| the HALL OF SHAME a Spotter's Guide to Fake Seamaster 300s |
Offered as a public service, I present the SM300 "Hall of Shame." Here are many examples of what is probably the most "faked" of all
military watches, the Seamaster 300. All of the examples shown here are faked in some manner, and all were seen on our favorite
auction site during the 30-day period of 03/06/2006-04/05/2006. The information presented here comes from many of the
knowledgeable members at the Military Watch Resource Forum. I thank all of them for their contributions to this guide.
- Caveat emptor
military watches, the Seamaster 300. All of the examples shown here are faked in some manner, and all were seen on our favorite
auction site during the 30-day period of 03/06/2006-04/05/2006. The information presented here comes from many of the
knowledgeable members at the Military Watch Resource Forum. I thank all of them for their contributions to this guide.
- Caveat emptor
Seller: onlygoodtimepieces
Auction Number: 8911071049
Relisted: 8911478503
Relisted: 8913707575
Relisted: 8914607486
This one can be considered a poster-child for fake
SM300s. Its got all the obvious clues:
Note: This watch has a genuine Omega 552
movement. Most fake SM300s are found with genuine
Omega movements, as they were shared with many
other Omega models and are commonly avaliable.
Auction Number: 8911071049
Relisted: 8911478503
Relisted: 8913707575
Relisted: 8914607486
This one can be considered a poster-child for fake
SM300s. Its got all the obvious clues:
- "Stubbies"
- The loops on the numbers 6 and 9 are closed. They
are slightly open on authentic dials.
- The second hand has a round ball, the correct hand
would have an arrow.
- The bezel insert is wrong in a number of ways. Most
obvious is the type style of the numbers, which are
too thick.
- The word "CERTIFED" is misspelled on the
caseback.
- The word "WATERPROOF" is engraved with a
"pointy" A. Authentic cases are engraved with a "flat-
topped" A.
Note: This watch has a genuine Omega 552
movement. Most fake SM300s are found with genuine
Omega movements, as they were shared with many
other Omega models and are commonly avaliable.
Seller: fely73
Auction Number: 8916562773
CLUES:
Auction Number: 8916562773
CLUES:
- Pointy "A", "stubbies" and fake
hands. The fake hands have a
smaller lume area and thicker
edges than authentic hands.
| FAKE "Pointy A" |
| AUTHENTIC "Flat-top A" |
Seller: vintagefusion
Auction number: 8900458973
Here's a "stubbies" dial and sword
hand set so you can do your own
conversion. "Stubbies" are the tick
marks (see below, circled) on the
outer ring of the dial behind the hour
markers.
Additional clues:
Auction number: 8900458973
Here's a "stubbies" dial and sword
hand set so you can do your own
conversion. "Stubbies" are the tick
marks (see below, circled) on the
outer ring of the dial behind the hour
markers.
Additional clues:
- Notice how the lume on the dial
is "aged" yellow and the lume on
the hands is bright white.
- The date window is not outlined.
Authentic date model dials
should have an outlined window.
- The "ball" style second hand is
incorrect.
| FAKE |
| AUTHENTIC NO "stubbies", outlined date window, open loops on 6 and 9. This is a "Small Triangle" example. |
| "stubbies" |
| FAKE |
| FAKE |
CLUE: Fake dials commonly have the numbers 6
and 9 with closed loops. On authentic dials the
loops are slightly open. Also note on the fake dial
the numbers are positioned considerably closer
to the marker. Here are some examples showing
fake and authentic number stlyes.
and 9 with closed loops. On authentic dials the
loops are slightly open. Also note on the fake dial
the numbers are positioned considerably closer
to the marker. Here are some examples showing
fake and authentic number stlyes.
| AUTHENTIC |
| AUTHENTIC |
| AUTHENTIC |
| AUTHENTIC |
Seller: rvwin1
Auction number: 5082097778
CLUES:
Auction number: 5082097778
CLUES:
- "Stubbies" dial with excessively
aged lume.
- Issue number A/254/67 is known
to be used on many fakes. See
page two for more examples of
watches with this issue number.
- It also lacks solid strap bars,
which would be seen if it were in
fact a genuine military issue.
Seller: euro_traders
Auction number: 8912072821
Relisted: 8917105564
CLUES: "Stubbies" dial, "CERTIFED"
mispelled, pointy "A" and fake bezel
insert.
Fake bezels: Fake bezels are typically
printed without any lume. The triangle
and numbers are printed in a yellow
color to give the appearance of lume.
Genuine bezels have a lumed triangle
and numbers. Older authentic bezels
may not glow very long, but may still
energize for a short time if exposed to
bright light.
CLUE: The seller of this one knows it's
fake, here's a quote from the auction
description: "GENIUNE 1960'S
OMEGA MOVEMENT, REST OF THE
WATCH HAS BEEN RECENTLY
REMADE". Be suspicious of this type of
language in any auction.
Auction number: 8912072821
Relisted: 8917105564
CLUES: "Stubbies" dial, "CERTIFED"
mispelled, pointy "A" and fake bezel
insert.
Fake bezels: Fake bezels are typically
printed without any lume. The triangle
and numbers are printed in a yellow
color to give the appearance of lume.
Genuine bezels have a lumed triangle
and numbers. Older authentic bezels
may not glow very long, but may still
energize for a short time if exposed to
bright light.
CLUE: The seller of this one knows it's
fake, here's a quote from the auction
description: "GENIUNE 1960'S
OMEGA MOVEMENT, REST OF THE
WATCH HAS BEEN RECENTLY
REMADE". Be suspicious of this type of
language in any auction.
