How to Distinguish a Fake Rolex From a Real One in 2023

Gone are the days when the average person could easily spot a fake Rolex—no simple stands like a ticking second hand instead of a smoothly gliding one. “Modern counterfeit watches are downright scary,” said Matt Chapman , a Los Angeles-based antique watch restorer and self-described watch nerd. “They can easily deceive even the keenest eye. Sometimes the differences are down to microscopic tool marks on movement parts or tiny inaccuracies in fonts and lettering.”

However, there are some subtle signs that distinguish a genuine Rolex from a fake one, but whether any of these signs will be present on a particular wristwatch is nonsense. Counterfeiters are really good these days.

You can buy a Faux-lex Submariner that will fool just about anyone for a couple hundred dollars online , but a watch aficionado might be able to tell it apart from the real thing if you look closely. Higher quality fake luxury watches can sell for $1,000 and are completely different from the cheap knockoffs. These things will fool almost anyone, no matter how carefully they are examined, so the best detection tools you have are common sense and the experience of others.

When purchasing a wristwatch, consider the source

Anyone who offers to sell you a cheap wristwatch should be treated as highly suspicious. A real Rolex Submariner costs somewhere between $11,000 and $40,000, depending on your choice. A high-quality fake costs about $1,000. So if someone offers to sell you a Rolex watch at an unusually low price and tells a clever story about why, your fake alarm should go off before you even look at it. (This also applies to all watches that are used instead of money in poker games.)

The counterfeit watch seller even goes so far as to provide receipts, documents, bags and boxes. This support material is not as difficult to counterfeit as laser engraving, and it may even be legitimate: there is a secondary market for bags, cases, boxes and documents for luxury watch purchases, where some people slip counterfeits to maintain the illusion. So if you’re looking for a new luxury watch, only buy from a legitimate dealer: buy from Rolex, not a flea market.

Take it to an expert

If you’re buying a used watch, take it to an expert before you pay any money, even if the guy on Craigslist seems sincere. A legitimate seller will understand something and be happy to check.

“It is highly recommended that you undergo professional authentication when purchasing a high-end watch,” Chapman said. “Just imagine your $15,000 Rolex costing less than $200. It sounds absurd, but it happened and is still happening.”

Some signs of a fake Rolex

For informational purposes, here are some signs that a Rolex Submariner may be fake, taken from Adrian Barker’s excellent YouTube video. Disclaimer: Most of these fake markers require specialized knowledge to distinguish them from the real thing, so don’t rely on your own observations. These marks are primarily specific to the Rolex Submariner, an extremely popular watch among watch enthusiasts and, coincidentally, widely counterfeited by counterfeiters. Other watches have different “hints”.

Check the numbers

Sometimes counterfeit watches are documented with incorrect model numbers, but this is all too obvious to all but the worst fakes. The serial number will most likely give a clue. The serial number should be engraved somewhere on the watch – for example, it is laser engraved on the inner bezel (the bezel between the dial on the crystal) of Rolexes produced from 2008 to present. Laser engraving is difficult, and engraving different numbers on each individual fake watch is even more difficult, so find the serial number and Google it. There are databases on the Internet of serial numbers used by counterfeit watch manufacturers, and if they match, they are not real. (However, if it doesn’t match, it could still be a fake.)

Check out the Cyclops

The Rolex Submarinin date display uses a convex cyclops lens that magnifies the date by 2.5 times, with anti-reflective material underneath to make the date easier to read. Cheap counterfeits may have a slightly misaligned “bubble” – a date that is not perfectly centered is a telltale sign of a poorly made counterfeit. But even the best fakes with a cyclops in the center have a hard time pulling this off, as does Rolex, which is why fake watches often have a slight blue tint in the cyclops because they don’t use the same anti-reflective material as the real watch.

Check the engraving of the crown at the 6 o’clock position.

A real Rolex watch has a tiny Rolex crown laser-etched into the sapphire crystal at the 6 o’clock position. It is almost microscopic, invisible to the naked eye, so to see it you will need a jeweler’s loupe or macro lens. A good fake will usually have this too, but it is actually a laser engraving of tiny dots at varying depths, whereas a fake might be a continuous line. (Do you see why you should just take it to a professional?)

Check the movement and feel

This, again, requires real expertise. Winding the crown and interacting with the mechanism of a real luxury watch is not at all the same as winding a fake – at least for the right set of fingers. The mechanism of a fake watch will not be as oily as in a real luxury watch. Although counterfeiters are getting better, so the difference may not be noticeable to a layman, even the best fakes will not exactly replicate the movement inside a Rolex, so an expert can tell a real Submariner from a fake. in the dark.

Why not just buy a fake Rolex?

A good fake watch is for all practical purposes indistinguishable from the “real” one and can be purchased for a fraction of the cost, so what’s wrong with wearing a fake? Nothing special, but it says something about you. Does it say, “I’m a smart bargain hunter, wear a watch that will impress some people without spending money on a car,” or “I lie to everyone, deceiving strangers, because I’m trying to be someone I’m not.” ” depends on your point of view.

After all, it’s just a wristwatch. Any meaning you ascribe to it or the status you think it provides is yours. There are plenty of great, unique, stylish watches that will last a lifetime that can sell for $1,000 – I’m talking about certified chronometers tested by the Swiss COSC, just like luxury brands that sell for $1,000 and up . They won’t have the Rolex laser engraved on them, but who cares? As watch expert Chapman said: “For those who would happily wear a fake, please take a moment to question your authenticity. The rest of us will proudly wear our legitimate $20 Casios.”