Hi! I got this watch a while ago from my mother, and she says it was her father's. I told her recently how much I appreciate it, and I commented on how handsome the dial is. She thanked me and told me that I should try and see how much it's worth. I tried using this app from Chrono24 that identifies watches, but it wasn't able to ID the watch. I also skimmed through the year-by-year archives of pictures from Omega of their Seamaster's, but I couldn't find a picture that matched my watch. Would anyone here be able to help me? I've attached photos. Thanks!

 

Fake.

 

Unfortunately, it’s a very well known fake..

 

Welcome to forum! The watch is worth the sentimental value and gold melt value as the dial has been refinished. Find a watchmaker who will open the watch and take a clear photo of the inside of the watch case and movement.

 

Hi Moose.

Unfortunately, your grandfather's watch is a fake produced a fairly long time ago. The case isn't gold either, but a metal resembling it in tone.

 

I defer to the opinion of the guys above!

 

Uhhh...Whoa. Didn't expect this response. Seems pretty unanimous. What gives it away as a fake? It seems legit. And if it is a fake, how in the world do I handle it? Do you guys give behavioral advice? Do I tell my mom that it's a fake? That doesn't really accomplish much. She can't return it...Do I just do nothing?

 

Just tell her that you were told it's worth approximately the value of the gold, which is true, regardless of how much gold is actually present.

 

She's not dumb, lol. She'll know that means it's a fake...

 

If you have been interested in Omega and vintage watches as many here have, you know an easy fake from a distance.
I'm not a psychologist but I see no benefit in telling your Mom its a fake. I would keep the watch as a memento of a watch that was enjoyed by your grandfather. It still told him the time and accompanied him through part of his life and that, surely, has intrinsic value

 

Actually, with vintage watches, it's pretty common for a totally authentic watch to have a value just slightly more than the scrap value, because they are small and out of style. The exception is the more desirable models, and only if they are in good and original condition. Of course, that's not the situation here, and if she asks follow up questions, you're stuck, so it's probably better to avoid saying much about it.

 

I'd just tell her the truth and have a good laugh about it.

Way before the internet it was hard for people who weren't watch collectors etc to get much information about watches unless they went searching and became experts on particular models.

So, unless your Grandfather was an expert, he was like the many thousands of others who unknowingly got sold or given something pretending to be something it wasn't.

Her father may have purchased the watch at the pub, or been offered it as a gift from somebody who picked it up in their travels.
Whatever, it was his, he wore it and it's now something your family can have a chuckle over as you remember him.

 

My late uncle wore a fake Rolex at the end of his life that he'd bought from a street vendor on a holiday. He knew fully well that it wasn't legit and didn't care. He had a great time marathon-haggling with the seller and every time he wore that watch he thought of that particular holiday and that fun experience

I wouldn't fret too much, @Moose93

 

No choice but to laugh about it. . Thanks for the help, everyone!
In trying to figure out what makes this watch a noticeable fake, I've accumulated much more knowledge than I ever thought I would--I've never been a watch aficionado. Apparently, the jewel count on the dial is a dead giveaway for a fake. But aside from that, I got into the weeds a little bit and I noticed some things I have questions about. I was looking closely at the fonts of the "Seamaster" on the dials of different watches, and I noticed that sometimes the "S" is cramped and sometimes it's rounded. Additionally, sometimes the bottom of the "r" extends below the plane of the other letters, while sometimes it ends at the same point. There are also differences in the Omega logos. They can be wider or narrower. The logo on my fake looks to be more bulbous than usual. Are these differences just stylistic choices that Omega made for any given model in a given year, are they due to "redials," or are they indicators of a fake? Thanks!

 

You have done your homework but the rabbit hole is deep indeed. There isn't one particular font style for real Omegas, many have been seen. There are bigger tells here than just the font. I wasn't particularly helpful earlier so I will add that the marks on the back showing the maker (Omega) and the gold content are never stamped on the outside on a real Omega. The case style on the rear is often seen and wasn't used by Omega. These are never solid gold yet bear the mark so were originally intended to deceive and can be dodgy to resell on legal grounds, not just for copyright reasons.

To give you a crumb of comfort, I doubt very much your grandfather thought it was anything other than a copy. It may be a momento of a holiday he took in the ~1970s somewhere like Majorca. These were often seen back then in the Spanish Islands being sold by African street hawkers, rather like the Rolex copies are sold in Thailand etc today. The movement is problaby a FHF 96 or similar. In isolation it is a perfectly good low end watch for the era and can be made to run well, unfortunately with marks intended to deceive (but in reality in period deceived no one)

 

Here's a start:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/how-do-i-identify-my-vintage-omega-watch.93146/

Then you can study 96 pages of counterfeit/replica/fake Omegas here:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/don...omegas-post-them-here-not-for-questions.6235/

When you know how to spot a fake, you need to learn how to fish.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/learn-how-to-fish.52603/

When you've absorbed all of that info, you may be ready to dip your toe into the chilly waters of vintage Omegas.

(If the bug has bitten you that is )