Is my TAG Heuer Authentic? All questions here please

JAH
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mattp mattp
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Brilliant😉
Those are Ali Express watches if you search good enough
 
N
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Didn't realise Tag Heuer was faked so much – I figured this was mostly an activity reserved for “higher” brands, such as Rolex, Omega, etc.

Could somebody please ensure that the SEL I bought is actually real? 😁
 
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Anthony.
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Tag is probably number 2 in the most faked watch brand.
 
mattp
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N Nikitn
Didn't realise Tag Heuer was faked so much – I figured this was mostly an activity reserved for “higher” brands, such as Rolex, Omega, etc.

Could somebody please ensure that the SEL I bought is actually real? 😁

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Mine is 100% original. Its almost the same watch. Dial is a little bit different. Can't guarantee your watch is real, but it looks okay.
I like to wear mine especially with the black leather strap.
 
N
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Yours looks pristine 😉 Just a pity both of our watches are missing their bezel lume dots.. Is it expensive to get it replaced at a Jeweller?

Anthony. Anthony.R
Tag is probably number 2 in the most faked watch brand.

Huh, interesting. If you're going to spend a lot of time and effort producing an extremely good replica though, it doesn't make sense to do that for a cheaper brand. Wouldn't it be better to go for Rolex or something like that?

To be honest, I particularly don't understand why anyone would bother to produce high-quality fakes of old Tag Heuer watches (because it woud probably cost more to make them than you'd get by selling them) – so I guess mattp's and my SELs should be legit based on this reasoning alone.
 
Jim Dollares
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N Nikitn
If you're going to spend a lot of time and effort producing an extremely good replica though, it doesn't make sense to do that for a cheaper brand. Wouldn't it be better to go for Rolex or something like that?
I don't agree, it makes a lot more sense to do replikas of cheaper watches. People are not as suspicious and cautious and we see all the time people getting tricked into spending 1-2k on a fake F1 or Aquaracer on Ebay. Would they spend 10-15k on a Rolex without hesitation? Probably not.


N Nikitn
particularly don't understand why anyone would bother to produce high-quality fakes of old Tag Heuer watches (because it woud probably cost more to make them than you'd get by selling them

For sure it wont cost more to make them than what they sell them for. Go on youtube and look at Chinese watches like Pagani Design or Cronos watches. These cost between 70-350 dollars brand new (!) and have mechanical movements, see through caseback, sapphire crystal, ceramic bezels, pvd coating, well made bracelets, unbelievable finishing with mixed polished and brushed surfaces and so on. Obviously these watches are sold with a profit so what could they cost to produce, an average of 30 dollars perhaps?
 
mattp
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Original Chinese. This is what I wear when I'm doing rough work. 😉 reliable en strong btw
 
Mspeedster
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mattp mattp
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Original Chinese. This is what I wear when I'm doing rough work. 😉 reliable en strong btw
I have no idea what that is, but it's got a C11 like left side crown so kudos for that! 😜
 
mattp
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That valve is necessary because I live 4 meters under sea level here in Holland.. 😎
 
N
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Jim Dollares Jim Dollares
I don't agree, it makes a lot more sense to do replikas of cheaper watches. People are not as suspicious and cautious and we see all the time people getting tricked into spending 1-2k on a fake F1 or Aquaracer on Ebay. Would they spend 10-15k on a Rolex without hesitation? Probably not.




For sure it wont cost more to make them than what they sell them for. Go on youtube and look at Chinese watches like Pagani Design or Cronos watches. These cost between 70-350 dollars brand new (!) and have mechanical movements, see through caseback, sapphire crystal, ceramic bezels, pvd coating, well made bracelets, unbelievable finishing with mixed polished and brushed surfaces and so on. Obviously these watches are sold with a profit so what could they cost to produce, an average of 30 dollars perhaps?

Interesting points -- thanks a lot for sharing. Just to add, I think that the Chinese brands probably have small margins and so the production cost is likely far above $30. And furthermore, I'd assume Pagani and Chronos achieve classical industries of scale, which isn't straightforward to do for the fakers. So it wouldn't surprise me at all if it costs them at least several hundred $$$ to produce a high-quality fake.

I wonder if anybody here has ever talked with replica makers though? It'd be good to know your enemy!
 
Pitfitter446
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People will be less suspicious of lesser? brands going cheap(er), Rolex has a reputation for being hard to get and being more expensive, cheap TAGs raise less warning flags.
 
Aquagraph
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N Nikitn
Yours looks pristine 😉 Just a pity both of our watches are missing their bezel lume dots.. Is it expensive to get it replaced at a Jeweller?



Huh, interesting. If you're going to spend a lot of time and effort producing an extremely good replica though, it doesn't make sense to do that for a cheaper brand. Wouldn't it be better to go for Rolex or something like that?

To be honest, I particularly don't understand why anyone would bother to produce high-quality fakes of old Tag Heuer watches (because it woud probably cost more to make them than you'd get by selling them) – so I guess mattp's and my SELs should be legit based on this reasoning alone.

Generally speaking fakers make watches from the (then) 'current' era as they are more saleable (there are exceptions of course), so yes most fake SELs will be from the 90s and consequently utterly terrible. I wouldn't hesitate to buy your watch, I don't know if I've ever seen a fake SEL that wasn't obvious within three seconds. Usually the bracelets are made as one piece (rather than two side by side), that's always the first thing to look for.
 
DavPM
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I may or may not have bought a few fakes since starting to purchase potential tag heuers a few months ago and i am aware of this, mostly being with no paperwork.
One thing that i am wondering about is a ( possible) series 1000 I bought. I do really like it but it hasn't got a lume dot ( or hole where there used to be one ) on the bezel at the 12 position - see pic.
Every pic I've seen of series 1000 since have the lume dot. So, was this ever a thing ? Is there a possibility the bezel's been swapped out or just (obvs) fakery ?
Cheers,
Dave.
 
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Aquagraph
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Unfortunately the 1000 is a watch that is worth faking due to the high prices they go for. There is a very peculiarly high number of these around in phenomenal condition, which really doesn't make sense. We also had a guy here who bought one and sent it to TAG (who said it was real) but we are pretty sure that it wasn't. Not least because it had a dull red/orange dial and the original was a bright metallic red. For this reason I don't own a 1000 Series, and probably never will, unfortunately.
 
DavPM
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Aquagraph Aquagraph
Unfortunately the 1000 is a watch that is worth faking due to the high prices they go for. There is a very peculiarly high number of these around in phenomenal condition, which really doesn't make sense. We also had a guy here who bought one and sent it to TAG (who said it was real) but we are pretty sure that it wasn't. Not least because it had a dull red/orange dial and the original was a bright metallic red. For this reason I don't own a 1000 Series, and probably never will, unfortunately.
Soooo, i take it that comes under the heading "obvs fakery" then ?
 
Aquagraph
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Well yes, except that TAG Heuer gave it a certificate saying it was genuine. Which is enormously problematic, because they are the highest authority so that watch is now genuine - like it or not. So yeah, either we're not as smart as we think we are or TAG can't recognize their own products. Then again apparently they don't even know which year the Carrera came out... and to be fair it's complicated because the current owners bought the company in 1999, so they weren't responsible for record keeping prior to that. Also you have to remember that watches in the 1980s were just watches. They weren't commodities, people bought them to wear, not keep in safes, and nobody was upset if their watch came with TAG Heuer on the dial and a Heuer clasp, crown or backplate. They used up old parts until they were gone and then they had new ones made with the new logo - although the classic F1s never got TH crowns for some reason.
 
Mspeedster
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DavPM DavPM
I may or may not have bought a few fakes since starting to purchase potential tag heuers a few months ago and i am aware of this, mostly being with no paperwork.
One thing that i am wondering about is a ( possible) series 1000 I bought. I do really like it but it hasn't got a lume dot ( or hole where there used to be one ) on the bezel at the 12 position - see pic.
Every pic I've seen of series 1000 since have the lume dot. So, was this ever a thing ? Is there a possibility the bezel's been swapped out or just (obvs) fakery ?
Cheers,
Dave.
There should be a lume dot on the 1000. But in addition to fakes, there are many Frankenstein 1000s out there. Mixtures of different 1000 components (that don't belong on a given model, but are authentic parts) and also 3rd party parts. So it's possible that parts of your watch are authentic, if not most, but the bezel was probably swapped with a 3rd party piece. Whatever the case, the bezel does not look correct. It's not just the lume dot, the spacing, size and font of the numbers and lines aren't right either. The hands look a little suspect as well but not as sure on those.
 
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