1882 Omega Ball Watch Vintage - Fake or Genuine?
by Radu Florin Pintea
(Bucuresti City, Romania)
1882 Omega Ball Watch
Who cares after all if the time piece does its job right? I for one, don't.
I bought one exact replica Omega ball watch 1882 vintage the other day in an antiques mart in Bucuresti city, Romania for a
few bucks. The brand name is a legend and so it should be. When they have options, people love to buy the illusions or
stories that go together with the solid piece of item they actually purchase.
However the brand choice is a compound of taste, style, standard and wealth.I am practical in this matter of picking the
right watch for you; it's like choosing a wife: if you like it, you pay for it the asked price, you take it home with you,
you cherish it, and you hold it for keeps, no questions asked. Fake or no fake issue is of no importance here. Whoever made
that fake, loved that brand too as much as you do, and wasted time and effort and untold craftsmanship to accomplish the
object of your desire. Whoever manufactured this vintage of marble-like, transparent front and cover Omega in a cradle with
its tiny brass bell on the bottom and a dark blue gem-tipped rewinder on top, more than earned my respect for his impeccable
taste and craft doing Omega the right justice it deserves. I keep remembering a solid man made this solid piece of fine
mechanism, period. Sheer love for a brand erases all the differences between the genuine and the fake. Yes,love is a license
to fake, and in this most particular case, a way to success.
Who cares Omega was founded in 1885 and the dial imprint shows 1882?
Who cares the line below reads 'Swit zerland' instead of 'Switzerland' to presumably skip legal action?
The watch I purchased has 357 engraved on the back;or maybe it's and acronynm that reads L.S.E. if seen upside dowwn (London
School of Econmics). Maybe the German army from the World War I was endowed with it as a standard, and my piece once ticked
the hour and minute of a cavalry charge and men slaughter; maybe ...
This is exactly the stuff legends are made of.
My 1882 vintage Omega keeps good time for a while, but then stops at some same spot,then kicks in motion again if shaken but
I don't care, really. After all it is old, and old time keepers, much like old time keepers earn the best excuse of all. They went for a long time. It is only natural for them from time to time to rest at some point.
I have it cradled in the scoop of my palm and I cherish it. It reads Omega on its Roman numbered dial, it is Omega to me.
The manufacturer made it to the ultimate specification of my desire and I could not hope for more from a legend. We've met halfway. The Universe is well balanced.
Radu Florin Pintea - user.rfpintea@yahoo.com
Click here to read or post comments.
