Reply With QuoteI see them as what they are - frankenwatches.
They're not fakes if genuine parts are used.
I know that there are those who see frankens as simply fakes.
But if you built a franken from all original parts, using the correct movement, what are the thoughts then?
I've never done it, but I think that sourcing all those parts separately and seeing them coming together would be quite satisfying. I just wonder what the thoughts are on the legitimacy of the watch?
PS I'm sure this has come up before, but if it has I missed it on my forum search.....
I see them as what they are - frankenwatches.
They're not fakes if genuine parts are used.
There's nothing wrong with customising a watch, if that's what you want. But don't expect others to necessarily feel the same about it if you want to sell.
Any watch that has been serviced (and had one or more parts replaced) will be a "franken" by that definition...
Not fake and they can be fun, this was one of my favorites.
As long as the person selling is up front about the watch and is not intending to deceive don't see a problem. Most watches will have service parts. I like some of the customised watches.
I have a couple of WatchCo Omegas, strictly speaking you could say that they were fakes because they were not built by Omega. However, all the parts are original Omega, they made their money by selling the service parts, and also made a sale with the watch that supplied the donor movement. So its really just a restoration job, recycling of old parts if you like, and thats cool with me.
So they may be fake, but nobody has been the victim of fraud here, and as long as nobody tries to sell one as a genuine Omega built watch, they never will be.
Indeed so, and if you want a watch to wear and use, the idea that a watch becomes a "frankenwatch" when you merely replace service parts or other components (e.g. bezel, bracelet, crown tube) through wear'n'tear sounds a bit, well, precious to me. But I think the q is more about building a watch that never existed before from a complete kit bag of parts, or heavily customising a watch with manuacturer parts to make one that was never offered for sale in that configuration. It can be a fun thing to do, as long as you appreciate that it will narrow the market considerably if you intend to flip it on.Originally Posted by Broussard
If it was me, I'd keep as many of the original working-order parts as possible, so I could restore it to near-factory condition if I had to sell it.
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
I don't see a problem with it at all, as has been said a serviced watches are often stripped and reassembled outside of the original factory so I don't see why a factory assembled watch should be deemed to be more authentic or original to one that left the factory in parts and assembled elsewhere (providing it was done by a qualified/skilled/competent watchmaker.
Please excuse the hijack, but what is WatchCo? are these cheaper (more affordable) Swiss watches?
Regards,
Ivor.
Strictly speaking, outside our little WIS world, they're fakes. For me - and most WIS probably - they're what they're: franken watches. Sometimes improvements on original specs, other times weird customisations to keep us busy
Thanks for all the replies. Your thoughts seem to echo mine. I would be happy to own a good franken and I would also describe it as such if I sold it.
The question was actually more about using original factory parts (whether used or new) to create something identical to something offered by the manufacturer, rather than something customised.
There are lots of grey areas here. Take for example a pre-moon Speedmaster that has has had a replacement dial and hands when serviced 10 years ago or so. At the time, the owner of the watch just used his Speedie everyday to tell the time, maybe telling the odd person that he bought the watch in the 60's with his first pay packet a deposit etc and how it has been to Omega and 'haven't they done a lovely job of putting a nice new dial and hands on to brighten it up' etc...
Fast forward a few years, the watch is sold on for some reason in to the hands of a collector / enthusiast who buys the watch with view to returning to original spec. So out go the big pushers, replacement bezel dial and hands, replaced with parts sourced from a large auction website. The new owner buys a dot above 90 bezel, an original tritium / radium dial, and maybe gets his watch guy to age the hands to match.
Which one of the above is the Franken? is it the 'incorrect' replacement parts version fitted by Omega, or is it the original spec version put together by the second owner?
Neither is a franken.
The first is a serviced original watch, the second has been restored to original spec.
A franken is as stated above - a watch created entirely from parts that were never together originally.
In my opinion the word "fake" is contextual, in that something will only be deemed to be "fake" when it purports to be something it isn't. Therefore I would only refer to a watch as a "fake" if someone tried to tell me it was a genuine complete watch from the manufacturer named on the dial. If they tell me its a watch made from genuine parts sourced independently, then it is what it is, whether that be a Frankenwatch or a customised watch. If I sent a watch away for a service and the OEM deemed the case beyond repair and replaced it I would still deem that a genuine complete watch, so again contextual and highly dependent on the origin as much as the content.
http://www.watchco.com.au/
(Sorry links not much use at the mo, sure they will be back soon though).
Brand new vintage Omegas (kinda), built by kangaroo's and koala's in the wilds down under!
I guess that they are a bit like those 'Genuine Antique Computer Desks' that you see advertised in the sunday papers.
Still pretty cool watches even if they aren't real vintage.
Last edited by Meinessex; 30th August 2013 at 12:43.
It doesn't look like it'll be back soon if it hasn't been updated for over 5 years!
That can't be right, I was looking through their site just a few months ago, although to be honest they never did really keep it upto date.
You can find them on ebay too, they have a couple of different accounts on there, and if I remember correctly there is another Austrailian company with a very similar name doing the same thing.
Ah, thanks. I'll have a look around the internet for them. I've never heard of them before!
Heres WatchCo...
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/watchco-australia-store?_rdc=1
and that other company is Watchadoo....
http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/watchadoo&...84.m1543.l2533
I found an unusual (and cheap!) monocoque NOS Seastar 7 case on ebay that fits the 784 movement - which I also have. At some point I will see a SS7 dial I like that will fit both and assemble it all in to a watch that some would call a franken... I would call it recycling unwanted parts.
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