5 Ways To Instantly Spot A Fake
by Jaye Cadlah
rolex, fake rolexes, real rolex
The most obvious counterfeits can be identified within seconds of contact. While many of these tips will not apply to watches that are bought online, knowing the basics of counterfeit identification is a great first step.
1. Movement – Simply looking at the movement of the watch is enough to blow the cover on most fakes. Rolex watches (with the exception of the Oysterquartz) appear to have a silky smooth “sweeping” movement – The “sweeping” movement comes from the busy Rolex movement ticking five to eight times per second.
Many high end fakes will almost duplicate this effect but the keyword is ALMOST – even most of the high end fake watches tick around three to four times a second. This still generates a similar “sweeping” illusion but it is immediately apparent that it is not as smooth as a genuine Rolex movement.
2. Clear Case-Back – A lot of high-end brands build their watches with a clear case back to show the complexity of the movement. Seeing the gears and cogs magically ticking away is mesmerizing but don’t be fooled!
Rolex has never made a watch model with a clear case back. This is an instant sign of a fake.
3. Watch weight – A combination of high quality materials in the movement, case and bracelet add up to quite a bit of weight. An all gold Rolex which is quite light is a good indication of hollow links, or simply steel that is gold-plated and thus, a fake watch.
4. Cyclops – All Rolex models with the date feature will feature a Cyclops magnification glass; which is a raised sphere of glass that is designed to magnify the date display on the dial. The magnification on a genuine Cyclops glass will be approximately 2.5 times. Like many other attributes, a counterfeit Rolex watch may fall short of the capabilities of a genuine Rolex watch.
Counterfeit Rolex watches will often only magnify the date window 1.5 times and the difference is apparent after looking at the real deal. When looking at the Cyclops at a straight on angle, the date window should be magnified so that it almost fills the whole Cyclops glass.
5. Bezel and Date Display – The alignment of the date opening and number display should be perfectly straight. Look closely at the printing of the date number (with a loupe if possible) and look for any signs of low quality printing such as uneven ink or artifacts on the background.
If the watch you’re looking at has a rotatable bezel try and count the number of times it clicks in one rotation. Genuine Rolex bezels click about 120 times while fake ones usually only click about 60 times. The real Rolex bezel is muted and subtle and should feel very solid whereas a fake feels very “clicky” and loud.
