A tale of two 'omega's '

My friend at work Sam has recently lost his dad and it was a very sad day at our work as his dad also worked there and was a great guy and a proper character in the best way(RIP Grenville😪), anyway Sam told me he had an omega and would I like to have a look at it because he didn't know what model it was ,how old,worth etc.

1. Now to my layman's eyes the front looked OK,signed crown,an omega stamped bracelet,hesalite/acrylic glass so my guess was 60s to early 70s,but the caseback 🤔 thought omega seamasters had the hippocampus on them so slight alarm bells started ringing. And we googled,redidted, etc but as you know theres hundreds and what you see on there might not be the real deal. So I questioned Sam as to its provenance as I knew Gren had worked in Australia in the late 70s so maybe an area specific model, but no an ebay purchase about six years ago. Now the burglar alarm was going full pelt now,a franken maybe,fake(hope not).  So out with the kit and get the back off and have a look at the movement, and here's what we found..

Now we're getting to it,to be honest and I'm a newbe at side of the field I'd not seen a movement like this,but after some checking we found some numbers on the movement which are..

Calibre 1481

Serial 34714917

And a quick Google confirmed and matched up to an early 70s omega. The nearest we can get is a 1972 Geneve,but as I'm novice level at this any info will be greatfully received (and I know there's some experts out there).

Now for the other one, Sam.messaged me he'd found another omega a real old one, WOW now the juices are flowing LETS GO!!!

Now to my untrained eye that's proper a proper vintage omega (although a seiko bracelet,but as a sort of getting on retro/vintage person myself I know that everything can't always be original, my bracelet defo needs changing😁). Now I did a bit of research on the shouty forum(WUS sorry everybody I'm a forum whore) and one the 1st posts I saw was a guy with the nearly very same watch, scrolling down the post right at the bottom after all the usual vitreol,angst,accusations, burning brands,bonfires been lit was a nugget of great information a link to fake vintage omegas, bang on,thankyou. Basically an 'idiots' (not experts) guide to the basics of fake early omegas, so here's some pics

Now armed with information and knowledge (a little) base metal case× antimagnetic on face× and the movement close inspection (plus a bit of googling) revealed it's a cupillard 23368,French from the 50s. So as you've gathered NOT an omega,but as what's described as a gas station fake. The story goes these fakes were produced in the 50s and you filled up.with gas went to the cashier with no money and offered up your 'omega' for exchange for a tank of gas. I think its a cool watch and I'm sure it's got some stories behind it,I told Sam about it and he's smitten with it,and the bonus with it when I looked at it ,it was dead couldn't wind it,worthless but took the back off fidelled with it(professionally of course,saying yes the fuffel is loose, tightened up I'll adjust the foo foo arm) and guess what ..it sprung into life,ten turns of the crown and ticks away merrily. And that's the next project,a bit of poly watch,a brown alligator style strap,a gentle clean and maybe my first foray into restoration, it was fun 'doing' these watches, bittersweet to the max but peaked my interest and Sam's got 2 great watches with history and tales to tell,even though they might not be the pure clear cut peices. And I wonder if any of the modern fakes will be looked upon with as much affection as the gas station watch in this story I think sometimesit's not just the horology it's the history and the amount of times I've been offered a pagani seamaster for my trousers well...and as for going to a gas station for a full tank of fuel going to need more than a French movement and a seiko strap 'ce le vie',Sorry for the long peice,but it was a story that needed to be told and history is a long road. Enjoy your weekend and thanks for reading,cheers.