Counterfeit Watchers Discussion Forum

My question isn’t about a counterfeit so much as a knockoff. I’m trying to find information about a cheap, manual wind watch called a “CIMEGA Electra 21.” The “C” and “I” in the name are positioned on the face so as to fool a casual observer into seeing an “O”, and thus the word, “OMEGA.”

DESCRIPTION:
The face is a brassy gold shade with Arabic numbers at 12, 2, 4, 8, and 10. There are fake diamonds at 3, 6 and 9, and triangle indicators at 1, 5, 7 and 11. Text on the face reads, “CIMEGA Electra 21” in black at the top, and “Unbreakable Mainspring” in curving red text near the bottom. At the very bottom in black is the text “Swiss Made.”

On the reverse in the center is a gold plated medallion with the image of an Astronaut. Around it in stainless steel is stamped the text, “STAINLESS STEEL BACK – WATER RESSISTANT – ANTIMAGNETIC.”

THE BACK STORY:
My parents got the watch in the 1960s when they were approached by a man claiming to needed money, and offering to sell them a “gold OMEGA watch” at a real bargain price. Being somewhat naïve (and apparently nearsighted) at the time, they bought it. On closer examination at home that evening, they realized that they’d been conned. They threw the watch in a drawer and chocked it up to a life lesson. In my youth the story impressed me, partially due to seeing my parents as imperfect for the 1st time, but also because they though they were getting an “OMEGA”, which was apparently something really special.

This year, I finally got my first real Omega (a Seamaster Professional 300M). When I showed it to my parents, the remembered the con, looked in the drawer, and produced the “CIMEGA” from all those years ago. I wound the crown and it still runs!

LOOKING FOR ANY INFO:
I’d love to know something about this brand and how knockoffs were done back in the 1960s. My web searches on this brand name have returned nothing. I’m hoping someone knows something about this watch. Was there a big market for cheap knockoffs like these in the 1960s? Unlike today, it doesn’t look like they tried to match any real OMEGAs very closely. Was the Astronaut on the reverse an attempt to invoke the Speedmaster’s use in spaceflight?

I’ve attached a picture. Hopefully it is clear enough for someone to recognize it.

Thanks in advance.

Daniel Nichols