In November 2021, Omega was thrilled to join the ranks of Rolex and Patek Philippe—luxury watchmakers whose pieces sold for millions of dollars.
A Speedmaster timepiece—a cult favorite among the watch community—had sold for 3.1 million Swiss francs, around $3.4 million at today’s exchange rate.
The unusual watch featured a “vibrant milk-chocolate face,” Omega wrote in a press release at the time, which had garnered extra attention given its status as a “Moonwatch”—the design worn by NASA astronauts during the first Moon landing in 1969.
The stainless steel watch is all the more unusual because of the fade on its face, which is “incredibly even throughout,” coupled with “the luminous material on both the dial and hands [aging] to an attractive golden tone.”
The piece, sold by global auction house Phillips, had been estimated to sell for between $87,100 and $131,000, but after a fierce bidding war—reportedly featuring buyers from China, Texas, and Oman—the watch was eventually purchased by its very own maker.
The watchmaker confirmed to Bloomberg it had purchased the “broad arrow” hands piece from 1957 itself—a decision it may well now be regretting.
Following an investigation—both by Omega owner the Swatch Group and Swiss newspaper NZZ—the watch was discovered to be a “Frankenstein”—a piece made up of various watch parts, which hadn’t originally been pieced together.
In some cases, the parts didn’t even fit together.
But how did a fraudulent watch manage to make its way to a $3 million sale?
Omega CEO Raynald Aeschlimann has alleged three former staffers were in on the scam.
Responding to a query from NZZ, Aeschlimann said: “The initial findings [of this investigation] have provided clear evidence that three former employees were involved in this operation with clear criminal intent, and to the massive detriment of Omega.
“After we confronted them with the facts, they confessed to acting fraudulently and criminally. We are now working to reconstruct everything down to the last detail and also to pin down [probable] external accomplices.”
In a statement to Bloomberg this week, the company added that a former employee of both the Omega Museum and the brand’s heritage department is alleged to have participated in the scam.
The ex-employee “worked in tandem with intermediaries to purchase the watch for the Omega Museum,” arguing to company executives that it “was a rare and exceptional timepiece that would be an absolute must” for Omega’s collection, the company noted.
The brand previously said it intends to take the parties to court as soon as possible, and did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
‘Sophisticated forgery’
The investigation by NZZ details work which would supposedly cost “thousands of francs” in order to pull off the scheme, such as replacing hands on the watch and even making it slightly radioactive—a component keen buyers would test for with a Geiger counter.
The forgery is so sophisticated, in fact, that Omega believes former employees may have been involved in its assembly.
“Its false legacy allowed the profiteers to justify a highly inflated bid made through the intermediaries,” the watchmaker said.
A spokesperson for Phillips told Fortune it is “most concerned” to have been targeted by “organized criminal activity.”
The auction house highlighted that prior to the sale, it had confirmed with Omega the watch’s manufacturing date, serial mounter, the model of watch that its movement was fitted to, as well as the date it was sold.
Phillips added that Omega representatives had also seen the watch before the transaction took place, noting the house will be cooperating “in full” with any investigations or prosecutions by authorities.
The spokesperson added: “Buyers come to Phillips because they know we are committed to the highest standards and due diligence levels in the watch market.
“Until last week, nobody had ever suggested this Omega watch was not authentic; the watch was inspected by specialists, experts, and even the manufacturer at the time of the sale, and nobody raised any concerns over it. Even now, we have not seen any reports or had access to the watch to carry out an in-depth analysis of the watch regarding those claims.”
Neither the auction house nor the Swatch Group revealed the identity of the seller.
The Frankenstein watch is not the first case of its kind to make headlines—with counterfeit jewelry, handbags, alcohol, housewares, and more hitting the market for eye-watering sums in the past few years.
