avoid buying replica watch

[ckoh35]

hi, members
there are many high quality replica watch in the market, how to avoid to buy a replica watch? sometime we buy watch from non ad

[hanz079]

hi, members
there are many high quality replica watch in the market, how to avoid to buy a replica watch? sometime we buy watch from non ad

1st off, there are NO quality replicas.
They are off one way or another.
How to avoid buying a replica? Do you due diligence, do your homework.
To be safe, only buy from AD or Boutique.
If buying from non AD, try to deal at the respective brands service centre to get it verified on the spot before money exchanging hands.

[kenji1903]

how about grey dealers?

[contender]

Grey dealers plus the undated warranty cards ? The watch could be a few years old yet undated ....

[kenji1903]

Grey dealers plus the undated warranty cards ? The watch could be a few years old yet undated ....

if its undated, are grey dealers authorized to date them? is the warranty still valid?

[ckoh35]

Thank you! masters here, agree that doing homework is very important and it also learn more knowledge of the watch.

[jason_recliner]

There are indeed some very, very good fakes.

I saw some fake Hublots in Thailand that were mroe or less indistinguishable from the real thing - maybe they came out the back door of the same Chinese factory.  OK, ok, it's probably not that hard to fake a Hublot!

BUT...

A friend and fellow enthusiast purchased a used Planet Ocean from a well reputed jeweller in London.  He sent it to Omega after a year or two for servicing, only to be advised by Omega that the PO was, in fact, fake.  He took the watch and letter from Omega back to the jeweller, who was extrremely embarrassed and refuinded his money quick smart.

So...

BUY THE SELLER.  Even then, no 100% guarantee unless the seller is an AD, but still, that is your best bet.

[ckoh35]

There are indeed some very, very good fakes.

I saw some fake Hublots in Thailand that were mroe or less indistinguishable from the real thing - maybe they came out the back door of the same Chinese factory.  OK, ok, it's probably not that hard to fake a Hublot!

BUT...

A friend and fellow enthusiast purchased a used Planet Ocean from a well reputed jeweller in London.  He sent it to Omega after a year or two for servicing, only to be advised by Omega that the PO was, in fact, fake.  He took the watch and letter from Omega back to the jeweller, who was extrremely embarrassed and refuinded his money quick smart.

So...

BUY THE SELLER.  Even then, no 100% guarantee unless the seller is an AD, but still, that is your best bet.

ya, I visited the panerai ad in swiztzerland few months ago, was told that some customer found out their watch is fake one when they send for service. 

[kenji1903]

There are indeed some very, very good fakes.

I saw some fake Hublots in Thailand that were mroe or less indistinguishable from the real thing - maybe they came out the back door of the same Chinese factory.  OK, ok, it's probably not that hard to fake a Hublot!

BUT...

A friend and fellow enthusiast purchased a used Planet Ocean from a well reputed jeweller in London.  He sent it to Omega after a year or two for servicing, only to be advised by Omega that the PO was, in fact, fake.  He took the watch and letter from Omega back to the jeweller, who was extrremely embarrassed and refuinded his money quick smart.

So...

BUY THE SELLER.  Even then, no 100% guarantee unless the seller is an AD, but still, that is your best bet.

is the jeweler an AD? Malaysia, i think ADs are limited, different story overseas

i bought my Tag from Amsterdam and this jeweler is listed on Tag's website as an AD...
although they don't carry Panerai, they are able to get stock from a Panerai AD and quote me a good price... so this Tag AD is considered a grey dealer for Panerai?

some times its very difficult for us consumers

[jason_recliner]

is the jeweler an AD?

No, not an AD, just a jeweller selling second hand watches.  But he was a reputable jeweller, been there forever, family owned business, well known in London, etc, etc.  In other words, he should have known better.  That's why he was so embarrassed and refunded the money no questions asked. 

If you buy from an AD you're safe, but then your watch is $5,500 instead of $3,500.

[hidden830726]

Do not buy second hand is the best way to avoid buying replica watch. Buy from trusted AD or boutique

[tonykpk]

In Oct 2011 , i bought a steel daytona from a famous AD in Malaysia. At first i didnt notice it was m serial, When i got home i saw it was m serial that is manufacture in 2008 but the clasp code was 2010( the present type of clasp).I was real frus. and called the rolex center and was told by them that only the warranty date counts not the date of manufacture . i sold it off at a lost. If i buy a brand new one from a MWF merchant at that time , i would have saved 3k and got either a g serial or random serial because watches from the EU bought by our grey seller here are the latest stock. From that day onwards I only buy from the grey. I still have the credit card slip  and also the so called invoice to prove that this is a KISAH BENAR. And by the way i bought that daytona from the ad at premium. regards tony

Grey dealers plus the undated warranty cards ? The watch could be a few years old yet undated ....

Grey dealers plus the undated warranty cards ? The watch could be a few years old yet undated ....

if its undated, are grey dealers authorized to date them? is the warranty still valid?

[j0shua]

Best thing to do is get the watch verified prior to purchase.
Do the deal in the service centre. They verify, you pay, everyone is happy.
RSC verification is just under RM300, but the peace of mind you get cannot be quantified.

[pexus]

many good points raised by bros here...

What i've learned...
-Yes, you gotta buy the seller (be it a reputable grey or AD or boutique).  This is not some fancy cliche.  Its true.  Buying a seller means wiling to pay extra, on top of the price of the watch.  When it comes to AD and boutique, your purchase price also potentially buys your a relationship with them, which maybe useful for future purchases.  Maybe it will give you the license to walk into their shops and try, molest and even peel of plastics wraps, despite not having the intention to buy anything.   
Back to the original question, its almost impossible to end up with a replica if you buy from the right people.  Although you may have non-matching parts from different manufacturing years. 

-There is NO such thing as free lunch. And if its too good to be true, then its not.  Why would anyone sell a proper, original good condition watch at `a too good to be true' price to a stranger?   

This is not to say that good bargains no longer exists for this beloved hobby.  But the time, energy and sometimes frustations associated with searching and waiting for a good deal can be a turn off.  Although some people i know see this as a challenge. 

[chrisyen]

Don't look for cheap deal...
Buy new from shop selling genuine watches

[contender]

In Oct 2011 , i bought a steel daytona from a famous AD in Malaysia. At first i didnt notice it was m serial, When i got home i saw it was m serial that is manufacture in 2008 but the clasp code was 2010( the present type of clasp).I was real frus. and called the rolex center and was told by them that only the warranty date counts not the date of manufacture . i sold it off at a lost. If i buy a brand new one from a MWF merchant at that time , i would have saved 3k and got either a g serial or random serial because watches from the EU bought by our grey seller here are the latest stock. From that day onwards I only buy from the grey. I still have the credit card slip  and also the so called invoice to prove that this is a KISAH BENAR. And by the way i bought that daytona from the ad at premium. regards tony

Grey dealers plus the undated warranty cards ? The watch could be a few years old yet undated ....

Grey dealers plus the undated warranty cards ? The watch could be a few years old yet undated ....

if its undated, are grey dealers authorized to date them? is the warranty still valid?

Guess for those who are buying the really expensive watches like your Daytona, really have to do lots of homework .... but this are hot models should not be slow moving stock ......how come ? some more pay premium ....

[grifterfmj]

I just did verification at RSC, costs RM 242. Verbal verification but they give you a nice green Rolex watch pouch too

[kenji1903]

is the jeweler an AD?

No, not an AD, just a jeweller selling second hand watches.  But he was a reputable jeweller, been there forever, family owned business, well known in London, etc, etc.  In other words, he should have known better.  That's why he was so embarrassed and refunded the money no questions asked. 

If you buy from an AD you're safe, but then your watch is $5,500 instead of $3,500.

now you made me think twice buying from grey dealers

[kenji1903]

In Oct 2011 , i bought a steel daytona from a famous AD in Malaysia. At first i didnt notice it was m serial, When i got home i saw it was m serial that is manufacture in 2008 but the clasp code was 2010( the present type of clasp).I was real frus. and called the rolex center and was told by them that only the warranty date counts not the date of manufacture . i sold it off at a lost. If i buy a brand new one from a MWF merchant at that time , i would have saved 3k and got either a g serial or random serial because watches from the EU bought by our grey seller here are the latest stock. From that day onwards I only buy from the grey. I still have the credit card slip  and also the so called invoice to prove that this is a KISAH BENAR. And by the way i bought that daytona from the ad at premium. regards tony

Grey dealers plus the undated warranty cards ? The watch could be a few years old yet undated ....

Grey dealers plus the undated warranty cards ? The watch could be a few years old yet undated ....

if its undated, are grey dealers authorized to date them? is the warranty still valid?

can PM me the AD? due to the weakened MYR, it makes more sense to buy it locally than overseas but since you had a bad experience, i'm now afraid of both local ADs and grey dealers

[siodee]

I will learn the trend of replica world and how to spot the real and fake, there are plenty of materials, website available for you to read, cause they always do comparison of how close they make the clone to original, and there is where you can spot the different. So, do a lot of homework or bring the watch to trusted dealer or center for verification. Otherwise walk a way from the suspicious deal.


Just my 2 cents (I lost count of my cents incremental, so back to square 1) 

[pexus]

In Oct 2011 , i bought a steel daytona from a famous AD in Malaysia. At first i didnt notice it was m serial, When i got home i saw it was m serial that is manufacture in 2008 but the clasp code was 2010( the present type of clasp).I was real frus. and called the rolex center and was told by them that only the warranty date counts not the date of manufacture . i sold it off at a lost. If i buy a brand new one from a MWF merchant at that time , i would have saved 3k and got either a g serial or random serial because watches from the EU bought by our grey seller here are the latest stock. From that day onwards I only buy from the grey. I still have the credit card slip  and also the so called invoice to prove that this is a KISAH BENAR. And by the way i bought that daytona from the ad at premium. regards tony

Grey dealers plus the undated warranty cards ? The watch could be a few years old yet undated ....

Grey dealers plus the undated warranty cards ? The watch could be a few years old yet undated ....

if its undated, are grey dealers authorized to date them? is the warranty still valid?

can PM me the AD? due to the weakened MYR, it makes more sense to buy it locally than overseas but since you had a bad experience, i'm now afraid of both local ADs and grey dealers

correct me if i am wrong but if its REPLICA you're afraid of, I doubt any AD or reputable grey dealers will sell you a replica.

if you're worried about matching parts or warranty issue, then arm yourself with proper knowledge and ask the proper questions when you're dealing with the seller.   

[kenji1903]

correct me if i am wrong but if its REPLICA you're afraid of, I doubt any AD or reputable grey dealers will sell you a replica.

if you're worried about matching parts or warranty issue, then arm yourself with proper knowledge and ask the proper questions when you're dealing with the seller.   

i'm more concerned on warranty... usually if one is interested enough on a certain watch, most probably he/she'll be able to spot a replica...

mixing parts is another thing... not everyone is detailed to the point whether the bracelet matches the watch and of what year, some models might have minor updates or facelifts in between

well... no choice... like you said... knowledge is the key...