Short answer
Omega sells the De Ville Trésor Co-Axial Master Chronometer in a 40 mm case. Retail runs from about $6,500 in steel to more than $18,000 in gold. Replica versions made in China sell for $250 to $700. They copy the case, the dial and the engravings. They do not copy the movement. No replica carries METAS Master Chronometer certification, a 15,000-gauss magnetic rating or a 0/+5 second daily rate. Those numbers apply to the genuine watch only.
Genuine specifications
- Case: 40 mm wide, about 10.5 mm thick, 20 mm lug width.
- Materials: stainless steel, Sedna gold (an 18k rose gold alloy) or Moonshine gold.
- Crystal: domed sapphire, anti-reflective treatment on both faces.
- Dial: domed, sun-brushed, applied indexes. Date at 6 o'clock on part of the range, small seconds on other references.
- Movement: Co-Axial Master Chronometer calibre, automatic, silicon balance spring, two barrels.
- Power reserve: about 72 hours on the calibres in this line.
- Water resistance: 30 m.
- Strap: alligator leather with a pin or foldover buckle.
- Certification: METAS, eight tests, 0/+5 seconds per day, 15,000 gauss.
Trésor is an old Omega name. The first Trésor appeared in 1949. The current line relaunched in 2014. Master Chronometer versions followed.
What replica listings claim
Replica listings use the full genuine name: De Ville Trésor Co-Axial Master Chronometer. Listings quote the same 40 mm case, the same dial color codes, the same Master Chronometer text on the dial and reference-style numbers. Some sellers ship a card that copies the METAS certificate layout.
Where replicas differ
- Movement: a Chinese automatic, often a clone of an ETA 2824 or a Seagull or Hangzhou calibre. No Co-Axial escapement. No silicon balance spring. No twin barrels.
- Rate: replicas land between -20 and +40 seconds per day. No METAS test, so no 0/+5 result.
- Magnetism: no 15,000-gauss rating. A replica movement in a steel case stops in a strong field.
- Gold: replica Sedna gold cases are steel with 3 to 5 microns of plating. The plating wears at the lugs and caseback.
- Case: depth and lug profile run 0.5 mm to 1 mm off. The caseback engraving uses a different font and a shallower cut.
- Crystal: sapphire on the better replicas, mineral glass on the cheap ones. Anti-reflective coating is single-sided or absent.
- Certification: the code on a replica card does not return a record in the METAS database.
Price tiers
Replica pricing splits into three bands. Under $120 buys quartz or a low-grade automatic. $200 to $350 buys a mid-tier automatic with a plated case. $400 to $700 buys the top tier, with a decorated clone movement and a sapphire crystal. Genuine retail is 20 to 60 times the top replica price. Service is the second gap. Omega will not service a replica, and no authorized watchmaker stocks parts for one.
Legal position in the United States
Counterfeit watches are illegal to traffic in the US. 18 U.S.C. § 2320 covers trafficking in counterfeit goods and carries up to 10 years for a first offense. 19 U.S.C. § 1526 lets Customs and Border Protection seize imported goods that carry a counterfeit mark. CBP allows a single item of each type for personal use in some cases. Enforcement varies by port.
Checks that separate the two
- Ask for the METAS certificate code and check the database record.
- Weigh the watch. Solid gold cases run heavier than plated steel.
- Inspect the caseback font. Genuine engraving is deep and even.
- Time the rate over 48 hours.
- Check date wheel alignment at the window.
Unknown: replica factories change suppliers without notice, so two units of the same model can differ. No published figure exists for the number of replica De Ville Trésor watches shipped.