zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

Opened July 1999, zOwie is the Internet's first and longest running discussion forum dedicated to Omega brand watches.

Feel free to discuss pricing and specific dealers. But 'for sale' postings, commercial solicitation and ads are not allowed. Full archive of all messages is accessible through options in the Search and Preferences features. Privacy, policies and administrivia are covered in the Terms of Use.

For the answer to the NUMBER #1 most frequently asked question here--for details or value of a specific older Omega watch you have--go to: Tell Me About My Omega.

Learn more about How To Include Photos and HTML In Your Postings.

To contact someone with a question not relevant to other readers of the forum, please click on their email address and contact them privately.

Forgot your Password? RSS

Return to Index Read Responses

Re: Your advice needed (long)

In Response To: Your advice needed (long) *PIC* ()

: The watch comes with a 3 year
: warranty from the online store

Which of course, is as good as the store it came from...

: It came in a gray Omega box with

That's odd. I have not seen SMPs come in that gray box--it is usually for the dressy Omegas like the DeVille. The SMPs usually come in the larger red box.

: squished up '8','6' or even a '5'. The first
: four digits could be either '8006', '6006',
: or '5006', are any of these numbers valid
: serial numbers?

The 8006 is the most likely one. Older SMP chronometer serial numbers usually started with 60, but more recent ones have started with 80.

: altered in anyway. He said that his store
: routinely opens up watches at random to
: check for it's authenticity in order to
: protect both the customer and the store. He

If that is true, then where the hell are they getting these watches?!?!?!!? Certainly not direct from Omega or another authorized dealer--no reason to question the authenticity from genuine suppliers. The only reason I can see for them opening a BRAND NEW WATCH to check for anything is if their watches come from HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE suppliers, are RETURNS being check for damage before resale or is in fact a used watch.

: recommanded me taking the watch to an
: authorized dealer to verify the truth in
: what he said.

No authorized dealer would tell you that it is necessary to open a new watch before sale to verify its authenticity.

The ONLY SOURCES for Omega watches are through an official Omega dealer or distributor. Every watch on the gray market still has to come though one of the authorized Omega distributors. And if they come from there, then their authenticity should be beyond question. So who the hell is handling these watches between the authorized distributor and this dealer that the dealer feels they need to reverify the authenticity before they sell them?

: Now comes my dilemma.

Truth is, the watch is PROBABLY okay. The bad part is that it arrived in circumstances that lead you to question the ethics or suppliers of the seller. But from this point, you are covered by whatever warranty they offer. So if they are still around for another three years, then you will have had longer warranty coverage than you would have from Omega.

But generally, I advise people to back out of any deal where you don't feel good about it.

And if you return it, I would insist that they refund the FULL price. Tell them that you checked with several watch industry experts (and you should check with Omega and an authorized dealer to add their confirmations too) and ALL told you the 'randomly opening new watches to check their authenticity' explanation was bogus and a warning sign that the watch is of highly dubious origin.