and to buy only once. I would want the thing to be Omega through and through, but unless there is some detriment to the functionality, would not much care if this and this and this piece came out of three different-era watches.

I am sorry to post so longly, but figure perhaps this type of forum specialized enough that its enthusiasts would not mind a bit of loquacity from a newcomer. Thank you for reading if you read, and I am looking forward to any illumination which might be offered.

 

I could have written that myself although I would never use the word "appelation" intentionally. (I kid.)

Ok, I'm going to lurk moar now.

 

Thanks muchly for your remarks. Of course if one has the option, and if one has the wallet one always owns the option, to choose between known-original and franken-possible, the choice is clear. But I only wonder where the line is drawn in the sand. Say a 100$ manual-wind omega at a street market stall manned by a turkish guy and no opportunity to look at the movement. Still avoid at all costs? What about 50$, or 10$? It would seem that if the watch functions, and keeps time, and can be serviced, and the price is low enough, and one is buying for his wrist only and not for the vault, then the dread of the franken-watch would not likely have option to rear its head. Or perhaps the concept of the franken only comes into play when one believes mistakenly that he is getting an original machine. Or perhaps only when the price of the possible franken begins to nudge up into the range in which one is likely to find a sure original, were he a bit more patient.

I am not here arguing anything. Only trying to tease out the finer lines. For most here, experienced ones and collectors, I wager the idea of anything non-original is automatic game-over. And likely for the best. But for the few remaining fellows caught in the middle of the pack, who have neither the wallet to guarantee authenticity, nor quite the level of interest necessary to dedicate the years required in study and first-hand experience to know an original from a doctored watch. The fellows who wish for the quality, function, and style provided by a great marque such as Omega, the longevity of the mechanism etc., but who are buying for function, and buying in at points of quality and condition largely ignored by serious collectors, and who could not care less if the hands, dial, or certain portions of the movement have been replaced along the way? If a franken-watch can be serviced and repaired just the same as an original, and via such care give a lifetime of good service, what truely is the disadvantage of the franken-watch to the non-collector and the fellow looking to buy once and not flip his merchandise in a few years?

Once again thanks for the above remarks. I understand also the great power and convenience of ebay, especially when combined with an expert source such as this forum. In my own case though I enjoy to make these types of larger purchase in-person and tangibly. I've no qualm ordering socks online or running shoes, but for a thing such as a watch, which I would purchase with interest to own forever, the story of where I bought it, what city, what country, what language I spoke to transact the purchase, the circumstances of how I found it, the goings-on of my own life at that time, all of these things become a portion of the item's history. I much prefer to have a finer tale behind such grand acquisitions than that I clicked 'buy it now' on ebay and the thing came in the mail a week later.

That said, I will not at all be surprised if in the end the only way I am able to find and acquire what I want is via ebay.

 

Well, collectors stay away from frankens because collectors want historical representations and frankens are useless for that. And of course, frankens are often made to flip a watch for a lot more than it's worth so they're normally overpriced.

But for everyday wear a franken can be OK as long as you know what it is and don't pay too much. Be aware that any seller passing off a franken as original is probably shady in other regards, even if the price is fair.

But why are you shopping for Omegas in this price range though? You can get a lot of vintage watch for a few hundred dollars with other brands, like Gruen and Bulova, but even then $100 isn't going to buy you much. A $100 Omega isn't going to be much of a watch, at that price you'd be lucky to get a halfway-decent fake. You get what you pay for, I don't recommend bargain-hunting for Omegas. Frankly, in this price range I would shop for vintage Seikos, which are quite good and underappreciated.

 

I think $200-300 range could be a better starting point than $100

 

Totally agree. It is better to have a clear provenance and good condition vintage Seiko for $100 than low quality franken Omega. It is better to buy an old Toyota with all original parts and maintained regularly rather than similar priced old Audi with many unoriginal parts( might be from other auto brand ,too) used in engine, transmission and suspension which you may never know when those parts will fail and give you miserable life for high repair & service bill as well as downtime of not being able driving it.

So the main reason for me is quality of the instrument. Mechanical Watch is a finely tuned complex instrument with strict precision tolerance.
With unknown franken provenance you will have many undesigned for parts which will affect movement precision, water/humidity resistance, shock absorption, case integrity etc. For daily use it is even worse since you will expose it with frequent pressure/ torture.

 

Thanks to all. My queries are more of hypothetical nature, curiosity grown from seeing old, somewhat beat-looking omegas (and other makes) in street-fairs and the like. I am very inexperienced and likely naive, but have progressed deep enough into my studies here to know better than to assume a 100$ omega (unless it be among the luckiest days of life) any legitimate or authentic deal. My own true budget is, or will be, in much more strict alignment with reasonable figures. I would not enter such a game expecting miracles.

But also had hoped to determine just what is possible along the lines of the franken-watch. I would not be fooled when dealing in automobiles, but knowing little of the watch world, it would be very easy and I am attempting to understand the parameters and possibilities. Is a franken omega for example always franken-ed out of omega parts? Does it therefore always fall beneath the umbrella of Omega in the end? Or might it go so far as someone shoe-horning the guts of a timex weekender into the case and dial of a constellation? With automobiles one cannot pass off such severe fakes so easily as the machinery will rarely mate up. You will not buy a porsche, even as a pure fool, and learn a week later that the engine is out of a ford focus.

Again this all purely for curiosity and didactic purposes. I am being or have been rapidly convinced that the best thing is to wait, research, buy proper and verifiably authentic. Unless stumble across the 50$ item at bottom of a bin and take the swing purely for the lark.

 

I must emphasis my post before at the word quality.
There are high quality franken watches, done by reputable watchmaker or watch shop (Watchco comes to my mind) that ensuring all parts used are within the spec and it stands test of reliability and performance. They declare the watch as it is and market value it accordingly.

There are low quality and shoddy franken watches (which majority I've seen), done by questionable watchmaker or trader (Ukrainian gangs, Mumbai special and a local street stall in my city come to my mind). They use questionable parts. Yes from Omega parts but probably from other broken watches which already in bad shape and out of spec. The watch will not have accuracy or power reserve as the spec. It also may have resistance problem from unsealed / cracked components.

By the end of the day it is your own money, if you want to gamble by buying franken. I have already got burnt, learn my lesson and will not repeat that experience again. I am glad majority of this forum members reminding each other on this potential problem, especially to many new members who do not have deep understanding intricacy of buying vintage watch.

 

i think we all need to lurk moar....

 

Just check with Google what it means..........Totally agree.