What Price Authenticity

Even the experts can be fooled so what is the hapless collector to do? Perhaps nothing...

- ASHOK SOMAN

In between the publication of our Summer issue and the one you are holding, the horological world found itself enthralled by something you are or were no doubt tracking. To be fair, I am personally aware of collectors who did not pay attention to the Antiquorum-Omega kerfuffle way back in 2008, and those who do not engage with the auction world anyway, who may thus be blissfully unaware. If this is you, then you might reasonably expect that this story is irrelevant; you probably did not get beyond looking at the visuals and the header, which might have left you scratching your head. On the off chance that you did, and are reading this, the good news is that this story is at least partially intended for you.

From the outset, the story of the Omega Speedmaster that fooled first the auction house Phillips, then the buyer, Omega itself, is a cautionary tale for everyone who is interested in timepieces. Even if you never bought a watch at auction, and never intend to, the socalled Frankenspeedy saga (aka Omegagate) tells us all something about the wider world of watches. It even speaks to the futility of knowledge itself, in the face of a determined adversary with bad intentions. To begin with though, let me lay out the big news event itself, which I will look at chronologically.