Day Date taking off band and band question

[dante305]

Hello,

How can you tell wether a 18K Day Date band is original Rolex or not? What do you look for when you look for an original one vs a fake one? is there any way to spot them easily?

As far as taking the band off a Day Date (18238) I do not have a Spring Bar Tool right now but would like to take off the band to take note of the serial #, is it possible to do it at home without scratching the case? I have plenty of time and I'm down to being as cautious as possible of course, my friend owns a Day Date and he told me he took his off with two "needles" using them like a "Spring Bar Tool" to remove the springs...

Thanks a lot!