A friend of mine just got back from China and brought me a Rolex that I wouldn't know was fake other than it only cost me $50. The quality of the outside of the watch is very impressive. The buttons screw in and out and the bezel rotates. It is a great watch for wearing out or with a suit.

The scary thing is that my friend was shown a catalog by his Chinese associate who sold him the Rolex and a Patek Phillipe for $50 each. There were knockoffs of hundreds of models of watches. And if it wasn't in the catalog, no problem - they could get whatever you were looking for.

The watches are sold on the street starting at $600. They will banter and bargain with you to make you think you are getting their first born and try to sell it for $100 (100% profit). The lowest they will go for this quality is $60 (20% profit). At least that is what they told my friend.

I am sure the movement is junk, but I haven't been able to open the back. Any advice on what tool to use to avoid scratching it up?

John III

Crown with Rolex insignia and a blue plastic protection cover over it

Back of the watch complete with hologram Rolex sticker

Clasp of the watch which has the Rolex insignia and the inscription:

Rolex
Geneva Swiss Made
Steelinox (ROLEXSA)
CL5 72200

For $60 you get a lot of watch, often the bands and cases are quiet good, the movements are a Chinese copy of a ETA movement, saves all that time designing and testing there own, but not close enough copies that any parts can be transferred over they are a one shot deal if they break you maybe able to get another movement complete but the face parts they add to the movement you cant get. So from a value point of view they are no worse than the disposable Wal-mrt watches with the novelty of a copy. They are getting harder to spot all the time. Some of the higher grade copies will have genuine ETA movement in and make excellent semi-repairable watches not that I want to start working on them. Of course there is the ethical side and the people that are often caught out buying what they think is a genuine watch I have had to tell a few people they are fakes they are never happy sometimes I do wonder when they buy a $6000 watch for a fraction of the price, that if is was genuine they would know is was either stolen property, taking advantage of someone really desperate and/or dishonestly using there superior knowledge to steal the watch off the un-informed. So far the one I have seen once the back is opened it confirms the fakes, I see a lot of the older Rolex are being copied as they used common Valjoux movements with simple branded bridges & dial etc being the only differences. In the picture you can see several small differences, they get harder to spot daily

PS I was going to post a fake next to a geniune one, but could not find a geniune one on the net quickly

Chinese fake watches are getting better every year. Below is an interesting web site that looks at the Chinese knock offs in detail, examining the movement and pointing out the deficiencies. The also have several side by side pictures showing the differences between counterfeit and real. I travel to Shanghai about twice a year on business and am getting to know the watch scene pretty well. Without examining the mechanism I usually can not tell the difference.

http://www.replicawatchreport.com/articles/watchmasters...of-the-eta-7750.html

Even the mechanisms are getting hard to differentiate from genuine. On the high end counterfeit watches they go to great lengths to make it look like the real thing. Many Swiss watches are now showing off their movements with a crystal on back of the case. The Chinese have duplicated this feature and decorate the movement with all manner of trade mark and serial numbers that mimic the real thing. A couple of things I’ve noticed on the fakes, serial numbers and trade marks are printed on the movement instead of engraved. The general finish on the movements is not nearly as good as the real ones. And I often have seen something on a Chinese movement that one will never see on a high quality Swiss movement; a big honking fingerprint.

It’s a real shame that the Chinese are selling these watches as fakes rather than really nice watches that they are in their own right. Compared to what is selling in this country for the same amount (the $20 to $60 range) these watches are really nice; or could be if they weren’t fakes. And look out in the future; Swiss manufactures are already starting to buy Chinese movements. America isn’t the only country vulnerable to out sourcing. Like Japan in the 50s, China will overcome the poor quality and be able compete against the best.

Take a look at this watch. It is a reproduction of a watch issued to pilots in the Chinese Air Force in the 1963. Not a fake, a re-issue by the Tianjin Watch Company. Tell me that isn’t an awesome watch! With skills like that it’s a wonder they are still selling fakes rather than developing their own high end brands.

Made by Tianjin Seagull, Chronograph, Model no. 1963 re-issue

Tianjin Seagull, Chronograph, Model no. 1963, the mechanism: