Siebe Gorman

THE SIEBE GORMAN 12-BOLT REPRODUCTION HELMET (ALSO KNOWN AS THE ‘INDIAN FAKE’, OR ‘MUMBAI COPY’)
By MIKE BURCHETT
(Photos & graphics: Robert Burchett)

THE BACKGROUND STORY



This very good ‘Indian’ reproduction of a Siebe Gorman 12-bolt helmet has a short, but interesting background (figures 1 and 3). It serves as a reminder that “if one person can make it, so another person can fake it” (given enough helmet knowledge and craft expertise). The reproduction helmet initially deceived some experts and one or two helmets even passed through auction houses as the genuine item.
The helmets started to appear on the UK market during the summer and autumn of 2005. The first batch of several helmets arrived in the UK from India, and most helmets were quickly sold to eager buyers. The helmets were in near perfect condition, all looked nearly identical and most had serially matched part numbers (on helmet, corselet, faceplate and brails). Serial numbers between the helmets were also sequentially close. The story told at the time was that the helmets were part of a consignment destined for British colonial salvage operations in the 1950s, but were rarely used, put into storage, and subsequently re-discovered.
A few months later, a second batch of about 12 helmets became available from the same source in India. Once again, the helmets were all very similar in looks to those from the first batch, and many carried serially matched part numbers. Serial numbers between the helmets was again sequentially close. However, as a set of circumstances like this is “too good to be true”, the proverbial ‘alarm bells’ started to ring. Some helmets from the second batch were closely examined and found not to be genuine, but instead were very good forgeries. Following this, the actions of the UK supplier was most commendable. The fraud was swiftly and publically exposed, and the UK supplier acted in an honest and appropriated manner to rectify the situation.
It is now known that these batches of reproduction helmets (together with other Siebe Gorman apparatus and marine artefacts) were manufactured in northern India by the same family of artisan craftsmen that still make them today (2010). These reproduction helmets and other copy items are still being sold worldwide through the internet to unsuspecting buyers, by a well known Mumbai exporter. Unfortunately these fraudulent helmets are sometimes realising genuine helmet prices, but as a fraudster knows, a very good copy is still only worth a fraction of the price, compared with the genuine item.
As these reproduction helmets become more widely known, other ways are being found to pass them off or sell them on. Some helmets are now being marketed without the tinned surface (the tinning is removed and the surface mirror polished). Other helmets may have air ducts, the maker’s name tag and serial numbers missing altogether. It probably won’t be long before the first quality reproduction 6-bolt helmet arrives on the market, so be vigilant!
It is unclear whether the reproduction ‘Indian’ helmet can be dived because of some small, but significant differences. However, it would seem unwise to risk diving with an incomplete helmet of dubious origin which may have components made from poor quality, sub-standard materials.

THE REPRODUCTION HELMET
To the unsuspecting buyer or to an untrained eye, the Siebe Gorman reproduction helmet can be difficult to distinguish from a genuine example (figure 1).
However, once several of these helmets have been closely examined, many little differences soon become apparent, and the helmets become quite recognisable. If a complete list of these differences were provided in this article, it is possible that the forgers will just improve the next batch of forgery helmets. Therefore, just a few of the most easily recognisable differences are given here, which should be sufficient for a collector to identify the reproduction helmet. Some information has already been published on the excellent French website dedicated to historical diving apparatus. However, unless you speak the language, the information may not be clearly understood. Hopefully this article in English will help those of us with limited language skills.

Serial Numbers
Siebe Gorman helmet serial numbers are normally found on the underside of the brails, the faceplate (but not always), inside the helmet neck ring and inside the corselet ring. The five digit serial numbers on reproduction helmets mostly start with ‘192’ (plus two following numbers). Sequential serial numbers for the reproduction helmets start around ‘19250’ and approach ‘19299’. Therefore it is possible that up to fifty reproduction helmets may have been made to date. In addition, a few reproduction helmets have now been noted with serial numbers in the early ‘193XX’ range (helmet 19312), which may suggest that more reproduction helmets are being produced. Some genuine Siebe Gorman helmets and helmet parts that carry serial numbers between ‘19250’ and ‘19312’ are known to exist, which confirms the fraudulent nature of the reproduction helmets.

Some Feature Differences
When examining a potential reproduction helmet, a single comparative difference should not be taken in isolation as proof of a forgery. If possible, a number of distinctive and unique differences should be identified to produce a strong case that the helmet is in fact, not genuine.

GENERAL APPEARANCE: an overall appearance of a helmet should look correct for its age. The ‘Indian’ reproduction helmets do not appear correct, as they are all too perfect and look too similar for their age (figures 1A and 1D). Few helmets are in perfect condition and most carry signs of wear associated with their past use (figure 1B)

MAKER’S NAME TAG: the maker’s name tag on the corselet is always worth comparing with a genuine one of the same style and from the same period. A comparison should be made with an authenticated helmet that has a serial number close to that of the helmet under suspicion. The ‘Indian’ reproduction name tag is an excellent copy, and there are few noticeable differences, apart from a slight size discrepancy and inadequate soldering of the tag to the corselet. As an exercise to “train the eye”, there are a number of noticeable differences between the ‘Indian’ reproduction name tag, and an original one with a slightly different style of lettering shown in figure 2.



Look closely and you will begin to appreciate a number of subtle differences between the two name tags.

TINNING: the quality of tinning is poor and quite patchy on some surface areas of the reproduction helmets. The most obvious difference is in the ‘patina’ of the tinned surfaces. The reproduction helmet surfaces have been artificially aged with chemicals, and later tests suggest that an ammonia containing treatment (perhaps equine urine) may have been used. This chemical appears to have been brushed on to the surfaces of the helmet, giving the tinned areas a characteristic ‘streaky’ appearance (figures 1D and 3A-3E).



Compare this to the typical well tinned surface of a genuine helmet (figure 1C).

COLOUR: bright green, copper containing corrosion deposits (verdigris) often appear over wide areas of the reproduction helmet surfaces (figure 1A), and in some areas where they should not normally be expected (figure 7A). Most genuine helmets have some ‘verdigris’. However the ‘verdigris’ deposits on a reproduction helmets can be relatively thick and scaly, and the deposits flake away too readily.

SOLDERING: the quality of the soft soldering is often poor where brass fittings are attached to the copper helmet or corselet. The soft solder join around the perimeter of the reproduction corselet often appears ‘ripple-like’ instead of ‘smooth’ (figure 4).



Slotted stud heads on the underside of the corselet are often left un-tinned on reproduction helmets (figure 6B).

FITTINGS: the air inlet elbow of the reproduction 12-bolt helmet uses a standard 6-bolt elbow fitting (nut-shaped), instead of the more typical round-shaped one, that is seen on most (but not all) 12-bolt helmets (figure 5).



Quite often, threads of various reproduction fittings (e.g. air inlet, faceplate, corselet studs etc.) will not allow accurate fitting of genuine parts. Position of rivets can also differ and some rivet heads may be ground off or flattened on the reproduction helmets.

AGEING: apart from the induced ageing of reproduction helmet with chemicals, false distressing is sometimes observed on surfaces and edges. This is often applied by hammering or filing (figure 6A).



HELMET COMMUNICATIONS: a reproduction helmet may have parts of the communication system left inside the bonnet to add authenticity. Sometimes the wiring may appear old, but quite often bright new, red and black ‘PVC’ coated cable is used (figure 7B).



Finally, temper buying enthusiasm with caution and approach every helmet as a potential forgery. Knowledge and experience are your only real allies, and it can be a steep and sometimes expensive learning curve for the unwary buyer. Even an expert is occasionally deceived by a forgery. If a helmet appears “too good to be true”, then it probably is. The Latin phrase ‘Caveat emptor’, “Let the Buyer Beware” is one worth remembering.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank David Dekker, Dr. John Bevan and Phil Thurtle for their helpful comments and suggestions while writing this article.

With special thanks to Mike Burchett for this article

'CONTINENTAL' REPLICA OF THE SIEBE-HEINKE, 3-BOLT (4-light)
'LIGHTWEIGHT HARBOUR HELMET'

The Heinke 3-bolt 'Lightweight Harbour Helmet and Corselet' (with top glass or light) was produced by C.E. Heinke & Co. Ltd. mostly during
the post war period. However, in 1961 Heinke was taken over by the firm of Siebe, Gorman & Co. Ltd. and they continued to produce the lightweight
'Harbour Helmet' under their own name but with a few minor changes (including the Siebe, Gorman style spitcock and their own name badge).
In essence Siebe, Gorman was using up the Heinke parts they had acquired during the takeover for the continued manufacture of this helmet.

Rear view of two of the replica helmets The replica/copy version of the English 3-bolt (4-light) lightweight 'Harbour Helmet' has been in circulation since mid-2010, and the helmet is found with a Siebe, Gorman company name badge on the front of the corselet (breastplate). It is worth noting that authentic 3-bolt (4-light) Siebe-Heinke 'Harbour Helmets' are rare, therefore finding an inexpensive, genuine helmet is most unlikely. Close comparison of these photos and another genuine 'Harbour Helmet' on this website will reveal some of the differences.
Picture showing the external banjo telephone connector and the interior of the helmet showing the speaker. It should be remembered that a dealer who sells a replica of a vintage diving helmet is not breaking the law if it clearly states that the helmet is a copy or reproduction. However if the helmet is advertised and sold as authentic (e.g. made by the original manufacturer) when it is clearly not (therefore there is obvious deception by the seller), then this act becomes fraudulent because the helmet is a replica. A full article will follow at a later date.

Special thanks again go to Mike Burchett.

This helmet was found in an antique shop in Thailand.   Photos courtesy of Pierre Nyberg
This helmet was found on a remote Island off the Chilean coast
We have a 4 light replica Sebe Gorman of London helmet, also found off The coast of Chile

Morse

Probably the most replicated diving helmet in the world is the Mark V. The latest copies sometimes even have airducts and the interrupted screw thread! Be aware, before you know it you pay a real helmet price for a phony hat.

This interesting item circulated the worlds biggest marketplace for a while. It is a US Navy Mark V from 1909. Now, that's interesting because George D. Stillson finished the design for the Mark V around 1915. This item was first offered as a real helmet and later as a reproduction. One of the few we have ever seen with nipples on the front and the back of the corselet.