Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Omega has alleged that three of its former staff were behind a conspiracy to sell a fake Speedmaster watch to the manufacturer in Nov. 2021.
Omega bought the watch at a Phillips auction in Geneva for about $3.4 million dollars as a collectible for display in its Bienne, Switzerland, museum, CNN reported.
The auction advertisement described the watch as an “early and important stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with Broad Arrow hands and chocolate brown ‘tropical’ dial.” The collectible, however, was later discovered to be a “Frankenstein” watch, assembled using mostly authentic Omega parts, according to CNN. (RELATED: CBP Seizes $10 Million In Fake Rolexes From Hong Kong)
The OMEGA Speedmaster, reference number 2915, is “unequivocally OMEGA’s most historically important model to date” and is “incredibly useful for race car drivers, engineers, and professionals who dealt with time in their line of work,” according to the Phillips advertisement. Neil Armstrong used a Speedmaster during the first-ever moon landing, per the Smithsonian Institute, which holds Armstrong’s watch in its museum.
The former Omega employees have reportedly admitted involvement in the sale of the “Frankenstein” watch and will face criminal charges, per the CNN report.