Like many high-priced, brand-name accessories, Rolex watches are also frequently counterfeited. These fakes are mainly produced in China due to the ease in copying the general design and often illegally sold on the street and on the internet with a nickname “Folex” or “Fauxlex”, or “Trolex” and some similar names. Most of them are the copies of Rolex Oyster Perpetual designs. Fake Rolexes are also promoted via E-mail spam.
In order to save you from these replicas/fakes some useful tips are given here. These are only for assistance purposes. Best results can be obtained only if you proceed carefully.
CASE REFERENCE NUMBERS - Most accurate way to identify a genuine Rolex is that genuine Rolex models have Serial and Case Reference Numbers engraved on the side of the case. This engraving between the lugs is very smooth and catch the light like a diamond cut edge. Such a feature on fakes is either missing or look “sand-blasted” or roughly etched or have uneven/unusual spaces or even repetition of same numbers.
CLEAR CASEBACKS - One of the easiest ways to identify a real Rolex is that Rolex has never made a watch with a “skeleton caseback”. Rolex does not make such a watch with the exception of two 1930s vintage manual wind models with glass “exhibition backs” while fakes use a clear display, or “skeleton” caseback.
ENGRAVED CASEBACKS - Genuine Rolex models have a “smooth” caseback free from engraved logos, hallmarks or designs with the exceptions of some ladies’ models with original or similar to Rolex design engraved on its caseback and some Sea-Dweller casebacks engraved with “ROLEX OYSTER ORIGINAL GAS ESCAPE VALVE.
DAYTONA REGISTERS… Genuine Rolex Daytona models have mini-registers on the dial which perform Chronograph “stop watch” functions (i.e. elapsed hours and minutes). The large “sweep” hand on the dial is also part of the stop watch function, and is not the primary second hand– the second hand for the watch is the small 20/40/60 register. Genuine Daytona have properly marked and positioned registers. While fakes Daytona have smaller and incorrectly sized/marked/positioned registers and their operations will also be incorrect.
HOLOGRAM STICKERS - Genuine Rolex models have a Hologram-encoded (3-dimensional) sticker on the caseback which features Rolex “crown” positioned above the watch’s case reference number. The background pattern changes in appearance when viewed from different angles.
DATE MAGNIFICATION - Genuine Rolex date models (except the Sea-Dweller) have a Cyclops bubble attached to the crystal, positioned over the date which offers to magnify the tiny aperture to 2.5 times while fakes magnifies nearly 1.5 time. Fake’s bubble is often off-center or made of glass. Some fakes uses larger date fonts to create an illusion of higher magnification.
TRIPLOCK CROWN SEAL - Genuine Rolex Triplock crown (identified by 3 tiny dots engraved under the Rolex “crown” logo) models have an extra seal between the threads of the winding crown’s tube and is visible like a black o-ring gasket when the winding crown is fully unscrewed while most of the fakes does not have any similar feature or possess a fake seal which is merely cosmetic and serves no practical purpose as it is not fully functional.
MICRO-ETCHED CRYSTAL - After 2002 Rolex began micro-etching their coronet symbol into the crystal just below the 6 o’clock position. The mark is almost invisible to the naked eye but can be identified under magnification and fakes cannot replicate such a precise logo accurately.
SAPPHIRE COMPOSITION -Use of regular glass instead of true sapphire crystal makes fake’s identification easier. Water surface tension will differentiate a glass from sapphire. A smeared film of water will pull together on sapphire due to the extremely smooth surface.
SIZE/SHAPE/MOVEMENT OF HANDS - The second/minute hands on a genuine Rolex watch are of standard shape and size and have smoother edges and are fine looking. Their movements are smooth/small/continuous and free from jerky increments. And this cannot be duplicated by fake watches.
Rolex watches are probably one of the most copied watches in the world. Many of the counterfeits use very good mechanical movements that lets the sweep second hand glide around the dial chapters, a Rolex trait. Others use a common quartz movement where the sweep second hand ticks every second as it steps around the dial, an obvious fake. But be careful, Rolex made a few models that used quartz movements.
So, what should you look for? The best thing to do is to take your watch to a qualified watchmaker and let them determine if your watch is genuine Rolex or not. Next, you can remove the watch band. Check between the lugs at the 12 position and see if it has an engraved “Registered Design” number. If you see no number, it is fake. Now check between the lugs at the 6 position. Here you should see a serial number of the case. If there is no number, it is fake.
If there is a glass crystal on the back of the case, so you can see the movement, your watch is fake. Also many times, you will see a “Rolex” that has the Rolex name engraved on the case back. These are also fakes.
On gold colored watches, look for signs of wear on the lug ends and on the case backs. Fake Rolex watches will often display area where the gold color has worn off, exposing the white colored base metal of the case below. Check the watch bands and look at the clasp. A genuine Rolex clasp is nicely engraved with the old original Rolex emblem. This appears on both gold and stainless clasps on watch bands.
Another thing to look for is the weight of the watch. Gold Rolex watches are very heavy as compared to the fakes which are very light for their apparent mass. This is because the specific gravity of gold (Au) is much greater than the specific gravity of a base metal. Stainless steel Rolex watches also have more weight to them because stainless is also much heavier than the base metal used in bogus watches.
When buying a Rolex on eBay, it is very important to deal with someone who have a proven track record in selling Rolex watches. Another thing to look for are sellers who have all documents associated with the Rolex you are thinking about buying. Always insist on having the original box and all documents that come with the Rolex when it was originally purchased new.
Never fail to ask the seller questions about any Rolex watch that is offered for sale on eBay. A good seller will always answer any questions that you have.
We hope that this information helps. We understand that many people come into contact with a watch that may have been a gift or inherited from someone and they simply don’t know if the watch they received is genuine or not. It is with this in mind that we hope this article helps you determine the true identity of your watch.
