Phillips auction Speedmaster - a 3.000.000-fake?

Looks like Loïc Voumard was named “Head of Brand Heritage” at Omega in January 2023.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/loïc-voumard-422923154?originalSubdomain=ch

The last I see of Petros online was a YouTube interview he did in July 2022.

gatorcpa

😲

From the above suggested article:
https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/ld.1740852


"Surprising twist in the crime story about a multi-million dollar but cobbled together vintage Omega watch
It is now clear who bought a counterfeit vintage Omega watch at an auction in Geneva: Omega itself. The company says it has been deceived on several occasions by its own employees. Those involved have been released and the company is considering criminal prosecution.

Andrea Martel, Chanchal Biswas6/2/2023, 9:33 p.m

In the mysterious affair surrounding a cobbled-together old Omega Speedmaster, which sold a record price of over 3 million francs at a watch auction in Geneva in November 2021, traces lead to the Biel-based watch manufacturer itself. As Omega, a subsidiary of the Swatch Group owned by the Hayek family, announced on Friday evening that the brand itself was the buyer of the 3 million watch.

The director of the museum advocated the purchase
The clock was bought by the head of the in-house museum, with the blessing of the company management. As Omega goes on to explain, the museum director has argued that the 1957 Speedmaster is a rare and exceptional timepiece that must be included in Omega's collection and must therefore be bought at all costs at this auction.

The fact that the watch went under the hammer at the Phillips auction house for 3 million francs amazed watch collectors and connoisseurs worldwide. That was around eight times what was ever paid for a Speedmaster and around thirty times the appraised value. Usually, only vintage Rolex or Patek Philippe wristwatches sell for millions of euros.

However, as the NZZ reported this week under the headline "An old Omega becomes a three-million Speedmaster" , the watch was not the rarity it was advertised as in the auction catalogue. Rather, it is a watch that counterfeiters put together from several watches and partly replicated individual parts.

As the article states, three Omega employees were also involved in the making of the watch. Among other things, they released internal information without which it would not have been possible to reproduce important parts of the watch in a deceptively real way. Omega has now fired these employees and also the director of the in-house museum.

However, until Omega clarified on Friday evening, it was unclear who was willing to buy the watch at the auction at this exorbitant price. It was rumored in the industry that two extremely rich collectors had pushed each other up, but this story was not credible. Rather, there were indications that pointed to a concerted action by the unknown seller.

The fact that Omega itself slammed the auction and produced a record price en passant is nothing unusual, on the contrary: It is an open secret in the industry that many watch manufacturers do this quietly. On the one hand to get rare pieces back into your own hands. On the other hand, to maintain the prices for vintage watches and thus arouse the desires of rich buyers.

The sellers are also the buyers
However, the case of the cobbled together record-breaking Speedmasters is more tricky: the same three employees - including the head of the Omega Museum - were active on both the seller and buyer side. In other words, together with third parties, they created a watch from original and replica parts, issued a clear family tree and then – with money from Omega – bought it themselves at an exorbitant price, so to speak.

Watchmaker Omega and auction house Phillips both say they are victims of organized crime. According to Omega, it will take legal action against all parties."

That SirenSong is Oh So sweet till......it is not.

This story just keeps getting crazier and crazier.

Fascinating.

As I have said elsewhere, I would have liked some extracts. On the other hand I spent the funds on other watches and parts.

It is a bit disappointing that the heritage department is set to take the fall. It was the old re-printed ephemera what made me want to collect Omega in the first place. None of this changes. I suspect the prices will remain high. They are attractive watches. And for me that is really all that matters.