| Author | Message | ||
     Craig_rory_swallow New member Username: Craig_rory_swallow Post Number: 1 Registered: 01-2010 Rating: N/A |
hi i have an omega ladies pendant watch and am looking to find its true value and possibly a buyer for this piece. it is spherical with a crystal front and back which allows you to see the inner workings. it has a small bell and chain on the bottom. it is in working condition and is dated 1882. i will be posting images later. please could anybody give me their estimation of the value thanks craig. | ||
| Zaf Moderator Username: Zaf Post Number: 4404 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
Probably not that high, images are helpful. | ||
| Jimh Member Username: Jimh Post Number: 82 Registered: 06-2007 Rating: N/A |
These "spherical" watches are usually fakes, however some pictures would tell the tale (especially pictures of the movement). The 1882 would refer to the beginning of the Omega brand, however, the company was founded long before this. | ||
| Gregb Intermediate Member Username: Gregb Post Number: 186 Registered: 10-2006 Rating: |
These Brass Pendant Ball watches bearing the Omega name are flooding the market from China. They bear no resemblance to any Omega watch ever made and are very low-grade fakes. You can find thousands of them listed on eBay at any given moment by sellers in China. These fake pendants come in several variations, but below is a typical example:  | ||
| William_smith New member Username: William_smith Post Number: 9 Registered: 01-2010 Rating: N/A |
Hi Craig, It�s difficult to date or authenticate without pictures, original sales slips (if your are that lucky), or any other documentation. High resolution pictures help. Original? Authentic? It�s really a crap shoot in today�s world. You say it�s dated to 1882. Is this by dedication on the back of the case, or by serial number? It�s too profitable for counterfeiters to pass up a chance to make several of these watches and hope for the best on eBay or some other venue. Even the experts have trouble distinguishing the �real� from the �counterfeit� based on pictures. Do not dismay. I would argue that the proliferation of �fake� watches is an important part of the current watch story. We who chose to buy or sell, must do our own research; due diligence, relying on others who have knowledge we newbie�s are lacking. � However finding out what constitutes authentic- this is not always easy over the internet even with high resolution pictures. This discussion board, along with its few dedicated administrators/moderators gives opinions on authenticity. These opinions are just that-only opinions. They even offer general/relative price values. They give their best guess based on being experts in the field. And they are in fact, experts in this field. These "best guesses" are almost the equivalent of professional appraisals, although they are not noted as such, nor even implied as such. Reasons being: Liability and the fact the qualified expert is worthy of his hire. Want an appraisal? Go to a qualified jeweler who is known in the field and pay for this appraisal. You can find them on this discussion site. Otherwise, you get relative values from folks who could do professional appraisals, but offer �opinions� for free. What a great service!! These hard working folks give their best opinions, and believe me; the major auction houses pay attention to their "humble opinions". For your omega, certain facts must follow. First off, the hands. Second, the dial. More importantly, the movement. Look for at least one advertisement or jewelers cataloger which shows this "early" omega with these hands/dial/movement. Maybe the hands are not original. It�s hard to find catalogues for these early Omega�s, but not impossible. Omega has several on-line references to these types of details, and dealers know these things too! Check completed sales on various auction houses for comparable watches. I guess I�d even say check eBay closed listings, although one should take these closed prices with a grain of salt. This is where many of the �fake� or reproduction watches are sold. EBay sales also represent the extreme prices, as the buyers may or may not have a clue what they are bidding on. They tend to pay too much, for whatever reason. It�s like an impulsive buying problem in analogy. Folks want a watch and are willing to bid higher and higher in the run-up, ending with prices by eBay buyers as the high outliers. There are plenty of folks who bid to extreme and these outliers should not represent the general value of these items. An omega from this period-c1882, should have hallmarks, serial numbers, hands/dials/etc� for your particular timepiece which are obviously original or authentic when shown to a qualified watch collector or even experienced repair person. Being a skeptic, I agree this is likely a "fake"; but perhaps a reproduction is still of value?- �fakes� in their own right has some value, but not as an original. It could be original and valuable, but you should take into consideration the history of the piece- for as long as long as you have viable records. Here are a couple of links to Omega SN production dating tables: http://www.chronomaddox.com/omega_serial_numbers.html Or check: http://thewatchguy.homestead.com/pages/OMEGASERIAL.html or a little ways down this page is yet another SN/age for Omega : http://www.clockmaker.com.au/rolex_serial_numbers.html Was it your grandpa�s? Did you get it from a dealer last year? Did you buy it at a jewelry store while on vacation? I wish you the best, check opinions from other experts- not my skeptic ramblings. Post high resolution pictures of front, back, movement, inside case back, and any other places with hallmarks. I don�t think you�ll be frowned upon for supplying information. Storage is cheap and bandwidth is fast these days. I'm an amateur horologist who is trained in research. A skeptic. Nothing more. A librarian, historian, horologist, and an avid user of the internet. I let the existing documentation do the talking. If the SN places this movement at an early age for omega, then that is good news. Although it's not that hard to tool up to imprint a SN for that date, try to look closely at the quality of the imprint of the serial number. Omega had quality tooling since before 1882. I'm off to the do some research, and I'll be back to post my results. Please remember, it�s not my intent to challenge anyone�s claim, but only to do the research which may or may not substantiate these claims. I hope you have an original. It may be right. ...but it's a shame that these imitation watches are flaunted as "the real thing and original", whether by mistake or intent from manufacturers who are profit motivated. My usual prologue to these posts, albeit replete with hyperbola and stinking of sarcasm: �I am selling the original hatchet with which George Washington chopped down his father's cherry tree. It's completely original. I had to replace the handle, and then I had to replace the adz, but other than that, it's completely original." Type to you later Craig. Pictures will help. Will | ||
| Gregb Intermediate Member Username: Gregb Post Number: 187 Registered: 10-2006 Rating: N/A |
William, No, it's actually NOT difficult to authenticate without pictures in this instance. The description the OP gave, to those who have seen thousands of these Chinese ball pendants and work professionally as authenticators, is unmistakable. The description given by the OP fits no other authentic Omega product, as stated in my earlier post. I even uploaded a picture, above, so that others could see what the OP was talking about. Greg | ||
| Zaf Moderator Username: Zaf Post Number: 4413 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
Well, let me add to this: even if it is REAL (the example is not obviously), it's not worth a whole lot of money! Aside for a few very high grade pieces, or ones full of gold and diamonds, Small + Ladies = low value. | ||
| William_smith Junior Member Username: William_smith Post Number: 11 Registered: 01-2010 Rating: N/A |
Thanks Greg I didn't think it would be that easy, but I'm not familiar with these Omega watches. Good that folks are that familiar to be able to make the call with confidence from Craig's description. I went poking around and for a while, but didn't find much on these. I've seen them on flebay but didn't pay much attention to them. I have a hundred ladies watches that I've picked up for real cheap-now I just look at them and wonder what in the world i was thinking? Aloha | ||
| Gregb Intermediate Member Username: Gregb Post Number: 188 Registered: 10-2006 Rating: N/A |
William, You can easily find thousands of these fake Omega pendants on eBay on any given day. Example: auction #s 220543471982, 280445060819, 280455377533, 280458039793, 370327284718, etc. When I sat on eBay's Trust & Safety Advisory Board, I worked closely with VP Rob Chesnut to remove several hundred of these listings DAILY; nearly 50,000 Chinese fake Omegas over the course of a year. When it became clear that eBay had no intention of closing the revolving door for Chinese fraudsters loading the site with these and other fakes (they were focused more on expanding the Chinese market in competition with Taobao), I quit. There are about 20-30 variations of cheap "Omega" fakes coming from the streets of Shanghai right now. These fakes are not the ones that closely mimic genuine Omega models, but rather are junk brass watches and clocks with the Omega name simply added to the dial. Fortunately, they are easily distinguished by anyone with even a modest amount of watch experience, however they still continue to attract the complete novices who see the Omega name and react to purchase quickly out of greed. | ||
| Craig_rory_swallow New member Username: Craig_rory_swallow Post Number: 2 Registered: 01-2010 Rating: N/A |
sorry for the lackof image as of yet. i borrowed ahigh resolution camera to take pictures but the website has siadthe are too lage to post. im not the most oputer literate so i shall get somebody to help me with that. thanks for the many responses you guys seem to have an abundance of knowledge. as aras the story of my watch goes, it is a bit a bit vague im afraid.. i bought the watch over from england where it was gifted to me by an x partner. she seemed not to know much about it just tht it was an antique that someone gave her when she was younger. I am now living in sydney ausralia and by the sound of your advise i should take it to local watch specialist to astalish its authenticity. i have some good photos now if its workings, i will try to uplad if the website will allow me. | ||
| Craig_rory_swallow New member Username: Craig_rory_swallow Post Number: 3 Registered: 01-2010 Rating: N/A |
here is a picture of my watch. sorry to take so long. let me know if this gives anybody more of a clue to its authenticity. more to come. thanks  | ||
| Craig_rory_swallow New member Username: Craig_rory_swallow Post Number: 4 Registered: 01-2010 Rating: N/A |
this is the workings. im not going to try opening it myself. i will see a specialist if i need to do that.  | ||
| Craig_rory_swallow New member Username: Craig_rory_swallow Post Number: 5 Registered: 01-2010 Rating: N/A |
one more  | ||
| Royang New member Username: Royang Post Number: 1 Registered: 02-2010 Rating: N/A |
Exactly,I haven't much experiences about omega ladies pendant watch,but some days ago,I find a website about it,maybe you can have a try. http://www.tswisswatches.com/ | ||
| Jimh Member Username: Jimh Post Number: 84 Registered: 06-2007 Rating: N/A |
To Craig_rory_swallow: If you look at the picture of a FAKE Omega ball watch posted by Gregb above you will see that your watch is almost identical to it. Your watch is a fake Omega watch and has no value. The production of these watches is illegal. The post by Royang above is an attempt to sneak a link to a site selling fake watches into this discussion and unto Zaf's website and should be deleted. | ||
| Craig_rory_swallow New member Username: Craig_rory_swallow Post Number: 6 Registered: 01-2010 Rating: N/A |
well I am going to take my watch to a secialist to get their opinion. i realise thre are alot of fakes out there but i know an antique dealer and although he doesnt secialise in watches he does think it is quite likely to be genuine. I am living in sydney so will try find an auction house or specialist here to examine it for me. thankyou everyone for yor kind input. heers craig! | ||
| Gregb Intermediate Member Username: Gregb Post Number: 194 Registered: 10-2006 Rating: N/A |
I've been repairing and restoring Omega watches for 2 decades. You can ask as many "specialists" as you like, but the watch is 100% Chinese fake, NO DOUBT WHATSOEVER. Omega has never made a watch model that even remotely resembled these pendant watches and the cheap brass movements in these watches wouldn't fool even a novice collector. | ||
| Jimh Member Username: Jimh Post Number: 85 Registered: 06-2007 Rating: N/A |
Gregb is absolutely correct. This watch is a Chinese fake. You are wasting your time taking this watch to any specialist. The antique dealer doesn't know what he is talking about. Don't spend any money for an evaluation. It will be money down the drain. | ||
| Craig_rory_swallow New member Username: Craig_rory_swallow Post Number: 7 Registered: 01-2010 Rating: |
cool. thanks for your help. i will not worry about insuring it now. |
