Omega counterfeits go unnoticed even by headquarters... Awkward purchase at 4.4 billion won

Bought at auction but turned out to be a counterfeit
Made by combining parts by 3 former employees

Swiss luxury watch brand Omega has revealed that a watch it purchased for 4.4 billion KRW at an auction was a meticulously crafted fake.

Fake watches sold at Phillips Auction
Photo by Phillips Auction website

According to foreign media including CNN on the 12th (local time), Omega bought a 1957 stainless steel first-generation 'Speedmaster' wristwatch for 3,115,000 Swiss francs (approximately 4.4 billion KRW) at the Phillips Auction held in Geneva, Switzerland in November 2021.

Initially, Omega described the watch as a "rare piece essential for Omega's showcase collection" and planned to exhibit it at its museum in Biel, Switzerland.

However, it was later confirmed that the watch was a so-called 'Frankenstein counterfeit,' assembled from parts of various genuine Omega watches.

Omega Store
Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

In a statement, Omega said, "Omega and Phillips Auction have become joint victims of organized criminal activity," and confirmed through an internal investigation that three former employees of the company were involved in the incident.

Phillips Auction also told CNN, "Omega discovered that the watch was composed of unrelated parts from various sources and that former Omega employees may have been involved in assembling the watch."

They added, "We will fully cooperate with the authorities' investigation."

Meanwhile, the 'Speedmaster' is one of Omega's signature products.

It was the only mechanical watch approved by NASA during early space exploration and is well known for being worn by astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who, along with Neil Armstrong, was the first to set foot on the moon in 1969.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.