Ceramic bezels hard to fake?

[FlyingMoose]

I wonder if part of the reason for the new ceramic bezels is that they're hard to fake. Most other things that the counterfeiters might make it out of (like plastic or even glass) would scratch with a steel knife. Has anyone heard of any fakes of the GMTc or any of the other ceramic-bezel models?

[postiff]

Originally Posted by FlyingMoose

I wonder if part of the reason for the new ceramic bezels is that they're hard to fake. Most other things that the counterfeiters might make it out of (like plastic or even glass) would scratch with a steel knife. Has anyone heard of any fakes of the GMTc or any of the other ceramic-bezel models?

I have seen them advertized some are engraved and look like they might be a picture of a real one while other are clearly lust an aluminum insert with the “correct” font printed on them.

I like the hologram sticker and the clasp looks so good…



A really good effort here but the color is all wrong

[scottschoe]

Yep there are good fakes out there. There was a comparison posted on this site a while ago - would fool many people.

[Atomant]

I think a fake ceramic bezel is gonna be soooo easy to spot! Unless someone is wearing it on his wrist a distance away.

[Singslinger]

I wouldn't underestimate the fake watch industry. It might not be able to replicate the ceramic bezel just yet (or the "ROLEXROLEXROLEX'' engraving) but I'm positive that given enough time, the fakers will find a way.

[Chris B]

Originally Posted by scottschoe

Yep there are good fakes out there.

It's so scary, look at this SDDS advertised with "REAL CERAMIC"

[Colnago]

Hell's teeth, that is scary! I work in Baku in Azerbaijan and this part of the world essentially revolves around all forms of corruption. If it's possible to fake something you can get it here....I mean ANYTHING!

Faking watches isn't their forte, however they still bring in fakes to sell on, after all, profit is profit and there seem to be no laws against faking here at all. Mostly from what I gather they come in from Hong Kong (certainly further east), some are very good, but can be spotted pretty easily if you know what to look for, they don't hide the fact that they are copies anyway.

There are a few guys here who are single and instead of going back to their country of origin they head off to different places for their leave, some head further east and bring back other copies, some of course buy local. They all know I am the watch nut of the company so of course they bring their copies to me for "authentication" evaluation, I've seen all kinds of good and bad attempts but nothing that would fool me yet.

Looking at those SDDS pictures is scary, they are the best I have seen by a long long way. The fakers attempts I have seen by the way have already managed to replicate the "ROLEXROLEXROLEX" and for instance have got to around 90% correctness with the new GMT II C clasp, they have even managed to incorporate the comfort half link extension.......two things that give the GMT copies away every time are....

1) the hand "stack" (i.e. the hour and 24 hour hands are in the wrong way around with the 24 hour one closer to the dial)....

and 2) the operation of the hands, yeah they can get the 24 hour hand to work with the 24 hour bezel but it is this hand that is adjusted for different timezones and not the hour hand......

Magnification of cyclops lens used to be a problem but they seem to have that cracked as well......also the laser etched crowns are getting better......a lot now are effectively water proof as well, maybe not to any depth but certainly for showering and possibly even surface swimming....

Movements are also something that let down all the copies I have seen, I have yet to be shown one with a 28800 beater....one listen gives the game away.....

If anyone wants me to post pictures of some copies I will do so, you'll have to accept not so good quality photo's as I have to take them with my mobile phone camera....however I could always nip out and buy a hooky Nikon!!!!!

[Colnago]

Oh, by the way, I have yet to see a ceramic bezel anywhere near authentic yet....but trust me they will get there or somewhere very close......they are very determined these folk.....I even went into one of the fakers shops and showed him my GMT II C, he said "yeah, that's nice, but I can get you a better one"......I obviously told him that he couldn't because this was the real thing, the guy just about had a heart attack, he wanted to pore over it to get details of how it "worked"....needless to say, it never left my wrist....he's none the wiser.....

[abr68]

Originally Posted by postiff

I have seen them advertized some are engraved and look like they might be a picture of a real one while other are clearly lust an aluminum insert with the “correct” font printed on them.

I like the hologram sticker and the clasp looks so good…



A really good effort here but the color is all wrong

Hi,
1st of all it is just a matter of time that the "fake" industry improves the quality of the bezels... Question is, if there is a market for aftermarket ones Actually I didn´t see any good ones.
Now to the watch shown here... Am asking myself if I get it right that you think this a "good" fake? Nothing is good at all, I have seen much better. The case, dial, bracelet, crown etc... and even the sticker are purely odd
You can see on the 1st view (without seeing the bezel insert) that this is a $50 watch
But as previously said they will become better

[rajurama]

Yep I have seen a good ceramic bezel fake! Infact they even have the sub with the new ceramic bezel before rolex! and with LEC! and the rolexrolex ring with serial no.s!!!

[Colnago]

Out of interest Rick, where'd you suppose it originated?...one guy next to me spends a lot of time in Thailand (he's a semi-pro kick boxer) he told me that they have some absolutely brilliant fakers there......in fact as they are so cheap he is going to attempt to get himself the best available copy of my own GMT II C to bring back and show me.....maybe a month from now I will post pics if they are worth it....he reckons that the ceramic bezel is right too....maybe that's where yours and the similar Sub have come from...

[Colnago]

I have to admit it sickens me to see so many fakes out here, yeah it's great to know you have the real McCoy but even so, you see some in the UK but nowhere near as many as here.....I suppose the one good thing that comes from it is that mine goes pretty much un-noticed while I am in this place so I am not a target for mugging (fingers crossed)

[abr68]

Originally Posted by Colnago

Out of interest Rick, where'd you suppose it originated?...one guy next to me spends a lot of time in Thailand (he's a semi-pro kick boxer) he told me that they have some absolutely brilliant fakers there......in fact as they are so cheap he is going to attempt to get himself the best available copy of my own GMT II C to bring back and show me.....maybe a month from now I will post pics if they are worth it....he reckons that the ceramic bezel is right too....maybe that's where yours and the similar Sub have come from...

Do we discuss now where to get the best fakes in the world
Don´t get it to be honest
Would rather prefer to discuss the original beauties and see pictures of them in any environment
Just my thoughts...

[Colnago]

Hey Axel....you're right of course, my apologies, this forum isn't for comparing fakes....we all hate them......just when you are surrounded by them you can't help being curious....newbies to the brand also need to be educated of course.....maybe this thread should be on another part of the forum........big apologies if I am out of line

[archaeofreak]

i find it educational to compare real and fake....we need this info available

[abr68]

Originally Posted by archaeofreak

i find it educational to compare real and fake....we need this info available

Yes, a good education for the guys faking the watches and parts
Advising them on each detail is not my intention at least....

[Colnago]

Thing is, we all love this brand and hold it dear....we cannot help but discuss the smallest most minute details......someone trawling through this site could find out just about everything they need to know....how do we stop that and still discuss the brand?...also how do we educate the poor folk who could otherwise be relieved of vast sums of money thinking they've bought a great watch only to find out at the first service they put their watch in for (maybe years down the line so no come back on the seller) that they have a fake......it's a very tricky and sensitive subject....

Once again for anyone reading my pevious posts....big big apology if I am out of line.....I am risking breaking one of the forum rules by keeping going....however to be educated and to be aware of these folk is to be protected......

[TempoKing]

By Keith Phoucas

An Elkins Park, PA. man has been sentenced to six years in prison for making and selling thousands of counterfeit watches he assembled in the basement of his house.

Binh Cam Tran, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge John Pedova in Philadelphia and ordered to pay $2.2 million in restitution to watch-maker Rolex, according to IRS spokesman Skip Bedics.

"Basically what he was doing was importing watch parts and assembling them at home and selling them in New York City," he said.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Foulkes, Tran was indicted by a grand jury in 2006, and last October pleaded guilty to counterfeiting, smuggling and money laundering and other offenses.

Foulkes said the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service had detained Tran in 1993 at Los Angeles International Airport, when agents discovered he brought in parts for watches, but he was apparently not arrested at that time.

"He claimed he just had them for friends," she said.

Though the man promised to change his ways, Foulkes said, instead he became more criminally sophisticated.

In 1997, Rolex hired an investigator who began tracking the Montgomery County man, and a few year later, federal agents got a search warrant and raided his home.

"There were 22,000 completed fake Rolex watches in the house, and gobs of cash," Foulkes said.

The house also held hundreds of thousands of parts to make watches.

But Tran was not a home when authorities searched the residence, and they spent another five years looking for him.

Finally, in December 2007, he was captured in Vietnam.

The U.S. attorney said the admitted counterfeiter put together the phony Rolexes in his house, then packed the goods in gym bags and sold them to wholesale buyers in New York City. Many of the watches were believed to have been sold on Canal Street.

Tran used Hong Kong bank accounts and wired money to a Cheltenham bank where his wife and sister's family had accounts, she said.

"This guy is a skilled watchmaker who could have used his talents for legitimate purposes," Foulkes said.

[rajurama]

Relax guys Im sure we can discuss the fakes in order to educate each other. And believe be the guys making fakes is a multi million industry you think they have time to look into the forums! they buy the orignals! and copy each and every details!

[chriseskew24]

Originally Posted by rajurama

Relax guys Im sure we can discuss the fakes in order to educate each other. And believe be the guys making fakes is a multi million industry you think they have time to look into the forums! they buy the orignals! and copy each and every details!

Thats the way i see it. The only way they can try to make a good fake is to have a original on hand.
And then they mass produce it. I wonder if more counterfits are produced then genuine.

[Tools]

Great information here guys... However, the best defense against finding yourself with a fake is to learn as much about the real deal as possible.....not learning what makes a fake...

In any event...the rules are clear on the Forum Boards....we do not discuss fakes; it almost always ends in a less than pleasant experience for some members.... You want to know know more about them, there are plenty of replica forums out there...

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