IS YOUR ROLEX WATCH ORIGINAL?

10 TIPS THAT TELL A REAL ROLEX FROM A FAKE

1.Rolex has never manufactured a watch with a see-through case. If you see a glass-back case on a watch, move on. You’re not looking at a Rolex.

2.Rolex has never fabricated a case or a band with even the smallest amount of rubber. You know it’s a fake if you feel rubber.

3.Skeleton dials display the moving parts of a timepiece. Rolex has never made a skeleton dial.

4.Oyster Perpetual Rolex watches always have a screwed-back case – never a pop-up.

5.Rolex Oysters are fabricated of stainless steel, gold or platinum. Chrome or chrome-plate is never used.

6.Only men’s full-size Rolex watches have day and date features.

7.The case of a Rolex President is platinum, 18-karat yellow or white gold – never stainless steel or two-tone stainless and gold.

8.Rolex watches are not gold-plated – ever. When it comes to gold, a Rolex is either 14 or 18-karat gold.

9.Surprise, surprise. Rolex does indeed, make a quartz movement watch — the perpetual Oyster. But, be careful before you buy. Quartz movement Rolexes comprise fewer than 10% of all Perpetual Oysters. The other 90% are conventional automatic Rolex movements.

10.Rolex is a Swiss company that has in years past manufactured watches in various other countries including the U.S, Mexico, Italy and Venezuela – but never China. A “Chinese-made Rolex” is a genuine fake.

Dayan, who has bought tens of thousands of Rolex watches over the past 16 years says the smartest Rolex collectors seldom concern themselves with how to identify a Rolex watch, “because they depend on industry professionals they trust to guide them.”

ROLEX ‘LAWS TO LIVE BY’

“Rolex pros have ‘laws’ they live by,” says Dayan. They are:

•Never buy a watch on the street.

•Never buy from an Internet dealer – unless the dealer also operates a brick and mortar store situated in a secure, respectable location, preferably in the United States. A customer should always have the option to visit the proprietor’s store to personally inspect a watch. And, a used Rolex, like a new one, should always come with a warranty.

•Never buy Rolex watches in the Far East or Turkey, even if the dealer has a storefront presence.

•Always pay with a credit card – not cash or check. A credit card purchase provides flexibility in case you need to return the watch.

•Never buy a watch on Craig’s List.