A frankenstein or a transitional watch?

[thepoetboy]

I bought this because my dad really likes the form, silly me did I know latter term `frankenstein' so it's too late to regret now just to share my experience so you folks maybe more aware those ukranians are selling some funky watches on ebay and no matter how catchy they are it's not worth it unless you do your homework, My very first lesson sigh...:-(
So here goes I want your analysis and I will provide you with all the pictures, maybe it's not but I have a feeling it is a frankenstein....
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/thepoetboy/Longines%20Watch/Helvetia/P7190263.jpg
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/thepoetboy/Longines%20Watch/Helvetia/P7190264.jpg
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/thepoetboy/Longines%20Watch/Helvetia/P7190265.jpg
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/thepoetboy/Longines%20Watch/Helvetia/P7190266.jpg
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/thepoetboy/Longines%20Watch/Helvetia/P7190267.jpg
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/thepoetboy/Longines%20Watch/Helvetia/P7190269.jpg
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/thepoetboy/Longines%20Watch/Helvetia/P7190272.jpg

[igorRIJEKA]

Looks like Mary Shelley had her fingers in it :think: sorry

[tomshep]

Well, it is uncommon and hard to fake. The patination is heavy but the dial and hands are very clean. Looking at the rest of it , I could think that it was scruffy enough to need a redial and some new hands in which case, it is a (fairly) legitimate repair and possibly an interesting watch saved. That may be seen as an over charitable opinion but most of it looks like I imagine that it should. What does it run like?

[Hartmut Richter]

I think the fact that it has a "regulateur" dial (central minute hand, off-centre hour hand) alone shows that is is a fake. Such dials were reserved for large, observatory clocks until Chronoswiss adopted it for some of their watches in the early 1980s. The patina may be there, the movement large enough to be from a pocket watch (is it?!) but it certainly wasn't originally made like that 70 years or so ago.

Hartmut Richter

[Roland Ranfft]

Hi there,

however you name it, frankenwatch or terrible conversion, it is not original.

The orientation of the dust-cap inscriptions and the gap in the back lid still
show, where the stem originaly was. The movement was simply turned a bit
to give some symmetry to the sub dials.

Regards, Roland Ranfft

[thepoetboy]

Thanks all!
I know it is a fake as suspected
I just wish to share my experience so they won't be as daft as me to rush for watches like this :)
It doesn't run now, the main spring is spoiled I think
I paid a low price for it but still
I had to made it up to get my dad something better
but all in all it was a good experience :)
If not I wouldn't have open any horological books in the first place :)

[duckduck]

dont feel bad, ive bought a franken watch once even though i did research quite a bit, but couldnt find any info but pulled the trigger anyway because of the design...

didnt figure it all out until i cracked it open and started tracing movement numbers, turns out it was an entirely different watch movement, dial, and hands recased into another similar sized case, which according to some things i have read was fairly common years ago.

almost bought a similar watch, which was touted as an "omega regulator" almost the same exact subdials and hand placements, that one is posted more often here

[Somewhere else]

I've seen exactly that same watch offered under a dozen different brands by that same Ukrainian. I've also seen them offer it as a German military watch, a favorite of Ukrainian watch fakers.

As fake as Hollywood, Siam.

[Eeeb]

We had one come in as a Heuer.