My wife may have bought me a fake Rolex...

[bionicboogie]

... for my 40th birthday and it pains me to say it, but she may have been taken.

Here is the situation:

It is a 1999 A Series Sub (transition model) 16610 Swiss only that was bought through a friend of a friend. I don't suspect him, but his associate may be the one who duped my wife. It had the green case, all the papers, etc.

I showed it to another friend who is a watch aficionado, and he suggested it may be fake. He was basing it on the weight, the feel of the band and that there is no engraving on the caseback. From the research I have done, there shouldn't be anything on the caseback apart from a hologram sticker on the newer models.

Once he suggested it was bogus, I became crushed and did a lot more research. The reason I think it may be fake is relating to the number of bezel clicks it takes for a full rotation. My bezel is a little loose (occaisionally will slip and allow a slip in both directions), but my real concern is that it is one click per second, not the 120 per full rotation.

Is this 60 clicks per full rotation normal for this model or a dead giveaway that it is fake?

Apart from groups like this, how does one find out if it is real? I suppose I could take it to Rolex directly and have them disassemble it to look inside but that may set me back another couple hundred back when I may have already been taken for over $5000.

I was feeling on top of the world before, as though I had finally been granted permission into a wonderful and exclusive club. Now a just feel like another putz who has taken advantage of... any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Paul