Now that Speedys are growing in popularity and value, when do you think that we will start to see the high level fakes like have inundated the Rolex world?

Omega Archives will do a lot to combat this, but my thought is how difficult will it be for people to make 1:1 replicas of DON bezels, dials, mid cases, and case backs. Also, how hard is it to fake an archive paper? I mean are you going to check with Omega when you see a paper? Can you even do that?

I know a lot of frankens exist with incorrect parts, but if correct fake parts hit the market, that is a real game changer.

Has anyone seen fake vintage Speedies or correct vintage parts?

 

There has already been some base 1000 and DON bezels on eBay from a certain seller that have brought some debate on authenticity.. I'm sure it's only the beginning of the inevitable.

 

I don't think any of the real speedmaster experts on the forum are losing any sleep over the prospect.
Nothing that is in any way dubious gets past them.

 

I am sure that no Rolex experts were losing sleep over it either...just ask John Mayer!

 

Who is he?

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...ccused-selling-fake-Rolexes-admits-wrong.html

Although the lawsuit was dropped, it showed that the dealer had non oem parts in his watches. What those parts were, who knows, but it goes to show that in big dollar sales, people will stop at nothing to make their piece worth more.

What would be interesting is whether or not the parts that Rolex said were fake were case parts or movement parts. If they were movement parts, that seems rather silly, as movements parts are in general not that difficult to source.

 

I doubt that any of the parts were actually fake.
Rolex are well known for having a zero tolerance policy towards modified watches.
Try getting them to service a genuine watch with a bezel from a different model, even if it's genuine Rolex.

 

I'm assuming the sole reason why that guy had non-genuine parts is simply due to the fact that the bulk of his clientele is made up of people that wanna see ROLEX written on their solid gold watch. They don't know the ins and outs, and they don't care.

How many celebrities/rich people out there do you think know that some of the parts in their watches/cars/houses/antique collections are actually not genuine ?

 

If "that guy" had sold watches with non genuine parts the lawsuit wouldn't have been dropped.
It's not a good idea to badmouth Rolex owners, there's an awful lot of them here on the forum BTW.

 

I don't think John Mayer is a member of this forum. The people on this forum (and on all the other watch forums) know their watches. Elites do not. They don't have time or patience for these things, with very few rare exceptions.

The article in the link does say that the guy had non-OEM parts...

 

for many years now ,aftermarket spare parts have been manufactured in Vietnam and China. for Omega 321 and valj. 72. they are obsolete and your only chance, to get your beloved watch back to work. the quality is high; sometimes the finish is not. but a good watchmaker can re work the finish and you would not even notice. and the way,Heuer prices go, we can wait for obsolete parts manufactured for heuer calibre 11. and, yes, many rolex parts are manufactured as well. that is the other side of the coin, when manufacturers decide to starve watchmakers for parts.....kind regards. achim

 

unless of course you have a hard time / expensive process to prove it ...

then quite often cases are dropped/settled even if you KNOW you are right ... being right is one thing, proofing it is another

 

This is very interesting, as I do not see an issue with aftermarket movement parts to keep a watch running if it is your only option.

It is the dial, case and case parts that I fear.

 

Visible parts would be very hard to get right..

 

The "aftermarket" argument seems pretty black and white to me. I acknowledge those who say "aftermarket" is wrong full stop and those who accept there may be a role for aftermarket parts. I don't understand the argument that it's ok for some parts but not others, it muddies the waters, where do you draw the line? I do have form regarding this topic!

 

I'd be ok with aftermarket movement parts, especially for parts that are nla from omega or very hard to source. How hard is it to make a hammer spring, really?

The visible parts though, I will always take original.

 

I'm not going to open a whole can of worms and prolong the debate! I agree with oddboy regarding preference, but don't understand vehement arguments stating some parts are ok but others not.

 

I'll just add this.. if you're looking for a part, and it takes a long time - it's a tough hunt with lots of dead ends and disappointment.. when you find it, it's a rush. A real pleasure. I really like that part of the whole game.