these were issued to Pakistan Air Force in 1963 http://www.ebay.com/itm/271925766726Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network
From down here in Texas. Might have to check this guy out. "Watchwholesale" user name is a little optimistic. More like "Watchretail".
These may be a stupid questions, but here goes anyways. Why would the P.A.F order Ranchero's with Seamaster dials? Or am I the only one who thinks this sounds "unusual"? How do you know this for sure? Just asking, inquiring minds wants to know. Why would the seller have the back off and not include pictures of the inside case back? Other than to hide something? And to offer even less authenticity, the lumed numbers don't remotely resemble the aged lume for the indices. Or am I being entirely too suspicious of the whole thing?
The 2990-1 case came with ranchero dials as well as seamaster dials. The rancheros are slightly more sought after (and expensive), which makes the seamaster versions attractive to those that like the design, but don't want to pay ranchero prices. In either case, this is priced high. And as pvt-public points out, the hour markers and indices don't match implying some work. Here's a thread: http://www.mwrforum.net/forums/showthread.php?25166-Omega-ref-2990-quot-FAP-quot-with-seamaster-dial
i know this because i bought one from a Pakistani guy few years back, i did some research and get to know the Pakistan air force ordered omega Rancehros and Railmasters in 1963 with the seamaster (maybe they like seamaster better) on the dials (also on the railmasters). I sold that to a guy in Japan for around $8K and he knew about it, didn't ask me single question about the authenticity.
Thanks for the clarification, but I would still pass. Unless I could get the contact info for the guy who will pay $8k no questions asked.
Yes, both the Ref. 2990 and 2996 are known with plain, Ranchero and Seamaster dials, depending on the country of original sale. I find it odd that this particular listing doesn't show the inside of the caseback, and doesn't even mention the reference number. My Spidey sense tingles a bit on this one. gatorcpa
I tend to believe your tingles. One tell of deception if the seller does not show pics inside on one watch yet does so on his other vintage watch listings. We know he is capable of removing the case backs but chooses not to do so on this particular item.
this story is valid for the Railmasters. PAF pilots did not want to be associated with Rail......only these are verified with seamaster dials. a few ground crew had normal omegas. but the markings do not match this example here. kind regards. achim
He actually did remove the back to show the movement, but not the inside of the caseback. Even more suspicious, if you ask me. gatorcpa
there's a picture of the caseback, at least now. (didn't realize this would be my first post. I'd been watching that auction, and found this thread by googling some info. I've been lurking here forever, but I guess I never posted before!. I have sent private messages to some of you though).
OK. Inside of caseback looks correct. The Ref. 2996 is also correct. Only question now is the engraving on the outside. I know absolutely nothing about this, so I leave to the milwatch collectors out there. gatorcpa
45 minutes to go and still no bids. UPDATE.... Bidding ended with 0 bids. But you can still pick up a different PAF Omega from the same seller only $6.5k.