How to spot a fake quartz Aquaracer

YY77
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Mspeedster Mspeedster
I hope you also asked TAG to confirm the number of Jewels as 13, not just the "Swiss Parts" vs "Swiss".

As an alternate source of evidence, these sites also state your movement should have 13 Jewels, but your movement states 6.
https://watchesandbeyond.com/produc...-date-divers-quartz-mens-watch-cay111b-ba0927
https://watchcharts.com/watch_model...r-300m-quartz-chronograph-43-cay111b/overview

Along with all the photographic evidence showing the visual differences, the fact that your movement only has 6 Jewels should be sufficient to convince ebay. Or at least I would hope so. With the huge number of fakes out there, there's no way TAG Heuer could be bothered to verify all of these on a daily basis.
I check watchbase for info but it lists both 13 and 6 jewels for a Ronda 5040.d in that model:

https://watchbase.com/tag-heuer/aquaracer/cay111b-ba0927
https://watchbase.com/ronda/caliber/5040-d
 
Screenshot_20240208-233435.png
Mspeedster
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YY77 YY77
I check watchbase for info but it lists both 13 and 6 jewels for a Ronda 5040.d in that model:

https://watchbase.com/tag-heuer/aquaracer/cay111b-ba0927
https://watchbase.com/ronda/caliber/5040-d
No, I don't feel that is what Watchbase is saying. Watchbase doesn't state the specific Jewels used for the CAY111B, it just lists the movement as 5040.D.

Then when you click on "5040.D", it then brings you to an independent & separate page for the Ronda movement. It's this generic page on the Ronda movement that says two versions, Swiss Made 13 Jewels or Swiss Parts 6 Jewels. It's not specific to the Aquaracer CAY111B. Any watch listed in Watchbase that uses the same movement would go to this Ronda movement page if clicked on. For example, if I enter my F1 Gulf CAZ101N.FC8243, it shows the same.

See the heading says Ronda> Calibers > 5040.D, it's not specific to the Aquaracer in question.
Ronda.jpg



Most places that list specifically for the Aquaracer CAY111B (or CAY111A black color) say 13 Jewels. Crown & Caliber says 10, but I'm pretty sure that's a mistake.

I've not run across a site that says 6 Jewels for the Aquaracer CAY111B.
Edited:
 
YY77
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Mspeedster Mspeedster
No, I don't feel that is what Watchbase is saying. Watchbase doesn't state the specific Jewels used for the CAY111B, it just lists the movement as 5040.D.

Then when you click on "5040.D", it then brings you to an independent & separate page for the Ronda movement. It's this generic page on the Ronda movement that says two versions, Swiss Made 13 Jewels or Swiss Parts 6 Jewels. It's not specific to the Aquaracer CAY111B. Any watch listed in Watchbase that uses the same movement would go to this Ronda movement page if clicked on. For example, if I enter my F1 Gulf CAZ101N.FC8243, it shows the same.

See the heading says Ronda> Calibers > 5040.D, it's not specific to the Aquaracer in question.
Ronda.jpg



Most places that list specifically for the Aquaracer CAY111B (or CAY111A black color) say 13 Jewels. Crown & Caliber says 10, but I'm pretty sure that's a mistake.

I've not run across a site that says 6 Jewels for the Aquaracer CAY111B.
Understood, fakers seem to rely on Watchbase for their info.
 
Aquagraph
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U Patrick Pihl
Maybe 😀

This AD however told me that they quite often cant say and send it in to TAG.

An AD can probably tell you a fake if it's obvious but I wouldn't trust them to tell me it's 100% genuine.
 
U
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Aquagraph Aquagraph
An AD can probably tell you a fake if it's obvious but I wouldn't trust them to tell me it's 100% genuine.

I agree on that after some correspondents 😀 But still one watchmaker have seen Ronda 5040D Swiss parts version and another I told them about it. None of them reacted on this. That level of knowledge is not there.
 
U
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When we are at it I did a lume check and colours are wrong on the hands. The hands have the same greenish colour all over, should only be on the tip. This pic from TAGs site.
upload_2024-2-9_15-37-17.png
 
U
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Today TAG Heuer replied to my e-mail and confirmed that they never use the silver version movement in the watch. Kind of expected but nice of them confirm this.
 
akong71
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U Patrick Pihl
Today TAG Heuer replied to my e-mail and confirmed that they never use the silver version movement in the watch. Kind of expected but nice of them confirm this.

That should be enough for you to return it, no? That and the many other red flags we discussed here…
 
JAH
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U Patrick Pihl
Today TAG Heuer replied to my e-mail and confirmed that they never use the silver version movement in the watch. Kind of expected but nice of them confirm this.

Could you post that in the Is my Tag Heuer authentic thread ?
 
U
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JAH JAH
Could you post that in the Is my Tag Heuer authentic thread ?

Probably a good idea since this is a statement from TAG it adds some significant information on a legal level. Although well known by some experts in here.
 
Mspeedster
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JAH JAH
Could you post that in the Is my Tag Heuer authentic thread ?
The problem with the "Is My TAG Heuer Authentic?" thread is that there are literally thousands (6000+) of posts in it, making it almost impossible to find things. I rarely ever read that thread now days.

It would be better if one of the mods, @Hubert or @Albert-AMG, could rename this thread something like "How to spot a fake quartz Aquaracer" and make it a sticky.

It also would be helpful if @Patrick Pihl can post an actual copy of the official TAG Heuer response here, with anything personal deleted or covered up. That way it's more than just hearsay found on the internet.
 
U
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I keep on listening on what would be best for the community in this situation and will do my part. 😀
 
Shane paradis
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Aquagraph Aquagraph
The golden rule should be buy from an Ad. End of story.
I have to slightly disagree with you on that. I think most people should buy from an AD for most models. If we can tell from some bad photos that this watch is fake, then it should be even more obvious in person. My F1 still sells for $1700 from an AD, but is worth about $1000 second hand. I never have a problem buying second hand if I KNOW the watch I’m looking at and I know where it came from. I don’t have the luxury visit the AD every time. All of my TAGs were purchased used. I should have done more research before I bought the F1, but I ended up getting lucky. I always say buy from AD if you aren’t 100% comfortable with the model you’re looking at.
 
IMG_2563.jpeg
U
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Shane paradis Shane paradis
If we can tell from some bad photos that this watch is fake, then it should be even more obvious in person.

Im not 100% convinced that one could tell from bad photos. As I said it look much better IRL. I gave it a thought and landed in that my iphone processed a lot of low light noise and smothered out details. The photo below looks much better then the one on page 3. Anyway the movement gave it away for sure. TAG service centre had the watch for repair/service and did not noticed it was fake until they opened it. Another reputed watch firm here in Sweden said it was genuine and they even changed the battery and was asked the specific question, is it real?
tag 2.jpg
 
Aquagraph
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Shane paradis Shane paradis
I have to slightly disagree with you on that. I think most people should buy from an AD for most models. If we can tell from some bad photos that this watch is fake, then it should be even more obvious in person. My F1 still sells for $1700 from an AD, but is worth about $1000 second hand. I never have a problem buying second hand if I KNOW the watch I’m looking at and I know where it came from. I don’t have the luxury visit the AD every time. All of my TAGs were purchased used. I should have done more research before I bought the F1, but I ended up getting lucky. I always say buy from AD if you aren’t 100% comfortable with the model you’re looking at.

Maybe. But I look at it like this. I would 100% think that Watchfinder could spot a fake better than I could. And yet here in this thread we've decided that Watchfinder don't know that they have a fake grey dial Aquaracer*. I am sure WF have a lot more experience than I do so if they can't spot a fake I got no chance. I spend every day looking at only one watch brand, so I would say 99% of people out there should buy from an AD because 99% of people have less of a clue than even me.

*I'm not sure either way on that but whatever.
 
akong71
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There's a local watch retail/repair shop in my area that is the service centre for multiple brands in Western Canada including Omega and Tag Heuer. They are a TAG AD, but they also sell certified pre-owned watches. I would trust buying a pre-owned watch from them. In fact, I bought my Breitling Colt GMT form them almost 2 years ago. I'm certain, being a TAG Heuer service centre, that they would be able to tell the fakes apart from the real TAGs. They offer a 2 year certified pre-owned warranty, and they service the watches before they sell them.

Otherwise, I would only buy from an AD (if I was interested in an Aquaracer or F1). The F1 chronograph that I own was bought brand new from an AD in 2015. I got a 20% discount when I bought it, so that seemed pretty good.
 
Mspeedster
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U Patrick Pihl
Im not 100% convinced that one could tell from bad photos. As I said it look much better IRL. I gave it a thought and landed in that my iphone processed a lot of low light noise and smothered out details. The photo below looks much better then the one on page 3. Anyway the movement gave it away for sure. TAG service centre had the watch for repair/service and did not noticed it was fake until they opened it. Another reputed watch firm here in Sweden said it was genuine and they even changed the battery and was asked the specific question, is it real?
tag 2.jpg
That does look better from afar. However, the TAG logo is now out of focus, so it's even harder to analyze the details when zooming in.
tag 2c.jpg


But I agree it's super hard to visually spot the differences on these well made fakes. I can spot fakes of the F1 Gulf easily because I own the real deal. For the average buyer who doesn't have an authentic piece to compare, it's very hard to know.
 
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