The first thing that always amazes me is when people buy luxury watches from sources like eBay and then ask whether they are genuine. In addition, there are an enormous number of websites by so-called “experts” that promise tips on spotting fake watches, even if you don’t have the know-how. The first type of person who shops for replica watches is someone who wants them but can’t afford them. The second type is someone who has been duped or, to put it bluntly, has been created.
Only yesterday, I heard about a person who purchased an expensive “Hublot” watch from eBay as a birthday present. The seller was highly rated on eBay and claimed the watch was “100% authentic.” My apologies, but these replica watches are poor fake. The movement is a Chinese SEAGULL movement, instead of ETA, which is what the movement would be in a real Hublot.
It’s easy to spot a Chinese fake Hublot, but there are more serious counterfeit watches in the market. These are more difficult to recognize with the naked eye. In the trade, these are called “super-fakes.”. You can read more about how to identify fake Panerai and Rolex watches in my other articles, so there is no mistake that you are dealing with real luxury watches.
Here are six myths about fake watches so you won’t believe you’re getting a genuine watch when you’re getting a counterfeit one. It’s rubbish. Counterfeiters today can easily make watches that are the same weight. To do so, they use the same movement mechanisms as the original manufacturer or second source copy. So, weight is no longer the determining factor.
Often you will read that a fake watch cannot have complications. It is true that in many instances this is the case. However, many luxury watches do not come with complications except for the date. The “Cyclops,” the glass over the date on a Rolex used to be difficult to fake because it did not magnify 2.5 times. These days this is not so difficult to do. I have seen many fakes with the proper magnification. I wouldn’t rely on that as a litmus test.
You’ve probably heard that movements on fake watches are never the same. That might be true at first, but what you’ll find is that most watch brands now buy movements from ETA, one of the world’s largest suppliers of mechanical movements. Counterfeiters can now purchase Chinese or Japanese reproductions, or even exact ETA movements, directly from secondary sources. You can see an example of a replication movement below.
