Omega?

[RichardHarris123]

This was posted on eBay, claims it's a early Omega? I don't think so, what's your thoughts? 

[nickelsilver]

I could be wrong, but I don't know of any Omega watches that aren't marked Omega, somewhere.

[HectorLooi]

Be very careful. I've seen fake Omegas from India.

[AndyHull]

Most, if not all Omegas have a serial number. I don't see one on this watch. I'm no expert on Omega, but the watch movement you have pictures of doesn't appear to be of particularly high quality.

I guess you could ask the seller what they base their claim on, but my gut feeling is that is probably not an early Omega. There is a list (incomplete?) of Omega serial numbers here.

http://www.pocketwatchrepair.com/histories/omega.html

Louis Brandt & Frere were the original company behind the Omega brand.

There is also a list of some of the trade marks of Omega Watch Co. SA / Louis Brandt & Frere
here.

https://www.mikrolisk.de/show.php?site=280&suchwort=Omega&searchWhere=all#sucheMarker

However to be a genuine Omega watch, it would almost certainly have the Omega brand on it. None of their other brand names are "Genuine Omega" either (but slightly closer connected to the Omega brand  than some of the more obvious fakes out there).

Be aware that some sellers will use association (like saying a Sicura pin lever is a Sicura by Brietling) to claim a watch has a particular pedigree, when that is not accurate. Sicura bought the Breitling brand when Breitling went out of business, so a more accurate statement might be Breitling by Sicura, but either way, Sicura watches are not the same thing as Breitling watches, any more than an Omega with an ETA movement in it is a Swatch.

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by AndyHull

[KarlvonKoln]

That's a Dennison case with the specially-fitted bow.  Really good case.  But although Omega has used Dennison cases before, I have to agree with the gentlemen before me: we see no symbol or name on the dial, no symbol or name evident on the movement, no serial number in sight, and no other indications.  If I were going to buy it, that seller would need to provide quite a bit of proof on this one if he wanted to convince me it was an Omega. I don't know where they hid the serial on this one (if it has one) but if under-dial photos or under-balance-cock photos were available, I'd ask to see them if the seller were asking Omega-level prices.

That said, if the seller is being extremely reasonable, I'd be tempted to buy it just for the case.  Those Dennison cases are nice.

Edited February 24, 2022 by KarlvonKoln

[AndyHull]

Agreed. There is a slight chance it is Omega, since some importers (important Jewellers for example) would insist on purchasing sterile dial watches. Also dials do get replaced after the fact, so it may be a replacement dial. However there would almost certainly be some makers mark some where on the watch, perhaps behind the dial, maybe behind the balance, or on the edge of the movement.

The case is quite nice, but if you buy it for the case only, that obviously should be reflected in the price you are willing to pay.

Although the case is Denison, I would kind of expect that too to be stamped with an Omega mark,

Something similar to this perhaps.

Edited February 24, 2022 by AndyHull

[RichardHarris123]

It went for £80, way to much I think 

[AndyHull]

3 hours ago, RichardHarris123 said:

It went for £80, way to much I think 

I would say so. If you look in the ebay sold listings for Omega pocket watches, under £80 there are currently 82 items, a large number of which look genuine, so if you are looking for a genuine Omega PW in that price bracket, take your time, and find something with less questionable provenance.

Edited February 24, 2022 by AndyHull

[AndyHull]

For what its worth, if you look up Omega and/or Brandt on bidfun, you will see quite a number of different calibers, but none seem an exact match for the one above.

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&&2uswk

Enter the keyword omega  (or brandt).

The serial numbers generally appear on both the dial side, and/or on at least one of the bridges on the balance side.
There are also Omega trade marks on most of the examples and in some cases an Ω on the balance cock.