Omega seamaster original or fake papers?

[Ryze]

Hello Omega lovers, I am new to the Omega family!

I am about to proceed to my first Omega purchase and I'd like to hear your feedback on something suspicious(?)

I want to buy this masterpiece Omega Seamaster 300 2551.80.00 which I negotiated the price down to $1000 however looking closer to the papers I noticed that instead of WORLDWIDE SERVICE CENTRES NETWORK it says WORLDWIDE SERVICE CENTERS NETWORK.

Browsing on the web to check the authenticity of the papers I didn't find a single paper with "centers", only "centres".

Do you think this one is genuine and thus a good opportunity or am I about to get scammer?

Thank you in advance for your answers!

 

[janice&fred]

Welcome and be careful with this. I can't say definitively that it's a genuine Omega. Did you take these pictures or are you buying this thing online? I don't think anyone would be selling a genuine example for $1000 and if you didn't take these pictures yourself and if this isn't an in-person arms-length transaction then I would suspect one isn't going to be receiving what's pictured after the $1000 payment.

 

[Ryze]

janice&fred

Welcome and be careful with this. I can't say definitively that it's a genuine Omega. Did you take these pictures or are you buying this thing online? I don't think anyone would be selling a genuine example for $1000 and if you didn't take these pictures yourself and if this isn't an in-person arms-length transaction then I would suspect one isn't going to be receiving what's pictured after the $1000 payment.

Thank you for your message sir!

No, I didn't take the pictures myself instead I found it on Facebook Marketplace.
I will see the watch in person in about 30h from now, so it is a face to face tx in cash.

The initial asking price was double but I managed to bring it down to $1000. I guess the seller might not be aware of the true value since he is advertising it as the "007 watch" (he didn't even mention the reference code in the listing) - so he is probably clueless.

I am thinking to take the watch to the nearest Omega retailer and ask them to check the authenticity for me. To be honest only the watch seems legit from the images (the position of the helium valve, the date dimensions, margins etc) but I am definitely not an expert and if this is a very good copy, I will lose $1000.

 

[janice&fred]

Yep I agree there are signs in the pictures of an original example. You might want to be careful and re-think your plan of bringing it to an Omega retailer unless you plan on doing it alone. If you bring the owner with you it's going to be game over for the $1000. That is unless the owner is not an English speaker and can't ask questions from the retailer, which inevitable is going to happen. You might be better off loading up on research, rolling the dice and making the judgement call yourself on originality.

 

[padders]

You know it is a mid size right? It looks perfectly fine to me. Those papers and box tally with the tritium dial and date the watch to 1995-1997. He may well be a scammer on the basis of if it looks too good to be true, but the watch pictured has no other red flags.

 

[Ryze]

janice&fred

Yep I agree there are signs in the pictures of an original example. You might want to be careful and re-think your plan of bringing it to an Omega retailer unless you plan on doing it alone. If you bring the owner with you it's going to be game over for the $1000. That is unless the owner is not an English speaker and can't ask questions from the retailer, which inevitable is going to happen. You might be better off loading up on research, rolling the dice and making the judgement call yourself on originality.

Why do you think it's going to be game over if I bring the watch to an official Omega store with the owner?
I don't understand how the owner can interfere, can you give me an example please?

Is there anything else I should look out for or prior questions I should ask? Or even additional photos of the watch and the papers/box?

I think 2 things hard to replicate is the silent mechanism and the magnet trick, as indicated in the official Omega website.
Quote: Moreover, if the watch is a certified Master Chronometer, it will not be affected by magnetic fields. By placing a magnet close to the timepiece, you can easily detect if it is authentic or not. A Master Chronometer watch will continue functioning normally, while a fake timepiece will stop ticking.

 

[padders]

R Ryze

Why do you think it's going to be game over if I bring the watch to an official Omega store with the owner?
I don't understand how the owner can interfere, can you give me an example please?

Is there anything else I should look out for or prior questions I should ask? Or even additional photos of the watch and the papers/box?

I think 2 things hard to replicate is the silent mechanism and the magnet trick, as indicated in the official Omega website.
Quote: Moreover, if the watch is a certified Master Chronometer, it will not be affected by magnetic fields. By placing a magnet close to the timepiece, you can easily detect if it is authentic or not. A Master Chronometer watch will continue functioning normally, while a fake timepiece will stop ticking.

That is a really bad idea for a pre Master Chronometer watch like this, you will end up magnetising it. This has either the 1111 or 1120 movement which is basically the same as the ETA 2892 and hasnt anywhere near the magnetism resistance of the recent silicon balance spring watches.

 

[Ryze]

padders

You know it is a mid size right? It looks perfectly fine to me. Those papers and box tally with the tritium dial and date the watch to 1995-1997. He may well be a scammer on the basis of if it looks too good to be true, but the watch pictured has no other red flags.

Thank you so much for your reply!
Yes, I know it is a mid size and I am perfectly fine with it since my wrist is small.
I guess I will know tomorrow if he is a scammer or not, if the watch matched the one in the photos then I suppose I'll have a good deal.

 

[Ryze]

padders

That is a really bad idea for a pre Master Chronometer watch like this, you will end up magnetising it. This has either the 1011 or 1020 movement which is basically the same as the ETA 2892 and hasnt anywhere near the magnetism resistance of the recent silicon balance spring watches.

Thank you! I guess I won't do the magnet trick then.
Is there anything else I should watch out for? Like I said, the only thing from the photos that I am skeptical of, is the CENTER instead of CENTRE.

 

[padders]

R Ryze

Thank you so much for your reply!
Yes, I know it is a mid size and I am perfectly fine with it since my wrist is small.
I guess I will know tomorrow if he is a scammer or not, if the watch matched the one in the photos then I suppose I'll have a good deal.

As long as the watch he produces matches the photos then you have literally nothing to worry about at that price. If he produces a gun, then maybe you do.

ps the box will likely be grey, which you may not be expecting.

 

[Ryze]

padders

As long as the watch he produces matches the photos then you have literally nothing to worry about at that price. If he produces a gun, then maybe you do.

ps the box will likely be grey, which you may not be expecting.

True
I won't be alone and the meeting will be held in a public place.

 

[janice&fred]

R Ryze

Why do you think it's going to be game over if I bring the watch to an official Omega store with the owner?
I don't understand how the owner can interfere, can you give me an example please?

You have a lot to learn about buying watches on the cheap grasshopper. Take a wild guess.

And I won't even touch the magnet idea. Just research a bit then look at the watch ALONE with the seller and you'll be lookin good. That is unless the seller has been spending his time researching too. In that case this conversation is moot.

 

[Donn Chambers]

R Ryze

Hello Omega lovers, I am new to the Omega family!

I am about to proceed to my first Omega purchase and I'd like to hear your feedback on something suspicious(?)

I want to buy this masterpiece Omega Seamaster 300 2551.80.00 which I negotiated the price down to $1000 however looking closer to the papers I noticed that instead of WORLDWIDE SERVICE CENTRES NETWORK it says WORLDWIDE SERVICE CENTERS NETWORK.

Browsing on the web to check the authenticity of the papers I didn't find a single paper with "centers", only "centres".

Do you think this one is genuine and thus a good opportunity or am I about to get scammer?

Thank you in advance for your answers!

The 2011 code on the warranty card indicates the watch was originally sold in the United States. We use "Center" here instead of "Centre" so that doesn't make me suspicious -- I assume in the old days, the US Swatch group printed the documentation for domestic sales. I think everything else about the watch and papers looks fine for a watch from the early 1990s.

 

[FargoGeek]

The endlinks look a little loose but that is not a red flag. I have a earlier SMP from 2003 and it had the same issue when I had to replace my Omega OEM spring bars when one broke. I used high quality aftermarket ones but the diameter was slightly smaller and my endlinks rocked. I got some OEM endlinks from a local AD an the issue was fixed.

I would not be too worried about the "center" vs "centre". I do not know this for a fact but I would assume these filler items were printed specifically for the market they were sold in.

The only thing I see is that the age of the lume on the hands does not match the aging of the dials lume. I don't if that was typical of this age of watch or if these are service replacement hands. I don't think it would be a deal breaker either way.

They did not show the inner box but I would not be surprised if it is in rough shape. I have see a lot of Omega red boxed that lost a lot of their glossy surface. A rough looking box might be more genuine then a pristine one. I have heard the issue is humidity. I have my inner box sealed up in a Ziploc bag with a desiccant pack to be safe.

 

[Aroxx]

R Ryze

I guess the seller might not be aware of the true value since he is advertising it as the "007 watch" (he didn't even mention the reference code in the listing) - so he is probably clueless.

This watch is (more or less) the same watch that Pierce Brosnan wore in the movies when he became James Bond and Omega started their relationship with the franchise. So calling it the "007 watch" isn't exactly wrong even though it's not a special 007 limited edition watch.

 

[hen]

janice&fred

You have a lot to learn about buying watches on the cheap grasshopper. Take a wild guess.

There are many of us grasshoppers here, please educate us O`wise one.

 

[padders]

FargoGeek

The endlinks look a little loose but that is not a red flag. I have a earlier SMP from 2003 and it had the same issue when I had to replace my Omega OEM spring bars when one broke. I used high quality aftermarket ones but the diameter was slightly smaller and my endlinks rocked. I got some OEM endlinks from a local AD an the issue was fixed.

I would not be too worried about the "center" vs "centre". I do not know this for a fact but I would assume these filler items were printed specifically for the market they were sold in.

The only thing I see is that the age of the lume on the hands does not match the aging of the dials lume. I don't if that was typical of this age of watch or if these are service replacement hands. I don't think it would be a deal breaker either way.

They did not show the inner box but I would not be surprised if it is in rough shape. I have see a lot of Omega red boxed that lost a lot of their glossy surface. A rough looking box might be more genuine then a pristine one. I have heard the issue is humidity. I have my inner box sealed up in a Ziploc bag with a desiccant pack to be safe.

Your 2003 watch is later not earlier.

I may need to take issue with two counts here. Firstly a watch if this era will usually show fried egg plots and green hands. The hands might be service replacements but originals never fade beige like the plots either so I think they are likely original. Secondly while the red box does flake, this era used a grey box. Yes those flake a bit too!

Edited: Feb 16, 2023

 

[FargoGeek]

padders

Your 2003 watch is later not earlier.

I may need to take issue with two counts here. Firstly a watch if this era will usually show fried egg plots and green hands. The hands might be service replacements but originals never fade beige like the plots either so I think they are likely original. Secondly while the red box does flake, this era used a grey box. Yes those flake a bit too!

Typo on my part. I meant to say later model. Oops. Thanks for catching that.

 

[Ryze]

UPDATE:
I asked the guy to send me a few more pictures. Couple of red(?) flags, he doesn't have the leather box of the watch (like the red or the grey one) and as you can see the warranty papers are empty!

FargoGeek

Typo on my part. I meant to say later model. Oops. Thanks for catching that.

 

[Ryze]

And here's two videos he sent to me earlier today. What do you guys think? Should I pull the trigger?