UPDATE: confirmed genuine!

Hey guys,

Its my first post on here so go easy on me please. I need some advice on a 1125 bracelet.

I got my FOIS a couple years back and like many FOIS owners I wanted to replace the leather strap with a metal bracelet. My research led me to buy the 1125 bracelet with 560 end pieces. However, it seems nearly impossible to get hold of one of these things nowadays, even from OMEGA directly.

I eventually ordered one from a website online (£499.99) and when it arrived I was excited to see it in seemingly legitimate packaging. However, on opening it up the bracelet seemed remarkably lightweight, easily scratched and tinny. I've taken it to the jewellers who agreed that with me that it was most likely a fake - it lacks the screw links and when compared with a genuine OMEGA 22mm bracelet, the difference in feeling is remarkable - mine rattles and just feels cheap whereas the genuine bracelet is heavy on the wrist and clearly a piece of precision engineering.

Anyway, I was hoping that some of you FOIS/CK2998 owners who had also changed to the 1125 bracelet could shed some light on the matter - do you find that the bracelets are tinnier than your average OMEGA bracelet? Do you find them much lighter than average? Is it true that the inside of the 1125 links are in fact hollow, and that this bracelet was manufactured almost 50 years ago???

Thanks a lot in advance!

W

 

We can't think without pictures.

 

I remember buying my first vintage Speedmaster. My wife actually found it while we were in a pawn shop. She handed it to me and said it was fake. I told her no, that the old bracelets were like that, tinny and thin. It was a 71 Speedmaster on a 1039. I seriously doubt that your 1125 is fake. It is based off a vintage design.

 

You can buy the 1125 from Omega Boutique.

Add a pic of the etching on the clasp?

My 1125 has screws for the links, but they are very different looking than the screw links of the modern bracelets. In fact I had thought they were pins, so this post prompted me to look. The screws on my 1125 look just like the ones on the original version of the 1171 bracelet.

 

Hi,

Thank you all for your responses.

Taddyangle do you find your 1125 to be of significantly worse quality and feel when compared to modern bracelets?

Here are some pictures of the dodgy bracelet.

 

I don't think that is fake. It's just a vintage bracelet and that is the way it's made. You won't get any vintage bracelet that is comparable to a modern bracelet. They are all light and tinny feeling.

 

I'd have to disagree with you assessment, and the reasons why are:
-The square "Omega" emblem on the clasp seems to be etched or screen printed, not stamped. All the modern style square emblems for reissued bracelets are stamped with the stamping showing on the underside of the clasp (like in the pic from an earlier FS listing).
https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-19mm-1125-bracelet-no-end-links.62226/
-I've never seen "70" or "1125/000" text on this bracelet before. I've usually seen "32" as the circled number, and only "1125" on the underside of the clasp
-Also, never seen "Swiss Made" text on the underside of the vintage or modern versions of this bracelet.

Agree with others that the "tinny" and even cheap feeling is not a good indicator of authenticity, but the above design and text discrepancies would definitely cause some consternation.

Good luck with the resolution and do update us on how it works out.

 

Not just Omega bracelets, look at just about any Heuer or UG, Gay Freres or folded link Rolex bracelet, they all seem cheap and insubstantial by today's standards.

 

I also have the 1565/976 bracelet and when comparing the two, the 1125 definitely feels way less robust.

I can't say if this is fake or not. I have not seen any bracelet with trailing 000 were one would expect to see the end link number. Over the years Omega does change some items (text, logo, etc) on these bracelets, but I do not have enough experience with these bracelets to provide any more insight.

 

Yes, Rolex bracelets (not their latest generation, but a typical 1990 - 2000 one) can feel very light, it is comfortable because of it but the lightweight stamped buckle and weak spots, ugh. Never understood the hype behind GF bracelets, it is cheap light stamped steel to me. Nice sometimes, but cheap.

 

Agree - just had a look at my own 1125 (bought new in 2013) and it looks nothing like that. The way the clasp is constructed looks quite different to the one above. Still tinny though

 

I agree 100% on this. When I first read the OP’s description, it was clear he was comparing to a modern solid link bracelet, and didn’t understand the 1125 is made in the same style that the original bracelets were made 50 years ago.

But the pictures indicate this is a fake. At least the clasp is, based on the one I previously owned, purchased from a boutique. As yinzerniner said, my real one had the circled 32, only 1125 and no Swiss Made. The inset Omega symbol on this example looks incorrect as well.

To the OP, what website did you order it from?

 

Not impossible at all. It’s just not as simple as clicking a link on a website and paying online. You have to go into any AD, show them the bracelet you want in the Book ‘o Straps/bracelets, then they order it for you. You might have to wait several weeks, or even a month, but it will arrive at the AD and you go pick it up. Prices are usually even cheaper than you can get from other online sites.

 

Thanks everybody so much for all your input. I wasn’t aware that the older style bracelets (even if newly manufactured) were of such tinny feel. Even so I’m still thinking it’s fake, especially given the above comments. The claps is also ridiculously stiff to operate, though I’ve heard this is common of speedmaster bracelets.

I will take it into an omega shop this week and ask them if they think it’s legitimate - I will let you all know the outcome. I have already entered into a heated dispute with the seller on PayPal!

 

Looks genuine IMO. I recently bought a $250 "NOS" bracelet for my Speedy Reduced from a reputable storefront on ebay after getting stung by a low-cost chinese knock off, and the NOS was actually inferior in a few ways to the fake (but perfectly authentic...I hope)! The NOS despite feeling incredibly light and cheap is, I'm pretty sure, authentic just because "it fits". These older bracelets are very lightly built...I got out of Rolex in the mid-80's because I was so disgusted by the crappy bracelet quality. Only recently bought back in because of the superior new builds (that Omega has been doing since the 90's).

 

The photos in the link show different text on the clasp than yours. I therefore deleted the post. I too do not want to wrongly accuse.

 

I’ll let you guys know the seller once I am sure of the items counterfeit nature - wouldn’t want to harm a legit businessman’s reputation.

 

The emblem is actually stamped.



You can see the reverse imprint on the underside.



And while the text and symbol are laser etched, they seem to be of a higher quality than I've seen on most fake Ω bracelets.

 

So what would your opinion be? Genuine or just a convincing fake?

Thanks

 

Just as in the past bracelets were/are made by outside contractors and often by more than one.

I think its genuine.

Do you still have the packaging.