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jamesbizs
·I'm a great lakes wreck diver with typical control depths of ~35M. 10-15 minute bottom times, dark, cold, bad vis. Easily within the range of a real Aquaracer. Would have imploded the first fake I received...
Is my TAG Heuer Authentic? All questions here please
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kwilcox
·That first ebay fake I bought didn't even have the model/serial number engraved on the back and its glass, not sapphire crystal looked to be about 1/8" thick... The second fake may have held up depending on how they did the crystal - case and crown seals. Both tend to compress at depth so agree that they aren't difficult to engineer.
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kwilcox
·... Also, movements are now real, so opening the case back will show you nothing. At best, the only difference is, they so far don't seem to use screws on the movement holder. But that's not a guarantee. Maybe they will change that. Or maybe someone opens it up and does it themselves. Or maybe someone removes them from a real one, or forgets to put it. But no screws at least can set off alarm bells.
This seems to be especially true with quartz movements which are very inexpensive compared to their mechanical counterparts. Interestingly, the second fake I bought had a Ronda caliber 6003.D movement. Commonly used by Tag but didn't seem to be the common movement for mine which was reported to be either an ETA 955.112 or F06.111 in the newer runs. Sadly, the Ronda movement appeared to be superior to both, but it raised my suspicions nevertheless...
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rimaarts
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rimaarts
·In the old days, the serial numbers didn't check out. Now, almost all of them have real serial numbers, that they took from real watches. They used to steal them. Now I think they are the ones that buy them.
Tag inspection might take too long. Yes. Ebay is 30 days. Paypal is 6 months, but it's harder, AND you have to pay for shipping.
If you open up an ebay case and the guy says " not a fake", then that sucks for HIM. You don't need to prove anything. And I don't even send the watch back. I will not let them scam someone else. And as mentioned, the guy already has the same watch listed again.
And your pictures show that it is in fact a fake.
by the way I think you looked at wrong listing! the one I posted wasn't relisted! one from Bulgaria keeps popping up. each time different city, one feedback, 100% positive.
sigh... I'm a nice guy so won't be stealing even a fake watch.
now I know tag service might take too long, but what about pre inspection? as in they get the watch, look at it, send me the quote or "nope, not touching it!"? that should be faster, right? and at that point if for some reason they send me a quote and I pay, can they still say "sorry, my bad! it's a fake! here's the refund for service?"
I think I'll send it in, and if I don't get result by the time 30 days is almost up, open the case and stretch answers as long as I can until I hear from tag.
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rimaarts
·
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rimaarts
·
for the money I've spent on this and the failed breitling experiment (39mm chronometer is WAY too small for a 7.5" wrist as it turns out... ), I almost could have bought new aquaracer .. problem is I don't "love the new ones" but I love this one. steel bezel, blue dial.
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kwilcox
·I should've bought my WAY111C new as well for the same reason. But it took the Citizen failure to convince my wife and by then it was discontinued lol...
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rimaarts
·R rimaartsfor the money I've spent on this and the failed breitling experiment (39mm chronometer is WAY too small for a 7.5" wrist as it turns out... ), I almost could have bought new aquaracer .. problem is I don't "love the new ones" but I love this one. steel bezel, blue dial.
pardon the terrible pictures... but on big one I don't like hour arm and octagonal indices. also somehow feels like Cyclops is a bit small for date window.
small one is... well, too small!
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kwilcox
·Finally, I believe I have a genuine WAY111C! Bracelet is fully authentic (and a real bear to R&R those pins too), movement is screwed in place ETA 955.112. Front and back look good. Luminos is correct, crystal is sapphire and sits level with the bezel (on my second fake, the crystal protruded above the bezel). Sadly, I need to add links. Dealer said it would fit a 7" wrist but neglected to say that it was with the wetsuit clasp extended... So now I'm searching for some FM0338s.... I wonder if they fake those too lol, probably fake the BA0928 bracelet for sure. Maybe I'll just check with my local AD. This has been quite the learning experience!
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kwilcox
·Whew.. found the extra links in the case under the owner's manual.
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kwilcox
·So, take home or lessons I learned for ppl trying to find authentic Tags on online sites (in my humble opinion).
or... just go to a Tag AD or Tag online and buy one from them. My most sincere thanks to everybody who helped educate me here.
- only work with an intermediate that escrows your payment. eBay and Chrono24 are good examples of this. You need an ironclad way to get your money back if you receive a fake. Warning: I'm not endorsing eBay here; most of what eBay deals with is fake.
- read through this thread and educate yourself on what the experts here are saying so you can identify a fake and initiate the steps needed within the timeframes required to recoup your payment.
or... just go to a Tag AD or Tag online and buy one from them. My most sincere thanks to everybody who helped educate me here.
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rimaarts
·just got out of tag boutique! unless I mentioned link pins, they said they would never guess it's a fake unless I send it in for service.
essentially they admitted link pins are wrong.
however they said if I send it in and they find out it's TOO close to original, they might destroy it. so I won't take my chances with it and started item not as described case ..
essentially they admitted link pins are wrong.
however they said if I send it in and they find out it's TOO close to original, they might destroy it. so I won't take my chances with it and started item not as described case ..
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Jim Dollares
·R rimaartsif I send it in and they find out it's TOO close to original, they might destroy it
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rimaarts
·This is interesting, I have not heard this before
to be honest they said second option after sending it in is they would return the watch with papers to sign that I can't resell it. which also would make getting my money back a bit harder I think... yesterday the guy was "no need to send it for service, it'll take too long, don't be like this, it's expensive watch, if you don't like it just send it back. " let's see how quickly he will issue return postage label...
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rimaarts
·R rimaartsyeah me too... if not this I would definitely send it in just to get official paper.
to be honest they said second option after sending it in is they would return the watch with papers to sign that I can't resell it. which also would make getting my money back a bit harder I think... yesterday the guy was "no need to send it for service, it'll take too long, don't be like this, it's expensive watch, if you don't like it just send it back. " let's see how quickly he will issue return postage label...
well he sent me return label, watch is going out tomorrow. he says he will bring it to tag himself. honestly to me he really sounds like he genuinely believed when his dealer told him they have authenticated the watch so it's definitely genuine.
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kwilcox
·Unless when you send it back they claim its now damaged and can't be resold. Opening up that dispute and telling the arbitrator to accept Tag Service as the source of truth may be better IMHO. The pins empirically prove your bracelet is fake unless your included link was not from the bracelet itself which may be possible. Ideally to prove a fake bracelet you need to extract a pin/tube yourself and analyze. Plenty of inexpensive kits out there on amazon that give you the tools to do this yourself too.
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