My Early Seamaster 120 Divers. What to look for and what to avoid.

iamvr

Stunning condition for such a good price. Congrats again. Enjoy it in good health 👍

C Concretepuppy

That's interesting, especially as the logo only closely (not exactly) resembles the actual logo the Afghan troops wore, which is usually something that is paid close attention to in regimental recognition, where did you find out that they were actually issued?
If you're the seller of the watch i mentioned maybe you could support the theory it was issued to their military in the 1960s, and explain why the symbols don't match. And, why a Soviet governed country (by proxy) would source a luxury Swiss watch brand for it's military, a bit decadent i'd have thought given the minimalism of the Soviet regime, but issue AK assault rifles and all their other equipment from the Soviets.
Maybe elaborate and offer some credence to your info and we can all learn something, instead of just issuing an outright contradiction to my post assuming your word is enough to convince the world.

C Concretepuppy

That's interesting, especially as the logo only closely (not exactly) resembles the actual logo the Afghan troops wore, which is usually something that is paid close attention to in regimental recognition, where did you find out that they were actually issued?
If you're the seller of the watch i mentioned maybe you could support the theory it was issued to their military in the 1960s, and explain why the symbols don't match. And, why a Soviet governed country (by proxy) would source a luxury Swiss watch brand for it's military, a bit decadent i'd have thought given the minimalism of the Soviet regime, but issue AK assault rifles and all their other equipment from the Soviets.
Maybe elaborate and offer some credence to your info and we can all learn something, instead of just issuing an outright contradiction to my post assuming your word is enough to convince the world.

C Concretepuppy

That's interesting, especially as the logo only closely (not exactly) resembles the actual logo the Afghan troops wore, which is usually something that is paid close attention to in regimental recognition, where did you find out that they were actually issued?
If you're the seller of the watch i mentioned maybe you could support the theory it was issued to their military in the 1960s, and explain why the symbols don't match. And, why a Soviet governed country (by proxy) would source a luxury Swiss watch brand for it's military, a bit decadent i'd have thought given the minimalism of the Soviet regime, but issue AK assault rifles and all their other equipment from the Soviets.
Maybe elaborate and offer some credence to your info and we can all learn something, instead of just issuing an outright contradiction to my post assuming your word is enough to convince the world.

C Concretepuppy

That's interesting, especially as the logo only closely (not exactly) resembles the actual logo the Afghan troops wore, which is usually something that is paid close attention to in regimental recognition, where did you find out that they were actually issued?
If you're the seller of the watch i mentioned maybe you could support the theory it was issued to their military in the 1960s, and explain why the symbols don't match. And, why a Soviet governed country (by proxy) would source a luxury Swiss watch brand for it's military, a bit decadent i'd have thought given the minimalism of the Soviet regime, but issue AK assault rifles and all their other equipment from the Soviets.
Maybe elaborate and offer some credence to your info and we can all learn something, instead of just issuing an outright contradiction to my post assuming your word is enough to convince the world.

C Concretepuppy

That's interesting, especially as the logo only closely (not exactly) resembles the actual logo the Afghan troops wore, which is usually something that is paid close attention to in regimental recognition, where did you find out that they were actually issued?
If you're the seller of the watch i mentioned maybe you could support the theory it was issued to their military in the 1960s, and explain why the symbols don't match. And, why a Soviet governed country (by proxy) would source a luxury Swiss watch brand for it's military, a bit decadent i'd have thought given the minimalism of the Soviet regime, but issue AK assault rifles and all their other equipment from the Soviets.
Maybe elaborate and offer some credence to your info and we can all learn something, instead of just issuing an outright contradiction to my post assuming your word is enough to convince the world.

C Concretepuppy

That's interesting, especially as the logo only closely (not exactly) resembles the actual logo the Afghan troops wore, which is usually something that is paid close attention to in regimental recognition, where did you find out that they were actually issued?
If you're the seller of the watch i mentioned maybe you could support the theory it was issued to their military in the 1960s, and explain why the symbols don't match. And, why a Soviet governed country (by proxy) would source a luxury Swiss watch brand for it's military, a bit decadent i'd have thought given the minimalism of the Soviet regime, but issue AK assault rifles and all their other equipment from the Soviets.
Maybe elaborate and offer some credence to your info and we can all learn something, instead of just issuing an outright contradiction to my post assuming your word is enough to convince the world.

C Concretepuppy

Hi
apologies for the retort, i didn't mean to insult but wanted to extend the enquiry about the logo a bit more comprehensively than a contradiction without anything to qualify it, no negative vibes from me either, promise
i'll check the link on MWR and your friend in Kabul and i'd be happy to eat my words with ketchup and a side order of humble pie if there's undeniable evidence

C Concretepuppy

Hi
apologies for the retort, i didn't mean to insult but wanted to extend the enquiry about the logo a bit more comprehensively than a contradiction without anything to qualify it, no negative vibes from me either, promise
i'll check the link on MWR and your friend in Kabul and i'd be happy to eat my words with ketchup and a side order of humble pie if there's undeniable evidence

C Concretepuppy

yes thanks for reinforcing that point, i'm under no illusions about the nature of the forum and the spirit of it's members, however also in that spirit we must all be allowed to scrutinise information we've come across online, because the internet is notorious for a lot of nonsense being pushed around and believed, sometimes because the source is forum poster with thousands of posts, shares and likes and considered to be immune from faulty info, so asking questions to prompt a discussion and other opinions is a healthy principle to adopt, i felt my doubt was fair, so was welcoming a bit more than a yup,
more photos of the same symbol still not accurately depicting the actual Afghan one doesn't make it a more credible Afghan issued watch i'm afraid, just that there are more examples out there with the same symbol, i cannot access your friend's facebook page, but anyway if i could and he was standing in front of ISAF HQ in full uniform with his ID card wearing the watch - it still wouldn't make it an issued watch,
a photo of an afghan soldier in the late 1960s wearing one would be the deal clincher, even if it didn't also show the case back marking i'd accept it totally, but the idea is just too improbable at the moment with everything pointing toward it being a little myth,
one thing to remember is that if someone tells you something interesting about a watch that makes it more attractive then half the job is done because you want to believe it, it's much more prudent to doubt it until you cannot doubt it anymore, at the moment all i can see are reasons to not believe it

C Concretepuppy

yes thanks for reinforcing that point, i'm under no illusions about the nature of the forum and the spirit of it's members, however also in that spirit we must all be allowed to scrutinise information we've come across online, because the internet is notorious for a lot of nonsense being pushed around and believed, sometimes because the source is forum poster with thousands of posts, shares and likes and considered to be immune from faulty info, so asking questions to prompt a discussion and other opinions is a healthy principle to adopt, i felt my doubt was fair, so was welcoming a bit more than a yup,
more photos of the same symbol still not accurately depicting the actual Afghan one doesn't make it a more credible Afghan issued watch i'm afraid, just that there are more examples out there with the same symbol, i cannot access your friend's facebook page, but anyway if i could and he was standing in front of ISAF HQ in full uniform with his ID card wearing the watch - it still wouldn't make it an issued watch,
a photo of an afghan soldier in the late 1960s wearing one would be the deal clincher, even if it didn't also show the case back marking i'd accept it totally, but the idea is just too improbable at the moment with everything pointing toward it being a little myth,
one thing to remember is that if someone tells you something interesting about a watch that makes it more attractive then half the job is done because you want to believe it, it's much more prudent to doubt it until you cannot doubt it anymore, at the moment all i can see are reasons to not believe it

C Concretepuppy

Has anyone seen the 120 Seamaster 135-027 on Ebay that has apparently been issued to the Afghan military?
Here's the link:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Super-Rare-Omega-Seamaster-120-Issued-to-Afghan-Military-SS-135-027/284206959804?_trkparms=aid=111001&algo=REC.SEED&ao=1&asc=20160908105057&meid=feee5764a903422582993334f963f5a3&pid=100675&rk=1&rkt=15&mehot=pp&sd=383912783765&itm=284206959804&pmt=0&noa=1&pg=2380057&brand=OMEGA&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci:ba1d1763-7f4d-11eb-a8b1-124fff018e06|parentrq:0cfef08f1780a4d7d1242d69ffe76508|iid:1

the seller claims the symbol on the case back is an Afghan Military symbol, which i know is not but bless them for trying to pull a fast one, this is the symbol:

I've seen it before on some Omegas and thought i'd read somewhere it was a service case back, but it's not the first time a seller has claimed it's Afghan Military issue, i worked there 2007-14 and know their flashes, i was wondering if anyone can recall what it does mean? it seems to have the letters "I" , "N" (or "Z") and "I",
for reference here is the actual ANA flash:

I think the watch is a genuine enough example, case back is curious, but no way Afghan Military issue, we gave some of their sf guys Molle webbing once and stopped after the same ones were coming back for more sets, they were selling down at the market, so brand new Omega 120s? they'd not last a week,
even senior officers couldn't account for half the fuel at the end of the month they were being given to power their gennys
but interested to hear your thoughts