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I should note that I have circumstantial evidence that the fake Ploprofs have real cal. 1002s inside and the recent appearance of frankens adds to the body of evidence.First, the listing. This one was previously listed on Chrono24 and didn't sell. Now it's on ePrey and currently at 2000 Euros. Someone is going to have a sore bum!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...0%3D%26fvi%3D1
The watch is a franken of real and fake parts. The case is fake and the dial is fake, the hands and bezel are genuine. Let me go over the telltale signs:
Dial
1. Black = no such dial made, only dark blue (early dials) and blue (later dials).
2. The inner 5 minute/hour track - and I apologise to my DeskDivers mates because I remember observing this a while ago and forgot to include it previously so it's not in the DD article - the markers are too thick relative to the lumed, more peripheral hour track.
3. The Omega symbol isn't 'right'. It's hard to see, but if you compare closely, the real Omega symbol has thick parts (the sides of the hoop) and thin parts (the bottom just above the 'feet') - it's not all one thickness like on the fake dials.
4. The other fonts are very, very close, but just not right. Look at the "A" in Professional: flat-topped on the real dials, pointy on the fake. Same with the "A"s in Automatic
5. I suspect the dial lume (most likely luminova) is easily distinguishable from the late 60s Type 1 tritium dials, which have aged considerably and will have a different decay pattern for age and content reasons. I haven't seen a fake dial lume shot, so this is a theory at this point.
Genuine early (Type 1) Ploprof dials
Fake Type 1 Dial from this auction:
Case
1. The case has sharp top side edges on the crown and button sides of the watch. The junction between the top and sides in this region of the case should be beveled.
2. The crown recess is a C-front. "All fakes have C-fronts, not all C-fronts are fakes" - you may have to read the DD article to get this.
3. The valleys between the ridges on the back demonstrate the typical rough/cast appearance of the key areas of the fake cases.
Genuine Ploprof back
Genuine case crown recess:
Genuine case button side view:
The fake case views:
Here is my first message to the seller:
"Hello, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the dial and case on this watch are not genuine. For more information, see the http://www.deskdivers.com article on fake Ploprofs. The hands and bezel are genuine, but the case and dial are definitely not. I encourage you to make note of this in the auction listing or pull the listing completely. Thanks for your time, Colin"
His reply was unhelpful and I won't print it here.
My second message to the seller:
"Repaired by Omega only means the movement is genuine, as everyone saw last year during Omegamania when a fake "stubby" SM300 with a genuine movement sold at auction.
Omega never made a Ploprof with sharp case edges near the crown as on your watch - they are radiused or beveled. They never made a Ploprof with a black dial. They never made a Ploprof with a rough, cast appearance to the lug recesses and in between the ridges on the back. I spotted this watch as a fake when you had it listed on Chrono24.
If you are so sure, then post a photo of the back with the bracelet removed. Post a lume shot too.
Fakes almost invariably surface in and around Germany. I'd be interested in hearing where you bought this watch. Didn't you wonder why a type of dial not seen since the first year of Ploprof production is in such great condition? How a dial supposedly from the 1960s has luminova (and not tritium, as it should have) on it?
I've owned six Ploprofs of different vintages and have studied photos of dozens of real and fake Ploprofs. The case and dial on this watch are fake. Again, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Colin"
His second response was equally unhelpful and won't be repeated.
I have sent a third message again asking him to look at the DD articles, telling him I'm trying to help him avoid a disaster and asking him to post photos of his returned spare parts (which I'll bet are a combination of real movement parts and the fake hands and bezel which came on this watch).
He replied that he would send me a photo of the spare parts. Today he messaged me again: no photo, only insisting that the watch is real because the dealer said so at the time it was serviced
Feel free to message this seller. We have a week to get him to see the light and keep a fellow WIS from getting ripped off!