I attempted to rouse discussion in our private CAT category recently, but to no avail, regarding fakes watches in how they came to be, and where manufactured.

This may sound like a silly question but where are fake watches made? I know the hype about overseas watches and fakes. Are there factories that make fake watches exclusively? We have talked about American fakes and many here have identified them. Are fakes made in U. S. as well?

Shed some light?

Stephanie O'Neil
NAWCC Member 143979

Hello from the seaside, A friend of mine went on a holiday to Hong Kong and brought back a load of Fake Rolex watches some marked Tudor, some with Fake Diamonds all around the dials, only paid Approx $15 each for them. one he gave me had all correct markings on it , inside the back of movement said made in Japan. Soon went wrong and I threw it away. Another guy I know , just back from the Gran Canaria Islands brought back Rolex fakes also Le Coultre They looked better than real ones only paid £25 each for them. I would be very wary of buying a secondhand one unless it had
all the paperwork with it and checked the serial no's. Regards , GED.

Stephanie,

I can give you a couple of locations of fake watch manufacture. I have seen fake Omegas purchased in Rome with Russian wind up movements and fake Rolexes with Miyota automatics inside (a division of Citizen). I would think some come from eastern European countries, but more come from Asia. About ten years ago I responded to an ad in a national magazine (Success, Money, or Entrepeneur,) and there was an ad for Rolex replica watches. They actually had the Rolex name, crown and everything. The company said they were identical in every way except they were $400.00. They explained that because they were sold as replicas they could do it legally. They suggusted that Rolex owners who travel abroad were their best customers. After all, would you really want to wear your Rolex in Cairo? I would not buy such a product, and guessed that these were just the same as the fakes in China town in NYC. I guess the company was shut down since I don't see the ad anymore. There certainly is no shortage of fakes and ripoffs. Buyer Beware.


Scott Cerullo
cerullo34@aol.com

Many are alledgedly brought into this country with joes watch co. on the dial. Then the dials are redone here. This is how they get the ones in with genuine swiss hallmarks.

Jeff Hess

Ged & Scott,

Thanks for your info on fake watches.

Jeff,
Very interesting info you shared. Thanks.

I originally started this thread in pocket watches as my question was directed more to fake pocket watches. Do they exist?

Can anyone comment on this?

Stephanie O'Neil
NAWCC Member 143979

Hi Stephanie,

I don't know of any fake pocket watches being made at this time. However, it is possible to locate and name some of the fake makers of long ago...
In Swiss Watch Makers by Pritchard, it can be seen that some Swiss makers advertised themselves as producers of "Boston" type watches. "Boston type" was the code back then for American style pocket watches. Sometimes the fake names were added after the watches left the factory. This is clear by the fact that the same watch can be found w/o any name while examples exactly like it may have one of several American sounding names engraved on them. The same was true in England in the early to mid-1800's, with cheap watches from Coventry being marked with famous names like Tobias, Cooper, etc.

Best regards,
Greg

Hi Greg C.,
Thanks for the info!

Anyone else?

Stephanie O'Neil
NAWCC Member 143979

I'd agree with Greg that fake pocket watches were a long-ago and far-away thing. However, Mike Nardick posted this link in Pitfalls to a web-site with what they term as "Replicas" of famous current design wrist-watches and other items. Some of them look pretty amazing...


http://www.directpricings.com/


Perhaps Greg or one of our other members could tell us what the state of the law is on such things and whether their use of the term "Replica" gives them any insulation.

Lindell

It would appear they are inviting the customer to join them in ripping off the name brands. The buyer is aware the products are fake so it would not be a fraud on the customer. However, in my opinion, the sale is still unlawful. One can't use the name brands and logos of others to sell products for this is a theft of the name and logo developed at the expense of those who own them.

The various corporations subject to theft of their name brands have private security people who track down those they call "pirates" and shut them down. The most money by far is lost in the name brand clothing industry, but watches, like Rolex, have long been a target of name brand theft and subsequent consumer fraud.

It has been like this for hundreds of years. Consider for example the Tobias family of Liverpool, in the early 1800's. They built a name for themselves for building and marketing high grade British watches. However, the market in the U.S. was so flooded with cheap fakes with "Tobias" engraved upon them that today many collectors think Tobias is nothing but another brand of cheap Swiss key wind. Without legal protection, the same would have happened to Rolex long ago.

Best regards,
Greg Crockett