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The best quality fakes are also called Swiss Grade 1's and are so good that even experienced pawn brokers are sometimes taken in. Here some things you need to be aware of in order to help you spot a fake Rolex Submariner. 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. --However all high quality fake Swiss Grade 1's are correct in this feature. 2. Bezel clicks: It takes 120 'clicks' to make a full circle on a genuine Submariner. A quick test: count the clicks for a quarter of a turn. You should count 30 clicks. 30 x 4 == 120. Fakes often fail to copy this feature correctly. --This feature has been successfully replicated in all grade 1 replicas. 3. Movement: Some years back the movement of the sweep hand was a fairly reliable way to spot a phony Rolex. Now the ETA movement does a beautiful job of replicating the second hand sweep of the genuine Rolex movement. Even with cheaper replicas it can be difficult to determine what kind of movement is inside based on watching the second hand sweep. 4. The bracelet: One of the places that manufactures of Replica watches cut corners is on the band. If you look at an authentic Rolex band you can spot the difference in the fit, finish and logo. The genuine article will have a crown that stands out and is not tentative in it's execution. While the fake will tend to be more rounded. Rolex bracelet clasps also have a pin that is finished on both ends. Whereas most fakes have a pin that looks like it was just cut off. 5. Weight: A genuine Rolex is invariably a substantial piece of metal, unlike many of the light weight copies. This is because Rolex makes their cases out of solid 18k gold or stainless steel. 6. Crystal: Late model Rolexes have a crystal made from sapphire and Rolex has started micro-etching a tiny crown logo into the crystal. 6.Rolex introduced the “Hacking Feature” around 1972. All current Rolex models have this feature where the second hand stops dead when the winding stem is pulled out to set the time. |
If you are going to deal in used Rolex watches, purchase the proper tool and always open the back. It's cheaper to risk having to replace the gasket, than to get stuck with an expensive paperweight As a side note: I recently read where someone had taken a genuine Rolex and pulled the original movement then substituted one from ETA. I will assume that they sold the original Rolex action and then sold the watch as genuine. |