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Another fake Catena on Ebay

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Majestyk

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Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post15 Sep 2009, 14:13

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... TQ:US:1123

This seller says it's been in his family for years. M:)W:)M

I think whenever one on ebay gets listed, we should post the link in this thread.
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retroleds

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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post15 Sep 2009, 19:46

The tell-tale text(good catch Jeff!)
"TO DISPLAY THE DATE.

I CAN ONLY ACCESS THE DATE FEATURE BY

DEPRESSING THE BOTTOM LEFT

BUTTON FOR SETTING THE TIME".

Yes, the Swiss always would put a protruding button where the setting function is and the date function behind the recessed button.
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bucko170

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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post15 Sep 2009, 20:22

I assume the actual case is genuine but the module is a poor ill fitting replacement?

If the case is genuine how much would you estimate the case alone to be worth?

It strikes me that there are loads of different types of LCD modules available - could he of found a better fitting module to go with the case?
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retroleds

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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post15 Sep 2009, 23:38

NO,NO, NO - it is a fake case, fake band, the whole fucking thing is fake(sorry, I have been working on a cantankerous motor vehicle most of the day and my sensibilities and restraint are shot,) The case is crudely bored out, the back is chemical etched(something they weren't doing back in the day(, the links are poorly formed, the module is from 2006(made in China). And there is really NO module that will fit that button pattern. And the buttons are bored out to different diameters....you'd need a major watchmaking tyoe boring of the holes even to switch to buttons around. I have three of the pricks - please, trust me, I am saving you from a slow and painful death on these pieces. They are crap! They are crap! They are crap!

Now I will click my heels three times and go back to OZ....or back to "Home" to eat some dinner with the wife and my youngest and try to "chill"...

Yeah, that's better. 8-)
http://www.retroleds.com - Sales of vintage LED, LCD, analog watches, parts and gadgets - repair tutorials & tips
Nov. 2022 - back in business!! BItter divorce is in home stretch, come grabs some great deals, I had to open the safe . . . damn attorneys. piss.
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bucko170

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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post16 Sep 2009, 01:56

They are crap! They are crap! They are crap!


Ok that's cleared that up :!:
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retroleds

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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post16 Sep 2009, 03:13

Amazing what can transpire during the time it takes for dinner, a hot shower and a 1/2 hour of television,

Here's what I wrote to the seller:
Dear jetstarz61,

The watch you are selling is a fake, it is being discussed here http://www.dwf.nu/viewtopic.php?p=21453#21453 , and has been discussed many times before. The date is available by pressing the dimple at the 5 oclock postion. Problem, the Chinese module inside which was made in 2006. Case is crudely bored out, back is etched, not engraved of stamped. Not how the Swiss do it. You bought from the man in Spain or his vacation location in Thailand.

Ed Cantarella
retroleds@aol.com


The seller's response:
Hi Ed--I just ended the listing on eBay for the "FAKE" Catena watch and crushed it under a heavy sledge hammer!!! IT IS FOREVER HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And so the saga continues. ~:(
http://www.retroleds.com - Sales of vintage LED, LCD, analog watches, parts and gadgets - repair tutorials & tips
Nov. 2022 - back in business!! BItter divorce is in home stretch, come grabs some great deals, I had to open the safe . . . damn attorneys. piss.
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funkyguy

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Re: : Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post16 Sep 2009, 23:25

The seller's response:
Hi Ed--I just ended the listing on eBay for the "FAKE" Catena watch and crushed it under a heavy sledge hammer!!! IT IS FOREVER HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


shame i would of had that...like for nothing.
FG
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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post17 Sep 2009, 01:11

and crushed it under a heavy sledge hammer.........shame i would of had that...FG


You can never have to many sledge hammers!

newbie,knows f all. well...perhaps just a bit.


Just noticed the amendment to the signature M:)W:)M
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rewolf

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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post20 Feb 2010, 20:24

Your opions on this one, please?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220559097753

It's being discussed on PCS as well.
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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post22 Feb 2010, 18:21

Fake.

Look at this one http://www.ledwatches.net/photo-pages/c ... esonic.htm

Second picture down note how the logo is reflected on the dial - because it is printed on the back of the glass. The fakes have a flat dial insert with everything printed on them.

The back is incorrect.

The band is incorrect: look close at the links on the real one in the thrid and fourth pictures - much larger connection points for the links, links are disconnectable via the access hole on the back of each link.

Real ones have a deeper, heavier case.

BTW: Otron made one also, it is a 4 button 1/100 sec. chrono, with continuous seconds showing during time display.
http://www.retroleds.com - Sales of vintage LED, LCD, analog watches, parts and gadgets - repair tutorials & tips
Nov. 2022 - back in business!! BItter divorce is in home stretch, come grabs some great deals, I had to open the safe . . . damn attorneys. piss.
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rewolf

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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post22 Feb 2010, 20:25

Does the original always have a 6-digit LCD? That would be the most obviuos difference.
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Re: : Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post22 Feb 2010, 22:13

:-D
Last edited by J Thomas on 30 Mar 2011, 05:05, edited 1 time in total.
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retroleds

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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post22 Feb 2010, 23:28

"The devil is in the details". :lol:
http://www.retroleds.com - Sales of vintage LED, LCD, analog watches, parts and gadgets - repair tutorials & tips
Nov. 2022 - back in business!! BItter divorce is in home stretch, come grabs some great deals, I had to open the safe . . . damn attorneys. piss.
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azimuth_pl

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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post23 Feb 2010, 00:53

Ed, you're alive after all. All my messages end up unanswered :evil:

in reference to all Catena LCDs - they must contain a 1978 ESA module with honeycomb background to the display. the same module was fitted to Longines, Wittnauer, Rado and the Breitling Navitimer that came after the LED version.
no need to check other details - just focus on the honeycomb display.
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retroleds

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Re: : Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post23 Feb 2010, 04:30

azimuth_pl wrote:Ed, you're alive after all. All my messages end up unanswered :evil: .

I am alive - sometimes I prefer to not divulge what is going on in my life, as that would pose a security concern for me. I'll answer your other concern privately and discretely. Let's see, what have I been doing(besides watch repairs,the wife and sleeping)....

I just finished a week of jury duty - we sent a nice young man(I am being sarcastic) off for major jail time, it wasn't(we found out later) his first gun-related offense. I was the hold-out juror for two days, my fellow jurors hated me. I'm ok with that, it is not an easy thing to send a man off on very thin evidence.

I have also been working on a rental property of mine between things - funniest moment was when I had crawled to the far end of the crawl-space where I had never been before to work on the plumbing, and relized that, "hey, that is a dead cat laying there". The cat's bones were picked pretty clean so there was no smell, just some hair and bones. Possibly it was a short faced dog....I ddin't look that close when I shoved the pieces into the trash bag.

I bought myself a new 6 string bass guitar for my birthday in January and have been neurotically upgrading it in many fashions. It is insane - when I switched from 4 string bass to 5 string I sold off all my 4 stringers. Now I want to sell off all 5 of my five string basses and start getting an array of 6 string basses. Sick, like Bruce and his P1s. M:)W:)M

I got a new T-shirt,"Aim low, play bass". :lol:

Yep, still alive. 8-)
http://www.retroleds.com - Sales of vintage LED, LCD, analog watches, parts and gadgets - repair tutorials & tips
Nov. 2022 - back in business!! BItter divorce is in home stretch, come grabs some great deals, I had to open the safe . . . damn attorneys. piss.
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bruce wegmann

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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post23 Feb 2010, 09:21

You wound me, sir [I only have 5]. Sounds like you might have more invested in the guitars.... ;-)
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rewolf

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Re: : Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post23 Feb 2010, 09:57

azimuth_pl wrote:in reference to all Catena LCDs - they must contain a 1978 ESA module with honeycomb background to the display. the same module was fitted to Longines, Wittnauer, Rado and the Breitling Navitimer that came after the LED version.
no need to check other details - just focus on the honeycomb display.
Ok, that's something to look after. But sometimes, depending on lighting and photographic skills, it isn't very visible.

So how about 4 digits vs. 6 digits? I notice the fakes have 4 digits, but remember photos of originals with 6 digits. That would be even easier to spot (unless the seller "didn't have a battery").
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azimuth_pl

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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post23 Feb 2010, 13:11

the honeycomb will always show in comparison to a smooth display in the fake version. it also has to be wider and contain 6 digits.
Catena Spacesonics are bloody rare so whenever you find one with poor pics consider it fake... unless it will cost cents to buy.
check pics below.
in Germany this module can be found in Zentra LCD's and a few other.
to remove the board from the plastic carrier you have to unsolder the quartz which is glued permanently to the green plastic.
as pictured, the honeycomb effect is created by the plastic prism that is supposed to spread light from the bulb evenly under the display.
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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post23 Feb 2010, 16:34

Excellent photos and information Piotr! 8-)
http://www.retroleds.com - Sales of vintage LED, LCD, analog watches, parts and gadgets - repair tutorials & tips
Nov. 2022 - back in business!! BItter divorce is in home stretch, come grabs some great deals, I had to open the safe . . . damn attorneys. piss.
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retroleds

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Re: : Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post23 Feb 2010, 17:34

bruce wegmann wrote:You wound me, sir [I only have 5]. Sounds like you might have more invested in the guitars.... ;-)
Well, more time(38 years) but the most I've ever spent was a hair under $4000 USD. I might have $25-30k in equipment currently. :oops:
http://www.retroleds.com - Sales of vintage LED, LCD, analog watches, parts and gadgets - repair tutorials & tips
Nov. 2022 - back in business!! BItter divorce is in home stretch, come grabs some great deals, I had to open the safe . . . damn attorneys. piss.
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Re: : Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post23 Feb 2010, 20:36

:-D
Last edited by J Thomas on 30 Mar 2011, 05:06, edited 1 time in total.
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: Another fake Catena on Ebay

Post24 Feb 2010, 00:15

You have to register (and then be hand authorized by their moderator) just to simply read any posts to see if you even want to join up with the lot. My "this is just a bunch of paranoid tossers" alarm sounded.


LOL! I could use that kind of alarm. :lol:
I'm a member there (as is Rewolf and others from here) - it's an OK board, but not as 'professional' as this site, IMHO. I don't comment or even log on there much anymore, it has been more focused on Casios for the longest time and I'm not really a Casio collector. Now they are talking more about Seikos and other makes (FINALLY!). But they do focus almost excusively on LCD's, were as LED's are the main focus here. So it's a decent site as far as that goes.....

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