Unfortunately this is exactly the kind of watch the fakers will go for. Warranty cards and stickers can be faked too, if they know one genuine card number then how do you know they haven't made 50 cards with that number on it? Unfortunately this is where the second hand market is at now with these models. So yeah, you 'could' get a bargain, but if you get a fake (and it probably will be a good fake that you won't know until you get it checked by TAG Heuer) then there's gonna be no comeback with that seller.
Ah right I see what you mean. Hadn’t thought about the faking of warranty cards and numbers etc. guess I will give this one a miss and keep looking as I’m on the hunt for a couple of watches for my boys to give to them that aren’t going to break the bank and will look nice and will wear for years to come
I'm not saying it's fake, I'm saying you don't know... and you really can't tell any more. Unfortunately.
Yeah this is the problem, unless it’s coming from a reputable source then there is no real guarantee.
Even a reputable source isn't a guarantee, unless they are willing to take it back if TAG say it is fake. But of course anyone who would do that (like say Watchfinder for example) will charge top dollar. There's no cheap, safe way to buy a TAG nowadays.
Shame, though, as the one in your eBay link looks like it might be genuine and the seller seems to have reasonable feedback. Things that would help... a picture of the caseback showing the serial number so you can match it to the extract, doing your own serial number/warranty search on the TH website, asking if they have a store receipt showing where the watch was originally purchased. And if you purchased, you'd obviously have to check the watch sent to you was the same one as in the pics, and possibly send it straight off to TAG for authentication. Could be worth the hassle though, if the price is right?
I too was under the impression that there were many fakes of these Formula One models out there, precisely because of their popularity. Some of the ones I’d seen were very, very convincing too. I must say, that particular model is a really nice looking piece. I have always been tempted by one myself
Yes, it's been in the line up a long time, still on the website now and came out either 2017 or 2018 IIRC
February 2018 http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2018/02/first-impressions-tag-heuer-formula-one.html