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Fake or Bogus Rolex Watches
What YOU Should Know About
Bogus or Fake Rolex Watches
Rolex watches are probably one of the most copied watches in
the world. Many of the counterfeits use very good mechanical movements that lets
the sweep second hand glide around the dial chapters, a Rolex trait. Others use
a common quartz movement where the sweep second hand ticks every second as it
steps around the dial, an obvious fake. But be careful, Rolex made a few models
that used quartz movements.
So, what should you look for? The best thing to do is to take your watch to a
qualified watchmaker and let them determine if your watch is genuine Rolex or
not. Next, you can remove the watch band. Check between the lugs at the 12
position and see if it has an engraved "Registered Design" number. If you see no
number, it is fake. Now check between the lugs at the 6 position. Here you
should see a serial number of the case. If there is no number, it is fake.
If there is a glass crystal on the back of the case, so you can see the
movement, your watch is fake.
On gold colored watches, look for signs of wear on the lug ends and on the case
backs. Fake Rolex watches will often display area where the gold color has worn
off, exposing the white colored base metal of the case below. Check the watch
bands and look at the clasp. A genuine Rolex clasp is nicely engraved with the
old original Rolex emblem. This appears on both gold and stainless clasps on
watch bands.
Another thing to look for is the weight of the watch. Gold Rolex watches are
very heavy as compared to the fakes which are very light for their apparent
mass. This is because the specific gravity of gold (Au) is much greater than the
specific gravity of a base metal. Stainless steel Rolex watches also have more
weight to them because stainless is also much heavier than the base metal used
in bogus watches.
We hope that this information helps. We understand that many people come into
contact with a watch that may have been a gift or inherited from someone and
they simply don't know if the watch they received is genuine or not. It is with
this in mind that we hope this article helps you determine the true identity of
your watch.
As we get some time, we will be posting some pictures of some
bogus and fake Rolex watches.
Here is some very good information to help you
identify a fake Rolex watch.
The Submariner is the most popular Rolex replica watch on the internet. It is
often difficult these days to spot as a fake. The best quality fakes are also
called Swiss Grade 1's and are so good, a secondary kind of scam marker has
developed on eBay and other auction web sites. Swiss Grade 1 Rolex reproductions are
auctioned off every week as genuine watches to those buyers who cannot believe
their good fortune at running into a once in a life time super deal on a genuine
Rolex watch. What those buyers find out the hard way is that the "deal of a life
time" comes around every week on eBay!
Here is what you need to know to help spot a fake Rolex Submariner; but
sometimes it's very difficult!
1. The bezel on a genuine Submariner turns only in one direction: counter
clockwise. Fakes often turn in both directions or in other words, they are
bi-directional. All high quality fake Swiss Grade 1's are correct in this
feature. So even if the bezel turns in the correct direction, this doesn't mean
it's a genuine Submariner.
2. Bezel clicks. It takes 120 'clicks' to make a full circle on a genuine
Submariner. Fakes often fail to copy this feature correctly. Quick test: count
the clicks for a quarter of a turn. You should count 30 clicks. 30 x 4 == 120
just like a real one. So even if the bezel makes a 120 clicks, this doesn't mean
it's a real Submariner.
3. Movement inside. All Swiss Grade 1 Rolex replicas have an ETA movement
inside. These are 25 jewels but many replica web scams tell you they are 27
jewels. They are not because ETA does not make a 27 jewel mechanical movement.
The ETA does a beautiful job at replicating the second hand sweep of the genuine
Rolex movement. It used to be this was a big clue as to whether or not a Rolex
was real or not. You can no longer count on it. So even if the second hand
"sweeps smoothly" to the naked eye, it is really quickly moving 8 times per
second, just like on a real Rolex. Cheaper movements (non ETA) in the Submariner
replicas are often still difficult to determine what kind of movement is inside
based on watching the second hand sweep.
4. The 50th Anniversary Submariner with the green bezel insert. This is one of
the most popular Submariners and is one of the most copied. The biggest flaw
when looking at a genuine 50th Submariner (known as a "Greenie" due to the green
bezel insert color or also known as the LV) is to check the case for lug holes.
Rolex stopped making lug holes on their Submariner cases before they started to
make the LV. Some replicas are made with the old style cases. So if you see
someone selling an LV as genuine and it has lug holes...better run away as fast
as you can.
5. LV dial. The LV is the ONLY Submariner where at the 6 o'clock position, the
words SWISS MADE span and touch 5 minute markers. This is known as a "5 ticks"
dial. ALL other Submariners have their words SWISS MADE touch only 3 minute
markers, thus they are known as having 3 tick dials. If you see an LV for sale
with a "3 tick" dial, it is a fake. If you see a standard SS Submariner 16610
model (non LV) that has a 5 tick dial, it is a fake. Update: I am seeing more
and more genuine "3 tick" LV's showing up on the internet at genuine Rolex watch
forums. Either Rolex is now producing 3 tick LV's or people who have the Swiss
Grade 1 fakes are passing them off as real. It's difficult to know. Buying a
genuine LV from anyone other than an Authorized (Rolex) Dealer is extremely
risky.
6. LV Submariner. The LV uses the new date font with the 'closed' 6 and 9
numbers. If you see an LV for sale that has the older style open 6 and 9 it is a
fake.
7. LV Submariner. The LV uses what Rolex calls the Maxi Dial. It is the only
Submariner using it. Along with this Maxi Dial, on the LV, are what is called
the "Fat Hands". The LV is the only Submariner using hour and minute hands that
are 'fatter' than the hands normally seen on all of the other Rolex Submariners.
Sometimes you will see an LV for sale that does not have the Fat Hands. Run away
as fast as you can!
In summary.
Other than the LV differences which I have mentioned, it can be almost
impossible to spot a fake Swiss Grade 1 Rolex Submariner. The only way to know
for sure is to take the watch into an Rolex authorized dealer or other high end watch shop and
have them remove the case back and see what kind of movement is inside. That's
the only way to know for sure. The Two Tone Blue dial Submariners are a classic
Rolex and are all but impossible to visually verify if one is real or not. Same
for the Stainless Steel (SS) Black dial classic model 16610. You may not be able
to tell a real one from a fake one unless you have the back removed and check
the movement inside. If you're going to try and buy a used Rolex Submariner on
the internet, it is critical that you know who you are buying from.
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