Everybody wants a Rolex! People just love Rolex watches. Sadly, so do other watch companies because
almost all of them copy Rolex's style. There are
Rolex knock-offs in just about every watch line in every Jewelry store. Whether it's the
Oyster Perpetual, Date-Just, Datona or Submariner, it's bound to be duplicated! With Rolex wannabes and fakes everywhere, it's hard to tell the difference between a real Rolex and a fake Rolex watch.
If you happen to walk the streets of New York City, you're bound to hear someone in a trench coat yell "Hey, you wanna buy a Rolex?" Before you buy, consider this: There are 3 types of Rolex watches out there. A Bad Fake, a Good Fake, and a Genuine Rolex Watch! Which one are you looking for? What are you willing to spend? Bad Fake Rolexes have some quick signs that everyone points out that distinguish them from a real Rolex. First on the list: Ticking! On a real Rolex, the second hand sweeps around the face smoothly. (Although it still ticks very quickly at 8 ticks a second) On a bad fake, the second hand will tick one second at a time. It ticks a second at time because it's quartz movement (Battery operated) (But then again, Air-Kings are quartz movements also. Go figure. They're just rare to run across!) Usually the ticking is a dead give-away.
Good counterfeits have almost mastered that ticking clue though. They have second hands that sweep more smoothly, but still a little jerky and more obvious that it's actually ticking. General rule of thumb states, that if it ticks, it's more than likely fake!
Bad fake Rolex watches (See picture) have a piece of glass as the watch face instead of a Sapphire Crystal. Good fakes have gone so far as to put in Sapphire Crystals. Sapphire Crystals are durable and scratch resistant. Water tends to bead up on Sapphire Crystals. Glass will dull quickly and show signs of wear and tear like scratches and chipped edges. Besides, glass faces sound differently when tapped versus Sapphire Crystals.
Bad fakes have cheap hands, most are squared off and shorter. Good fakes have hands that are nearly identical to a real Rolex.
Bad fakes are light-weight and feel cheap. That's because they're made of base metal instead of Gold or Steel. Gold is much heavier and solid feeling than cheap base metal. Good fake Rolexes are made better, heavier, and are harder to tell their difference in weight. Usually the band is one of the biggest give-aways to a fake Rolex. Fakes tend to have hollow links, where as a real Rolex has solid links. Fakes have pins holding the links together, a real Rolex has screws. Some of the better made fakes are implementing screws now also. It's just getting harder to spot the differences.
Cheap fake Rolexes are missing serial numbers. If you remove the band from the case, you'll see serial numbers that identify that watch. All Rolex watches have these. And since you have the band off, if you look closely at the fakes, most of the time you'll see where the gold plating is chipping or wearing off to reveal the white base metal behind. And on top of that, if you run your hands over the edges of the band, a fake one will have hard, sharp edges. A real Rolex will have clean lines and smooth edges.
So what are the top ten signs your Rolex is a fake? Read on...
