How to spot a fake quartz Aquaracer

U
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Hello.
My first Tag Heuer CAY111B just arrived 😀 Im a bit puzzled on the size. I says 43 mm but when measuring I get the bezel to be 43 mm and the case somewhat bigger?
 
Jim Dollares
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Where did you purchase this watch? That does not look like a TAG Heuer timepiece, it looks like a counterfit product. Can you post some close up photos so we can examine the details?
 
U
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Jim Dollares Jim Dollares
Where did you purchase this watch? That does not look like a TAG Heuer timepiece, it looks like a counterfit product. Can you post some close up photos so we can examine the details?

Absolutely. The story first. Bought from e-bay new old stock. Since I know there are fakes out there I checked serial number at TAG and came out OK. I measured the thickness to 15,77 mm. To the spec it should be 15,20. So I wrote to TAG but they referred me to their AD for authentication. That AD i in another town so instead took it to a near by well known dealer and asked for there opinion. The clerk said that she had handled many TAGs and she was 99 % sure it was genuine. Still I asked them to let their watchmaker to open it and take a look. Today they called me and said everything looks fine inside and they made a WR test, changed battery and I got i back.

Still Im not absolutely convinced and I would trust this forum better.

Pics coming up. Thanks!
 
Jim Dollares
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U Patrick Pihl
Pics.Some imperfections might be of photographic nature.
sd0.jpg sda.jpg
Yup to me it is very clear that this is a counterfit watch, it has the classic instant giveaway, that being the lume pip on the bezel. The lume pip looks nothing like it should on a CAY111B
 
U
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Jim Dollares Jim Dollares
Yup to me it is very clear that this is a counterfit watch, it has the classic instant giveaway, that being the lume pip on the bezel. The lume pip looks nothing like it should on a CAY111B

Yes I have read about that and it should be immersed. Still when looking on photos on other watches of this model I cant always see that?
 
Jim Dollares
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U Patrick Pihl
Yes I have read about that and it should be immersed. Still when looking on photos on other watches of this model I cant always see that?
That is most likely because the world is full of hundreds of thousands of people wearing fake Aquaracers, posting photos online, thinking they got a "good deal" on crime bay (Ebay).

This photo from Watchfinder shows what the lume pip should be like

IMG_1285.jpeg
 
U
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Jim Dollares Jim Dollares
That is most likely because the world is full of hundreds of thousands of people wearing fake Aquaracers, posting photos online, thinking they got a "good deal" on crime bay (Ebay).

This photo from Watchfinder shows what the lume pip should be like

IMG_1285.jpeg

I'm with you. Sending in for verification, with little hope. Bought with extra insurance for authenticity.

How about the size? Where to measure 43 mm?
 
dtf
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Sad to say, I agree with Mr Dollares, it’s a fake.

Regarding sizing, it’s never an exact science
 
U
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dtf dtf
Sad to say, I agree with Mr Dollares, it’s a fake.

Regarding sizing, it’s never an exact science

But if size not, why would lume pip be?
 
dtf
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U Patrick Pihl
But if size not, why would lume pip be?

sizes are consistent for a given model, they just don’t match the ‘41mm’ or ‘43mm’ that the manufacturers state.

Compare the lume pips:
IMG_4461.jpeg IMG_4462.jpeg
 
Jim Dollares
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U Patrick Pihl
But if size not, why would lume pip be?
Yes what Doug means is that many times it will say that a watch is, for example 39mm, but in reality that model might be 39,6 mm. I think most manufacturers simply don't state the exact size down to tenth of mm.
 
Jim Dollares
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U Patrick Pihl
Sending in for verification, with little hope
Well done, please let us know the result once you get it back from TAG Heuer.

U Patrick Pihl
Bought with extra insurance for authenticity.
Could you explain what you mean by this? Did the watch go through Ebay's authenticity guarantee?
 
U
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Jim Dollares Jim Dollares
Well done, please let us know the result once you get it back from TAG Heuer.


Could you explain what you mean by this? Did the watch go through Ebay's authenticity guarantee?


Ebay has a Swedish branch named Tradera from were i bougt it. You can buy things there with an extra inductance that the object arrives and fits the description.

Listen to this:

The watchmaker that opened it here gave me a printed service history. Watch sold to me as new demo had the warranty started ticking 26 month ago. Two day before warranty ending it had unknown service in Germany not on warranty registered. If my watch is a fake someone else has the real one with the same serial number. If the watch is genuine why would it be sent to non guaranty service close to selling? Only I can think of to refresh it and maybe replace a scratch insert. Well that's far fetched i know 😀
 
U
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Here is another shot of the lume pip. I looks quite different in this pic/light. It is recessed but not 100%.

thumbnail.jpg
 
Mspeedster
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Jim Dollares Jim Dollares
That is most likely because the world is full of hundreds of thousands of people wearing fake Aquaracers, posting photos online, thinking they got a "good deal" on crime bay (Ebay).

This photo from Watchfinder shows what the lume pip should be like

IMG_1285.jpeg
I'm no expert with these fake Aquaracers. But even the Watchfinder photo looks suspect if you ask me. It's missing "Swiss Made" at 6 o'clock.
 
Jim Dollares
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Mspeedster Mspeedster
I'm no expert with these fake Aquaracers. But even the Watchfinder photo looks suspect if you ask me. It's missing "Swiss Made" at 6 o'clock.
Nope, you are wrong. That is just the angle of the photo. Here is another photo from the same listing and we can see the beginning of "Swiss" showing a little bit.

upload_2024-2-7_9-35-37.png
 
Jim Dollares
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U Patrick Pihl
Ebay has a Swedish branch named Tradera from were i bougt it. You can buy things there with an extra inductance that the object arrives and fits the description.

Listen to this:

The watchmaker that opened it here gave me a printed service history. Watch sold to me as new demo had the warranty started ticking 26 month ago. Two day before warranty ending it had unknown service in Germany not on warranty registered. If my watch is a fake someone else has the real one with the same serial number. If the watch is genuine why would it be sent to non guaranty service close to selling? Only I can think of to refresh it and maybe replace a scratch insert. Well that's far fetched i know 😀
Ah yes, a fellow Swede, I am well aware of our crime bay version named Tradera 😀 I assume that it did not go through Ebay authenticity programme then, would be surprised if this service is offered via Tradera.

The thing is, criminal Asians who manufacture these counterfits often use genuine serial numbers from a genuine watch. There are probably hundreds or thousands of people across the globe wearing a similar counterfit with that exact serial number. Using a genuine serial makes it easy to trick those who think there is any such thing as a "good deal" on luxury goods because people look up the serial and get confirmation that yes this serial is real and "matches my watch".
 
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