Omega-Reign

Ω MITTED

Ok, Ok, this is my last: That was just the sweetest little post... Awwwww... I'll be back in about a year myself. 'Till then.

@TheMuck: (See Marcello C Senatore pic at bottom) I appreciate your views and I understand the forums stand on preventing the scams, although it is like indulging in prostitution on the weekends while working as a vice squad cop during the week----and a married one. This section is like the Nobel Prize: Honoring high achievement in various fields, yet instituted quite possibly out of guilt of the fruitage of Nobel's creations. Is this here to quell the consciences of those who feel somewhat wrong about buying replicas, dodging customs, lying, etc.? I sure hope not. If you did that for a replica, should not a person buying a real Daytona be able to do just as much, being that much more is at stake? Is that not logical? Actually, the "homework" I was referring to can be done in 2 seconds: "There are fakes out there. I better go to an AUTHORIZED DEALER. Breitling, Rolex, Omega are saying not to buy their products on the internet" Homework Done! Again, The interest is not in replicas. It is in wanting your purchase to be what it purports to be. You don't even have to think about replicas when buying a genuine watch. If you go to a trusted, respected source you don't have that to worry about. If you want to save $$$ and take a chance, then you do. I buy undershirts without doing too much research. Yet, I keep in mind that if I go to a bargain store, I may have to look for that "Slightly Irregular" warning. If I don't want to be bothered with that, and am more interested in getting quality than saying I "got a deal" on some purchase, I go where I can pick up any package and get that quality. But, if you insist that you must get a deal and that eBay is the way to go, it all comes down to just using good judgment (not necessarily being a detective) Fore example: Ebay seller w/ REAL STORE 23 years Same Location So, Let it be known that I'm not promoting some hard and fast rule about ANTI-EBAY. Going to an AD is the safest way to avoid getting scammed just as no sex is the safest sex. Neither may be practical for all people. Yet, who can you complaint to when you take that chance----and get burned? We all want a $9,000 Watch (or a little more €uro) for less. We aren't rich (Or even if we are, we can be bargain hunters still) So, it takes more discretion than detective work. Just my 2 cents. AND MY LAST. Take care all @The Muck: Ever think of a Gen substitute for that Rep Daytona? Marcello C. Senatore: Coincidentally, Available on Ebay http://www.rwg.cc/members/uploads/remoteim...176127-8419.jpg

The expertise is in studying the real thing, not the replica. Just something to keep in mind. Perfect replicas don't and will never exist. Unless the Companies themselves produce it and label them "Replicas" The terms "Perfect" and "1:1" cannot be taken absolutely, but relative to the person doing the examination. There is an IWC Ingy out and Omega that are said to be 1:1---NOT. VIRTUALLY undetectable variations? Of course But, Never 1:1 or 100% It is not attainable. Being able to pass them off in the marketplace as genuine, yes. 1:1---Not happening. I doubt in Hublot produced their Big Bang with a see-thru caseback for fraud prevention, but you can tell in .0001 second that it is not the real deal. Thus, Anyone scammed, I don't feel for them. Do your homework before investing.

You know, Now that I think about it: Watch people are not ordinary folks. They may be "down to earth" but not ordinary (and some watch people, perhaps because of their depth of knowledge or "class" or economic stature) may not be so "down to earth." In any event, people who appreciate fine timepieces are a little special. If anyone doubts that, ask five people that you do not know, randomly: "Do you think a watch is just a watch, something to tell time with?" And see what they say. With that in mind, someone with enough money to buy an $8K watch or a number of them, or knows what a Rolex Daytona even is (and as Ubiquitous as the brand is, not everyone does), that person should know what to look for. He should make it his or her business to know....before investing. $8-$10K or more is an investment. Would YOU make an investment on Ebay? People need to learn that "POWERSELLER" is just that: They have sold to a lot of people. Sometimes people get beat and are too upset with themselves to even report it, or mention it to the seller or post negative feedback. They may say "I'll never get duped again" They feel stupid. Feedback is virtually meaningless when it comes to buying watches via auction (as we have seen people abuse that status). You have to have that "Sixth Sense" about matters. Especially about the product you are interested in. My point is: I don't see the point of this particular section of this forum anymore. I don't see the buyers as unsuspecting innocent ignorant victims. If they are, they shouldn't be! Putting that much money down is like walking into Charles Schwab Tommy's Investments across the street from Schwab and opening an account with $20K just because Tommy's Investments has an office on Wall Street. (I've worked there. It's overrated. My new place is much better). It doesn't make sense. Neither does buying an $8,000 watch from the internet. Not in this day and age. True there are your Watchseller.com's and Bernardwatch.com's, guys that have a reputation for good honest business. If they decided to sell on eBay someday, then hopefully that reputation will go with them. But buying from someone whose ENTIRE PRESCENCE is INTERNET-AUCTION BASED is asking to have your money taken. So, Tell that baby to stop crying about that lollypop that was just snatched. He should have held it tighter. And I especially don't feel sorry for you if you pay $$$$ for one of those Daytonas with the ugly, ill-situated, poorly threaded pushers. They should know better.

That's quite a creation. And it's good to know you are not selling them. They are deadly accurate. I like the vintage models and the older Daytona Reps better. There is an annoying feature on Daytona Reps. Only if the buyers knew. It only takes a few things to look for. Then again, any advice is only good for the moment because they are getting better and better. Almost all replicas have a single flaw that few can catch: THEY LOOK LIKE REPRODUCTIONS. I know that sounds stupid, but when you look at any replica it has a strange copycat look, which is actually just the sum of all of its flaws, looked at all at once. There is a luster, a "Gen-Aura" (if you will) that doesn't exist. They simply look reproduced. I cannot quite put it in words. The "Frankenwatches" or Hybrids have more of that refined, quality-assurance look that you don't get in replicas. To try to explain it, it reminds me of a sighting I had once. (Lord forgive me for relating this, but...) I saw a really attractive woman as I was walking down the street. Yet, within that same moment that I noticed her attractiveness, I noticed something else: SHE WAS A "REPLICA." I looked to the person walking with me. And he agreed. My point is: No matter how good a reproduction, A REP IS A REP. They either try too hard to be like the real deal....and mess up. Or they miss something else. Buyers on Ebay need to stop focusing on what they can afford, and take the time to get to really know the product they want to buy. And if they really wanted the object of their desire without getting scammed, they would save up and go to a more reputable place. The watch companies themselves tell them, for crying out loud: OUR PRODUCTS ARE NOT SOLD OVER THE INTERNET. In the instance that they don't have to save, it means they have more time to do their homework. (See Thumbnail for Daytona pusher flaws) Did I just make a distinction between a Hybrid (or Frankenwatch) and a Replica? Yup!

This is the first thing he's SELLING. All of his feedback is from buying.

Excuse my manners. "When they ask who, and if they should pry, all you need to say is..." "I know a guy" Pieces that good, I wouldn't think about whether or not an AD sold it to me, or whether it came from Rolex.

@Ubiquitous: Since I don't see many (actually none) offering these for sale: WHERE IN THE WORLD DO YOU GET CASES THAT GOOD?

But he's about to be up $8K.... Not tooooo bad a scammer! Hopefully the portfolio of the person buying it will have gone up in value by $8K (Not going to happen) so that he won't feel so bad when the jeweler breaks the news to him.

Why couldn't he take any pic he wanted to complete the ruse? Someone will pay $8K to get it home and open it up and find another brand stamped in gold on the movement...and not Rolex. Oh well.

Thanks, Actually though, I only have a keen eye for detail, which caused me to recall Ubiquitous' thread on TRC. (Something like that, you don't forget. Not too many can do this). Sorry he only builds for himself. I can't quite nail it down, but there is some strange honor in that. And as for the auction: The way to answer that is .... With everything you know now, the discrepancies in the photos, the mini-feedback... WOULD YOU BID? $8K Eruo is at stake. With everything we know it would be better to flag it and then have the seller offer proof. Or you could just e-mail him and scare him into seeing that you know .....

"Ohm" Mitted Thought that was worth repeating. Ubiquitous, I think people forget these are available. Or, are they not "available"

Even if the dial was real, That case is bogus. Ubiquitous, REAL OR REP? (The auction) I don't think anyone can tell better than you. Not on this. @The Muck At least you know they're out there: Ubiquitous will take care of you.

This is an elusive one, nonetheless, it is a REPLICA. The fonts are off, the numbers and lettering on the bezel are off, there is too much material on the markers. Besides.... Be sure to check the thumbnail..... I'm sure someone can hook you up.

It's almost always in the font. Check the "Oyster Perpetual" and the space between "Oyster" and "Perpetual" It is WIDER on the original. Spacing is always a problem. It's one of those nuances that will always be. (Like the initial gap between the A and the P in the AP symbol on the Offshore Replica. See also the difference in the "Hours Per Second" (Note the spacing in the LETTERS of the word "HOUR" (Too much space here). Too much space here. Too little there. Always a problem (If you can catch it). And again. Always showing a serial number or movement. It is ingrained in the brain to do that. Thinking like a rep dealer and not a genuine owner. These posts will self destruct in 1 hour. (Really)

Hey, I spotted a replica Zenith 16520 on eBay. Interesting Point: Note how those selling replicas as real always make the same mistake: THEY SHOW OFF THE MOVEMENT!!!! They subconsciously are trying to prove that their replica isn't a replica to the buyer in the manner that guys here would show the movement to demonstrate how accurate to the real deal it is. Classic mistake. I've added a little photo quiz. Check it out. While only the case is pictured, there is more than enough to spot to determine whether it is gen or rep. http://cgi.ebay.com/Stainless-Steel-Rolex-...tem170064277578

I misread your post: You were contacting the SELLER, not the BUYER. All the while, I'm thinking "Save the BUYER, Save the world" We've already established that the seller is IN ON IT. Of course he told you to mind your business and that he's an expert. I misread. I thought this was an IMF op to save the buyer. The dealer is "Cooold as Ice" (and willing to sacrifice) BTW, I can "decipher" German. This is the internet. He told you he was an expert and they have credibility. Same thing he said when he sold that fake omega:

One last thing to try: A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS: I guess it's worth a try. E-mail him: Subject: COMPARE YOUR AUCTION WITH THESE PHOTOS (or something like that) Other than that, He's a gonner. BTW, How are you contacting him anyway? Isn't this a private auction?

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Neither will American Police Because in Chinatown, they use walkie-talkies and alert eachother when the police come around. On a federal level, they do prosecute, but not nearly as often as they should. The only thing that comes close to stopping this are the companies posting that warning that "our watches are not sold over the internet" Not everyone is going to do that. (That is, buy from stores in person).

The money, but not the know-how. all day. However, An expert with zeal and money to invest and a vendetta against guys who swindle in this manner might just buy it as part of an operation to bring him down. That's unusual dedication, but... Ya never know. Plus, when everything is said and done (and properly executed) The guy gets his money back. Ωohm

That's a good plan. However, I think that with his feedback it will be a long time before he's caught up with. One buyer posting negative feedback in the middle of all of these thousands of sales is not going to be significant. Unless, of course, that one person is an expert and DETERMINED to break this guy's operation down (which is difficult, because only a percentage is a scam, the rest is big business for him and eBay) Otherwise, if I am rich, and get beat for $10K, I'm not going to make that much of a stink about it. I might warn my buddies against buying from him, and they may (or should) tell me not to buy watches from eBay in the first place. In fact, it was mentioned that he sold someone a fake Omega. His response? Of course, eBay only counts original buyers, so out of his 20,000 feedback only about 12,000 are counted. In any case, you see his defense. Which brings me to this point: I NEVER have seen a JEWELER on eBay sell a fake (Not that they haven't, I just never saw it). It appears to me that the guys doing this don't actually own jewelry stores. For example, there are some sellers that own stores that I can actually walk into if they sold be a bogie. All of the people that I've seen sell fakes with their real watches on Ebay are just established EBAY sellers, and not real jewelry stores that just happen to use Ebay as an additional outlet for business. Jnkay posted an excellent experience about going to the Diamond District here in NY where I live, and finding out that they deal fakes of a very rare quality, perhaps greater than known to us in general (but you have to ask, they don't display them). Jnkay's thread on Reps in Diamond District-NYC I hope they keep them under the table. When they start to put them on the shelf, EVERYONE IS SCREWED. Although, I don't think that replicas will get to the point where they can have that impact on the 3D marketplace. Perhaps in cyberspace. I'm hoping jewelers, collectively, gain more experience with recognizing the quality coming out of these factories and have the moral integrity not to allow themselves to sell them on the free market. BTW, What's the code phrase when I go into the Diamond District and want a high quality replica? "An ETA on a ferris wheel is not a tourbillon" (No pun intended Tourbillon1801) or maybe.. "Can you help me out: My watch is reading 7750" Something like that. Anyway, Not sure how the German Police work, but however they work, it will be a process. This guy is probably going to get a few victims before he's caught. Or, he may never be caught. ΩREIGN

You may be right about that. He says "Original AP" this and that , notes the condition of the bracelet, the listing of the case number "955". I'm not sure what "K.A." is listed for the "Serial number" "factory serial number" "caliber" "movement serial" etc. Could it be that he didn't do a full inspection. Anyone know what K.A stands for? He sure did put a green check next to: OFFICIAL DEALERS RECEIPT. However, In the auction for one of the Pateks, you can tell that this is more of his expertise: Who knows how many hands this went through or how it was handed over to them. But, it looks like a lot of details are missing, and that his knowledge of AP's is quite shallow. And, as you said it would be detrimental to his whole eBay.de operation. Just for 10K in Euro (or about). Doesn't add up. Not considering what he sells. If he doesn't know he has a fake, then someone should e-mail his auction house. Chances are Ebay is not going to believe that this guy is all of a sudden selling fakes. Perhaps he wouldn't even believe what he has unless someone convincingly explained it to him. Or else, someone is down 8-10K easy. And he may lose credibility with his clientele. On the other hand (in harmony with my first conclusions) Someone who is so involved with fine watches in general should not be taken with something like this. AP experience or not, I just find it too awkward, the timing, and even the omission of certain details make me suspicious. People take chances with things when they shouldn't. Perhaps he took one, risks and all. I'm just glad that this isn't Jury Duty. Ω Ohm

I certainly have a reply (not that I wasn't anticipating that response). However, that constitutes a debate. Start the thread and I'll see you there. I would like to respect thomasng's wishes. Ω REIGN