zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: Wanted to let you know, John, that I sent an
: inquiry to the eMail address you provided
: (just after my Post last night) and received
: a reply from Customer Service at Omega
: around 8:30 this morning. Everything I asked
: for - plus a photo!

: The CSR made a point of saying they don't
: release production or delivery dates. I
: guess I hadn't even thought about that, and
: I'm sure it's in the original paperwork
: somewhere. Or maybe not? Wonder why this
: might be?

It is on the COSC certificate that you can order from Omega ONLY IF you can prove your watch was purchased from an authorized retailer. You can send them a photo of the AD stamped warranty card to get the COSC certificate.

: Also: Is there any place where a serial number
: can now be registered, to protect against
: theft, fraud -- or is the warranty
: submission that whole thing, soup to nuts?

This is why many gray market dealers remove serial numbers - so the watches can't be traced back to the original authorized retailer they were purchased from. All watches that leave Omega have recorded serial numbers, and when you buy the watch from an authorized dealer that watch is "properly" registered to you. If you sell it the watch becomes the rightful property of the new owner, etc. Ideally, there should be a paper trail for these transactions to prove that the watch was never stolen, but most people don't bother.

In a roundabout way I'm trying to say that there's no way to re-register an Omega watch. There may be a way of checking a US theft database to ensure that you don't have a stolen watch, but you'd have to ask your local police department about that.

: It seems to me that there are legitimate
: reasons to sell "used" watches
: (like I would my current car, when I buy a
: new one: And why not let someone enjoy the
: remainder of what it's got in it). But I'd
: like to be able to say, "Go ahead and
: check here to prove I am the rightful owner
: and can sell this to you, and that you won't
: be hauled off to the slammer if you take it
: somewhere for repair and they look up the
: number on the such-and-so crime stopper
: database.

That's why you should get a receipt when you buy a used watch. That way you can prove you bought it from John Doe, not the guy who originally stole the watch.

: (As an aside, remember the scene in "Live
: and Let Die" where Tee Hee is
: instructed to cut off one of 007's fingers
: for each number of the serial number on his
: watch that Solitaire wrongly
: "reads" from her cards? Oh, wait:
: That watch was a Rolex....)

Well, that was a 1973 film, but 22 years later the Bond people made a very wise decision....