A timely reminder: Fakes keep getting better [Rolex Fraud]

Calibre11
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I remember seeing this clip over the summer break, which reminded me how good fakes are getting these days

The main risk I see for TAG Heuer is the Aquaracer 300m- there seem to be plenty of these replicas floating around, and they are now so good that I wouldn't bet on anyone's ability to judge solely from the photos whether a watch was genuine or not. Things are a little easier if you have the real and the replica in your hand at the same time, but from photos alone? No thanks.

Then I saw this story earlier today. OK, a slightly different type of fraud here, but again it shows you how close the replicas are to the real thing.

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=722353

Fair to say that this story has exploded, as the seller was (up to this point) a well-known and trusted seller.

Also see here: https://www.instagram.com/horologyhouseisascammer/

Be careful out there!!
Edited:
 
Mr_Orange
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Calibre11 Calibre11
I remember seeing this clip over the summer break, which reminded me how good fakes are getting these days

The main risk I see for TAG Heuer is the Aquaracer 300m- there seem to be plenty of these replicas floating around, and they are now so good that I wouldn't bet on anyone's ability to judge solely from the photos whether a watch was genuine or not. Things are a little easier if you have the real and the replica in your hand at the same time, but from photos alone? No thanks.

Then I saw this story earlier today. OK, a slightly different type of fraud here, but again it shows you how close the replicas are to the real thing.

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=722353

Fair to say that this story has exploded, as the seller was (up to this point) a well-known and trusted seller.

Also see here: https://www.instagram.com/horologyhouseisascammer/

Be careful out there!!

Yes, I picked up the HH story over on WUS and read some of the thread. Looks bad for him.

The quality of the fakes is definitely leading sensible buyers away from the grey market and to ADs or boutiques.
 
Jim Dollares
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Calibre11 Calibre11
The main risk I see for TAG Heuer is the Aquaracer 300m- there seem to be plenty of these replicas floating around
Yes totally agree with this and we have seen many examples. I wrote in another thread a while back that in a Swedish forum there were a handful of Aquaracers that have been sold and bought between different forum members during a couple of years. They turned out to be extremely good fakes. Worth adding to that story is that one of Sweden's biggest and most trusted auction firms had provided an "authenticity proof" (a service they charge money for and that one of the forum members had payed for to ensure the watch was real).

The day I buy an Aquaracer it will definitely be from an AD.
 
dtf
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There was a thread on here last year discussing a fake 300m aquaracer. I couldn't tell the difference from photos, until someone pointed them out, and I was wearing a 300m aquaracer at the time.
 
Aquagraph
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Mr_Orange Mr_Orange
The quality of the fakes is definitely leading sensible buyers away from the grey market and to ADs or boutiques.

Ironic isn't it, an unintended consequence of getting too good... I for one have pretty much given up on the idea of buying anything 'recent' from eBay, it's fine for anything pre-2000s and some early 2000s (so long as you have some idea), but a recent Aquaracer, no thanks! Mind you, I haven't seen any good Heuer01 or Heuer 02 fakes that I can remember... or maybe they were so good I didn't notice! I'll stick to outlets and ADs I think.
 
OttoWilliam
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Please be note that it is happening on other brands as well apart from Rolex, Omega, and Tag Heuer.

We all seen very very good fake Oris as well. I am not surprise if someday there will be fake Longines and fake Baume&Mercier as well.

Remain careful. Keep calm and report the fake !
 
Calibre11
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OttoWilliam OttoWilliam
Please be note that it is happening on other brands as well apart from Rolex, Omega, and Tag Heuer.

We all seen very very good fake Oris as well. I am not surprise if someday there will be fake Longines and fake Baume&Mercier as well.

Remain careful. Keep calm and report the fake !
Absolutely. I was in Bali last year and saw an amazing Patek Aquanaut replica. They’re several hundred dollars, but would fool 95% of people at first glance.
 
RockBurner
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Hubert Hubert
Here's another one:


Watched that the other day and even though the fake is rough in places, it's still an incredibly well-made item. I wonder just how much profit they can actually be making.....
 
Jim Dollares
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RockBurner RockBurner
Watched that the other day and even though the fake is rough in places, it's still an incredibly well-made item. I wonder just how much profit they can actually be making.....
I guess the Swiss manufacturers have around 90-95% margins so the Chinese can probably live with a 15% margin or similar 🙄
 
Hubert
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Yeah, once a clone is made, the profits in mass-production probably make this a very attractive business model; assuming they don't get caught.

I've read that where these clones tend to fail dramatically is on the quality and reliability of their seals and movements.
 
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