How to Spot a Fake Rolex
Five ways to quickly figure out if a Rolex is real or fake
While running a million-dollar eCommerce operation based on community donations we regularly ran across Rolex watches in those bags and boxes of miscellaneous items. Every single one turned out to be fake.
The best we ever came across was in a Rolex box, which had the original literature and the original twenty-year-old receipt from an authorized Rolex dealer jewelry store. It had been worn regularly and was well cared for.
It looked great and didn’t have any of the first glance telltales of a fake. We checked out the name on the receipt and found he had recently passed away. It was in a donation with other personal and household goods. That’s consistent with someone cleaning out a house and donating a lot of stuff to a non-profit. Everything seemed to check out, at least on the surface.
What’s left to question?
Being a non-profit we so wanted this to be real. A single sale like that would have matched a couple of hundred store-level transactions.
The problem was it turned out to be fake.
There are so many Rolex fakes out there, there are grades. From the cheap “buy it on the street” versions that might cost $50 to super fakes that cost upwards of $1,000 and are hard to distinguish from real except upon close, even professional examination. Some say there are more fakes in the world than real ones.
When you have an opportunity, take a look at these things with a real Rolex. It’ll be easier to spot the fakes.
A few things to look for:
Second Hand
The sweeping second hand is one of the quickest giveaways. If you see a ticking motion and hear a ticking sound it’s likely a fake. Rolex did have a short foray into quartz, with Oysterquartz, which will tick. If it says perpetual it shouldn’t ever tick.
Cyclops
The Cyclops (the magnifier over the date) is tough and expensive to fake. A real Rolex magnifies the date by 2.5X. Fakes often magnify 1.5 times or less.
Rolex also uses anti-glare material so it will show up nicely. There shouldn’t be any background color when checked from an angle. That’s a dead giveaway, often a blue tint shows up. It’s a very noticeable difference.
The date itself should show up squarely in the window. It’s another place that is hard to duplicate as the movements have to be precise and the placement of the bezel has to be exact.
The crystal itself should be very clear and crisp.
Rivet and Hands
The rivet on the top needle of the hands will always have a perfect finish. It’s one of those small details that a fake will miss most of the time. The center pin and stack will also be excellent. The hands themselves are silver plate on the real ones and will have a consistent sheen, especially under magnification. A loop helps when checking this part out.
A poor repair by a non-certified jeweler can make the rivet look bad on a real one.
Serial Numbers
The easiest thing to do is to google the number inside quotes to see what you come up with. This isn’t perfect as fakers often do their research. If more than one comes up with that number, it’s a big red flag. Just like with fake money, counterfeiters reuse the same number over and over because it’s cheaper.
Printing
Printing (numbers, letters, logos) on a real Rolex is sharp, crisp, consistent, and about perfect. A quick look with a loop or magnifier will show inconsistencies in a fake. Look at the spacing between letters and words. See if letters are identical between words. Everything should be clean and crisp. Fakes often have fatter “messier” lettering and logo work.
None of the tips listed here individually mean a watch isn’t the real deal. They can be disqualifiers. If you feel you do have a real one it’s best to have it checked out by someone specifically expert on Rolex watches.
Before you ask, by policy we never sold known fakes of any kind. It’s illegal and isn’t worth the reputation damage.
Following are a few “How to spot” videos you might find interesting.
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