Half of Fake Watches Are Rolex Replicas, Watchfinder CEO Says

[Tim4682]

Half of Fake Watches Are Rolex Replicas, Watchfinder CEO Says

The number of sophisticated fake watches uncovered by pre-owned dealer Watchfinder & Co is rising, with Rolex replicas accounting for about half of the knockoffs.

www.bloomberg.com

Bloomberg article on the rise of the super rep. I would think 50% is a low estimate. My guess is way more than half of the Rolexs you see in the wild are reps.

Craziest quote in the article: "Fakes are also becoming more sophisticated and harder to spot. Watchfinder used to be able to identify about 80% of bogus time pieces by sight alone but now that’s just 20%, he said. Employees at the company, owned by Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont, now need to perform more detailed inspections including opening watch casebacks and checking movements to identify the high-end knockoffs." They dont say it specifically, but pretty sure theyre talking mostly about Frankens here...

 

[TESLA760]

These guys don't know what they're looking at most of the time. They can spot the cheap shit fakes. That's about it.

 

[Tim4682]

These guys don't know what they're looking at most of the time. They can spot the cheap shit fakes. That's about it.

IDK...Richemont owns IWC, Panerai, A Lange, Cartier, etc. They should know EXACTLY what theyre looking at. That said, I dont know the caliber of people they have working at Watchfinder or the level of training, but Richemont is legit and owns Watchfinder.

 

[TESLA760]

IDK...Richemont owns IWC, Panerai, A Lange, Cartier, etc. They should know EXACTLY what theyre looking at. That said, I dont know the caliber of people they have working at Watchfinder or the level of training, but Richemont is legit and owns Watchfinder.

You've lost your mind if you think these people can spot a high quality rep without opening it up. Even the most qualified folk on our forum would have a difficult time doing so.

 

[Tim4682]

You've lost your mind if you think these people can spot a high quality rep without opening it up. Even the most qualified folk on our forum would have a difficult time doing so.

I dont disagree with that at all. The 80% figure did surprise me though, I would have guessed somewhere closer to half.

 

[dpd3672]

I think the term "fake" used to mean obvious copies that were sold on streetcorners., the stuff you bought on vacation in New York when Times Square was sketchy. With the replica industry today, and even individual movement parts almost 1:1 with the originals, it has to be a lot harder. Also consider the numerous variations even within legit models themselves and it has to be damn near impossible. Look at the dial on a Submariner 1680, and 16800, and 16613, etc, etc, etc. Even genuine watches don't look exactly like themselves, if that makes any sense.

Hell, even the anti-counterfeiting measures are replicated almost perfectly.

 

[Cheesegrater]

These guys don't know what they're looking at most of the time. They can spot the cheap shit fakes. That's about it.

Can't agree more.
Remember recently Omega sold a multi million dollar watch at auction and it happened to be "fake" ?

 

[Lliu31]

I had this suspicion for years. Didn’t realize they wrote a whole article on it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[TESLA760]

There are also many grey market dealers that use fake parts in their watches and list for sale under the umbrella of dials/bracelets being "aftermarket". That's become widely acceptable now. I'm sure many of you have seen it. They will throw a fake Tiffany dial on an OP and sell it for 15k.

 

[KushBandit]

There are also many grey market dealers that use fake parts in their watches and list for sale under the umbrella of dials/bracelets being "aftermarket". That's become widely acceptable now. I'm sure many of you have seen it. They will throw a fake Tiffany dial on an OP and sell it for 15k.

Lets not forget about the modding companies like DIW, Bamford, Wildman, etc. They take a prefectly fine Rolex and swap in cheap chinese parts, then turn around and profit off of a reverse franken build.

 

[bangwang67]

There are also many grey market dealers that use fake parts in their watches and list for sale under the umbrella of dials/bracelets being "aftermarket". That's become widely acceptable now. I'm sure many of you have seen it. They will throw a fake Tiffany dial on an OP and sell it for 15k.

Yup this is totally true, just visited a grey market dealer recently and they had the new OP41 "celebration" dial. Wife was really interested and the asking price was 36k euros. I like to give the idea of being not knowledgeable at all about watches when shopping for them just to see the level of integrity and customer service towards me. I was able to sneak a look at the white hang tag and the watch was born originally an 124300-0003 which is the blue dial. Obviously this is an aftermarket dial but nonetheless shitty methods being employed to get more money out of people.

 

[bangwang67]

Nowadays when I see Rolexs out in the public I usually look at the person to make my judgement, then the watch.

 

[Cooter Dip]

Nowadays when I see Rolexs out in the public I usually look at the person to make my judgement, then the watch.

I've never understood this logic.

The most humble, kind, and assuming guy I know made millions off the ETH boom a few years ago. He has at least $2-3M in cars alone (Lexus LFA, Huracan, GT2RS, and about five more). Based on your judgement criteria, he'd be wearing reps but I assure you, he isn't.

 

[Cooter Dip]

*humble, kind, and unassuming

 

[TESLA760]

I've never understood this logic.

The most humble, kind, and assuming guy I know made millions off the ETH boom a few years ago. He has at least $2-3M in cars alone (Lexus LFA, Huracan, GT2RS, and about five more). Based on your judgement criteria, he'd be wearing reps but I assure you, he isn't.

While I have seen that as well, it's not the norm. If I see some d-nozzle that hasn't shaved or showered in week, with town socks and sandals, I am going to make the wild assumption that his "rolex" is fugazi as fek.

 

[bangwang67]

While I have seen that as well, it's not the norm. If I see some d-nozzle that hasn't shaved or showered in week, with town socks and sandals, I am going to make the wild assumption that his "rolex" is fugazi as fek.

said it best, perception is key.

 

[Cooter Dip]

While I have seen that as well, it's not the norm. If I see some d-nozzle that hasn't shaved or showered in week, with town socks and sandals, I am going to make the wild assumption that his "rolex" is fugazi as fek.

Now that's a great point. There's a difference in appearing well and looking like you have money. I share similar logic if someone looks unbecoming. You can be dressed in a tshirt, shorts, and flipflops, and still be presentable.

 

[heska]

You've lost your mind if you think these people can spot a high quality rep without opening it up. Even the most qualified folk on our forum would have a difficult time doing so.

Well, first it's a second hand watch dealer so you could expect some expert on board.
And that particuliar part is covered by the article:

Fakes are also becoming more sophisticated and harder to spot. Watchfinder used to be able to identify about 80% of bogus time pieces by sight alone but now that’s just 20%, he said. Employees at the company, owned by Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont, now need to perform more detailed inspections including opening watch casebacks and checking movements to identify the high-end knockoffs.

 

[automatico]

I have an 18K DJ/Prez type replica case and the empty case including the bezel weighs 39 or 40 grams. Without crystal, crown etc.
At today's gold prices, this is about $1800 USD just in gold at full price. Add manufacturing cost plus markup and you are looking at maybe $3000 or $4000 USD just for an empty case.

You can also find solid gold, light weight 'onion skin' cases for less.