Quick hand switch. Beware!

[Thathorologist]

lots of things don’t make sense here.
Could it be that the kid (seller) switched the watch?
Did he take the watch back and called his “father” before committing to the deal?
That’s a better possibility In my opinion, and very Professional!

[007timer]

Originally Posted by spoilsofwar01

Hello and thank you for the heads up in regards to what has happened to you, Ive read most of what others have said and the following has been going around in my head...........

Has the Watch Maker got any CCTV, did you check the sellers I.D. and ask for some proof of ownership? prior to any purchase I always check with Rolex the serial number, some numbers are well know, and finally receipts, I draw one up as a disclaimer just in case its an insurance scam and would ask for proof of address and would photograph his drivers licence...... I understand that some of this can be falsified however it offers up a little damage limitation in the event of something going wrong and would hopefully put of a scammer.

Originally Posted by AK797

There is if you take it to RSC and ask for a repair or polish quote. They will first check if it stolen.

True, but an AD will not do it. You would have to drive down to Beverly Hills where I took my GMT to get that process started. There would have to be a lot of meeting of the minds for people to drive up to LA and allow them to start checking it without buying it. Slightly more complex than the comment suggested. Your suggestion is possible, but also difficult.

[007timer]

Originally Posted by Thathorologist

lots of things don’t make sense here.
Could it be that the kid (seller) switched the watch?
Did he take the watch back and called his “father” before committing to the deal?
That’s a better possibility In my opinion, and very Professional!

That is exactly what happened. The seller "Scammer/Thief/Piece of $hit" had two watches on him. A genuine Submariner and a fake one. The watch maker and I were first presented with the genuine watch. When the seller held the watch and made the call, the watch was switched with the fake one. Hence the quick hands in the title.

The unfortunate part of this is people on the Forum still talk about checking the movement. The one that was inspected was 1000% genuine. Once I was given the piece of mind and security, they switched it. I had no reason to suspect anything for as long as I had it. Although a fake and I will never wear it, it keeps accurate time while on the winder. One less reason to suspect anything after the fact.

Bottom line, its a hard lesson learned. I just hope others can benefit from my experience by shielding them from a similar scam. You should hear the horror stories of Gold Traders with fake gold hitting the market.

[Allforfun]

Also shows how good fakes are becoming? I mean what's the future hold? They are getting better and better, it was always easy to spot a fake, not so easy now and for the uneducated jewellers( and there's lots of them) this would fool a lot of them scary.

[007timer]

Originally Posted by Allforfun

Also shows how good fakes are becoming? I mean what's the future hold? They are getting better and better, it was always easy to spot a fake, not so easy now and for the uneducated jewellers( and there's lots of them) this would fool a lot of them scary.

You are absolutely correct. Buy new I suppose, but even AD are getting scammed. No one is safe.

[GLADIATOR]

Originally Posted by 007timer

You are absolutely correct. Buy new I suppose, but even AD are getting scammed. No one is safe.

How are AD's being scammed.
They get from Rolex or a distributor of Rolex??

They dont buy like Pawn Shops?

[mfnj]

Originally Posted by GLADIATOR

How are AD's being scammed.

They get from Rolex or a distributor of Rolex??



They dont buy like Pawn Shops?

Maybe he means that AD’s are having a hard time spotting preowned watches on trade ins that might have non Rolex parts or worse and then passing these along to buyers. I recently spoke with a 30 year Rolex tech, now retired, who still does spot work for some Rolex repair centers when their backlog gets crazy and he told me that the frequency in which he gets watches with Chinese parts is shocking! But that is a whole other conversation!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[007timer]

Originally Posted by GLADIATOR

How are AD's being scammed.
They get from Rolex or a distributor of Rolex??

They dont buy like Pawn Shops?

AD will buy second hand watches as well. They owner of a AD in Orange, CA was recently scammed by a seller who passed a fake 50th Anniversary Sub. It had matching serial numbers to authentic papers with an original box etc.

If he didnt discover the scam and re-sold it as a pre-owned watch, it would have been a disaster.

[Thathorologist]

Originally Posted by 007timer

That is exactly what happened. The seller "Scammer/Thief/Piece of $hit" had two watches on him. A genuine Submariner and a fake one. The watch maker and I were first presented with the genuine watch. When the seller held the watch and made the call, the watch was switched with the fake one. Hence the quick hands in the title.

The unfortunate part of this is people on the Forum still talk about checking the movement. The one that was inspected was 1000% genuine. Once I was given the piece of mind and security, they switched it. I had no reason to suspect anything for as long as I had it. Although a fake and I will never wear it, it keeps accurate time while on the winder. One less reason to suspect anything after the fact.

Bottom line, its a hard lesson learned. I just hope others can benefit from my experience by shielding them from a similar scam. You should hear the horror stories of Gold Traders with fake gold hitting the market.

I’m sorry for your loss, and the worst part is that you can never prove that he switched the watches.

[Thathorologist]

Originally Posted by 007timer

AD will buy second hand watches as well. They owner of a AD in Orange, CA was recently scammed by a seller who passed a fake 50th Anniversary Sub. It had matching serial numbers to authentic papers with an original box etc.

If he didnt discover the scam and re-sold it as a pre-owned watch, it would have been a disaster.

Good Point. Sometimes generic watches have matching serial numbers. Be careful out there...

[GLADIATOR]

Originally Posted by Thathorologist

Good Point. Sometimes generic watches have matching serial numbers. Be careful out there...

Really? I never heard to that unless they are BOTH fakes

[Thathorologist]

Originally Posted by GLADIATOR

Really? I never heard to that unless they are BOTH fakes

It’s not something that they make in China, sellers make these themselves using printing tools. Basically making fake papers for a watch and putting the serial number of the watch on the papers.

[GLADIATOR]

Originally Posted by Thathorologist

It’s not something that they make in China, sellers make these themselves using printing tools. Basically making fake papers for a watch and putting the serial number of the watch on the papers.

I thought you meant the "watch" you mean watch and papers match? Yes, we can see that from China too.

But two genuine watches with same serial number would be a very rare error

[Thathorologist]

Originally Posted by GLADIATOR

I thought you meant the "watch" you mean watch and papers match? Yes, we can see that from China too.

But two genuine watches with same serial number would be a very rare error

It’s also possible that the serial number was revealed and therefore stolen and engraved on a Vietnamese or Chinese made watch case...

[Rokoru]

Holly F... I am really sorry of what happened. I am hunting for a nice GMT Master 2 and these kind of stories are really scary. Thats probably why they say, buy the seller right...

[Allforfun]

This is getting scary fake papers so serial match hum ?.

[GLADIATOR]

Originally Posted by Allforfun

This is getting scary fake papers so serial match hum ?.

Not so hard to make a fake card to go with the watch!

[Allforfun]

well you seem like an expert ?

[GLADIATOR]

Originally Posted by Allforfun

well you seem like an expert ?

Not at all.
Just letting you know that some Chinese counterfeits now come with matching warranty cards.

Does not make me an expert.

[Allforfun]

Then it's a minefield out there

[GLADIATOR]

Originally Posted by Allforfun

Then it's a minefield out there

Yep - and not just Rolex

[Thathorologist]

Originally Posted by Allforfun

Then it's a minefield out there

It’s 2018 and everything is possible.

[tigey]

Wait, how does a fake watch cost $1200. who the hell would pay that for a wothless fake?

[Thathorologist]

Originally Posted by tigey

Wait, how does a fake watch cost $1200. who the hell would pay that for a wothless fake?

If nobody paid $1200 for a fake there would be no fakes for $1200 lol