Hi friends,

I recently purchased an almost-new Omega Speedmaster Professional from someone who claimed that the watch was definitely *not* gray market. (This is for the USA) I paid a bit more for it than I could have from somewhere like Jomashop, believing it was not gray market.

However, I've received the watch, and found that on the back, there is a small stamp in the caseback which resembles a small globe, with an Omega symbol inside it. I've read that this symbol is stamped on watches sold outside the USA. Am I mistaken? Is there some way I can conclusively determine where this watch was originally sold, or if it's gray market?

Kind regards,
Arlen

 

The globe is stamped on new Omegas from the factory -not sure if only for outside the US - but has no bearing on whether it's sold via official channels.

The main indicator would be whether your Omega has its original warranty card - it should resemble the other red plastic cards, and contain your watch's serial number

 

And the name and the signature of the AD with the purchase date should be on the warranty card. That's the only important thing.

P.S. Cute dog

 

Yes you are; not sure what you read but is most definitely wrong; the globe stamp has nothing to do where watches are sold. The only possible clue to a watch coming from a gray dealer would be the lack of the warranty card.

More on the globe engraving here... and some pictures of my SMP showing the engraved globe, purchased from an AD in the US here

 

Gray market or not is determined by who sold the watch. If you bought it through Omega's official distribution channels (boutique, AD), it's not a gray market watch. If you bought it from anyone outside of those channels, it's gray market.

Cheers, Al

 

Regarding the globe engraving, I asked Omega directly (specifically regarding Seamasters). Their answer is here https://omegaforums.net/threads/of-recent-seamaster-casebacks-and-endlinks.55440/

 

If you really want to know its origin of purchase, you can explore the extraction of the archives as an option or speak with whom you bought it from. Or it should say it on the warranty cards as well, at least weather it came from an ad or an Omega boutique, any retailers outside those means will be gray market.

 

The extract of the archives is available only for watches made before 2000 and as Omege itself defines that's not a certificate of authenticity!

 

Ha ha. I found this old thread when trying to decipher the AD name on the warranty card for my watch...the same Rob Engstrom.

 

Yes, they purposely stamp the card with their giant teal logo poorly because they're letting go of hard-to-sell inventory to like half the Trusted Sellers. I have purchased 4 new Omegas and 1 Rolex from all different sellers and they all say that. The Rolex card has it printed Rob Engstrom Trading AB. Unlike typical grays, they actually give the benefit of providing warranty

Pretty sure you spooked them. They're clearing inventory that's hard to sell, especially during the 2016 watch sales decline. The manufacturers look down on the practice, but it means nothing if you can't pay for rent at the end of the day

 

You already sold the watch so move on, let it drop. It was second hand when you bought it (almost new you said) so bothering the original supplying dealer seems a little odd since you weren’t the original buyer. If you have a beef at all it would be with whoever sold you the watch in the US and was a little vague about its source but even they were telling the truth so where is the problem? Haven’t you got anything better to do?

 

If your watch is stamped with a date from the shop it should be fine. All you had to do was contact Omega to verify your watch was under warranty if it is less then 3-5 years old. If it’s older then that already it means nothing as grey market is meaningless at that point.

I can see a shop being wierded out about a second owner inquiring about the original buyer and not wanting to give any information out.

 

Since this thread has been resurrected, I thought I'd add a note to point out how nice it is that Omega honor their warranty worldwide without any quibbles. My Seamaster, bought from an OB in Australia almost two years ago, is currently receiving a free Water Resistance service from Swatch Group USA due to it running outside the published specifications (-8spd) - and all they needed to see was a photocopy of my receipt or completed warranty card.

This is in stark contrast to my other expensive hobby, where Nikon USA won't even touch a camera or lens bought overseas unless it's accompanied by both the international warranty form and the original receipt. If you don't have both, they won't even service it for a fee, let alone honor the warranty.

 

My last sentence was specifically aimed at you considering 'reporting everything to Omega' which strikes me as a little petty and rather odd. You probably were an inconvenience to the shop in question, enquiring about something which you didn't actually source from them so likely as noted above threw them off balance as there are no doubt data protection and confidentiality considerations. If you thought I was abrupt then I apologise for any offence caused though it sounds like your bar for taking offence is set pretty low. If I was sat next to you at a dinner party I would listen politely but I would be perplexed as to why you thought to cause trouble for a business many thousands of miles away which had done you no wrong other than to not welcome you with open arms when you turned up with a second hand watch. If we chatted in a pub however I would possibly tell you exactly that.

 

I'm sure one of the mods can do that for you.

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but most sales staff aren't all that interested in a conversation unless it's going to lead to a sale.

Think along the lines of calling in to a car dealer with a car you bought from the original owner, 4 or 5 years down the line, just to show them the car...

Not one to worry on too much.

 

Quite a fuss there, You had an Omega watch you sold it, end of story. Life is way too short, move on. Better still go into a OB and purchase a nice shiny new one of your choice. Leave Karma to deal with everything else.

 

Woah there buddy you where not being attacked. We are not being Pro Omega. Odds are if you did this at any brands AD the same would happen.

There is a super simple way to find out if your watch has a warranty if it’s less then 3-5 years old.

FYI the globe was put on watches due to an issue in the US.

 

That's a great analogy. Growing up my parents always bought and drove second-hand vehicles. I never thought to take one back to the original selling dealer and see if they gave a rat's ***... I guess consumers sometimes attach much greater value and importance to a 'purchase' and somehow expect the retailer to share in our euphoria.

I bought a watch from a 'gray market' dealer in Chicago, I've been to the city since then but never thought to check out the original retailer. I guess if I cared about having some connection to an AD/OB, I would buy from them in the first place. (Actually, I did get a Rolex from the local AD... but then I don't go in there expecting any special attention either...)