Verifying authenticity of a secondhand Rolex

[Speeding944T]

I recently purchased a 2023 Rolex Datejust 41 from a vendor in Nakano city (west side of Tokyo, Japan). The vendor name is Brand Bank (ブランドバンク中野店 in Japanese). They seem to be a legit store with another branch in Ginza, and they also have an 80k subscriber, active Youtube channel in Japanese advertising their latest inventory. However, they only have limited Google reviews from Japanese sellers, not from buyers.

Brand Bank in Nakano is a small shop and is oddly located in a corner of the basement floor when most of the larger and well-known shops like Jackroad and Betty are on the 3rd floor of Nakano Broadway. The watch came with what seems to be an original box, and the international guarantee card has a serial number matching the watch’s rehaut. The white tag that confirms the original dial was missing, but the shop staff says that none of the Rolex watches in Japan come with the white tag. Not sure how true that is, but I’ve heard that some AD’s as of recently are keeping the white tag in other countries as well.

From what I can tell, the watch is 100% authentic. I can’t find anything that seems off, but considering how much money I spent, I would really like to have verification from an expert. This is my first Rolex purchase and seeing some of the ridiculously similar fakes keeps me up at night wondering what if. The shop staff that sold me the watch recommended taking it to a Rolex AD and having them do the verification if I’m genuinely concerned.
All of this is a first for me. Is it normal for people to bring grey market watches to a Rolex AD for authenticity verification? Is the AD going to blacklist me from future watch purchases if I come in with a grey market watch? I guess it depends on the location, but do AD’s charge for doing an authenticity verification and are they going to want to hold the watch for several days/weeks? I’m interested to hear everyone’s recommendations.

Picture of the watch added as an attachment. Hopefully that shows up on my post.

[TunaTuna]

If you were worried you should not have purchased, or just asked these questions beforehand. Go get an appraisal from the AD if you are worried, but the money is already spent so good luck

[Rolex1982]

Bring it to a RSC and ask for a service quote. See what they say. I agree with TunaTuna, if you had doubts, don’t buy. We can only judge the outside of the watch, we cannot see if the movement is authentic. Buy the seller before the watch.

[tike71]

Bring it to a watchmaker, not a sales associate at an AD because they don't know anything.

[PBJ1925]

Originally Posted by tike71

Bring it to a watchmaker, not a sales associate at an AD because they don't know anything.

+1

Alternative is to send it to RSC for a quote for some type of service as a prior poster noted.

Generally if they are a vendor at Nakano Broadway, the chances of it being a fake are relatively low, but naturally possible when you purchase outside of an AD. Sounds like for peace of mind is paramount for you so I would go get it authenticated accordingly.

[PRSWILL]

First of all, it looks good- but agree with all of the comments.

[EEpro]

Originally Posted by TunaTuna

If you were worried you should not have purchased, or just asked these questions beforehand. Go get an appraisal from the AD if you are worried, but the money is already spent so good luck

We always wonder about authenticity after buying around here it seems.

[NewMalto]

OP: i need more and better pictures, also please provide us with serial number, clasp code etc.

Pictures needed:

- Macro shot of Rehaut
- Macro shot of dial printing and dial pattern


From a first view and based on one photo, the watch looks good. Further inspection is required though…

[Andad]

Just based on that one pix it looks ok.

[Speeding944T]

Thanks for the feedback! I’m traveling this weekend, but here are a few more photos. The file size was too big, and the crop didn’t turn out that well since I’m using a file editing website on my phone. I can upload better photos later if needed

Regarding the shop and decision to purchase, since this is my first Rolex, even if I purchased it from a more well known location I would probably still have some kind of doubt since it’s not coming from a ROLEX AD.

[Speeding944T]

One more of the clasp

[Speeding944T]

More photos uploaded, but requires moderator approval first. Should show up soon

[Speeding944T]

Take 2

[NewMalto]

All good, your DJ is genuine.

[joli160]

Nice watch, stop worrying

[Batmannr1]

To get peace of mind, like already mentioned, send it to the RSC for service, let them state with which dial the watch came originally. Also blur the serial # on the photo of the rehaut.

[Speeding944T]

Thanks all for the feedback. I'm convinced that it's genuine at this point. I stopped at a Rolex AD in the Tokyo area and the staff were useless as expected. The watch is a 2023 model and was unworn when I bought it, so there's no point in paying for a service at an AD. However, I took the watch to 3 different used watch dealers with large collections of Rolex's asking them to give me a quote for a sell price. They all looked at the watch and had no concerns about authenticity. The watch is also consistently accurate to -2 seconds per day, which is probably pretty hard to fake for a self-winding watch

[exchange3294]

Purchased a Submariner from a Singaporean pre-owned seller at Far East plaza called Watch Exchange and took it to the RSC here in Melbourne, Australia for a service quote which came back all okay and I got a quote for service.

It’s probably the best way to check if a Rolex is authentic, despite the service quote saying it isn’t a guarantee of authenticity they say in the same section that they do not service authentic watches.

[Speeding944T]

Originally Posted by exchange3294

Purchased a Submariner from a Singaporean pre-owned seller at Far East plaza called Watch Exchange and took it to the RSC here in Melbourne, Australia for a service quote which came back all okay and I got a quote for service.

It’s probably the best way to check if a Rolex is authentic, despite the service quote saying it isn’t a guarantee of authenticity they say in the same section that they do not service authentic watches.

Interesting. Does the Rolex AD give you a service quote on the spot (same day), and for free of charge? Curious how well they actually examine the watch if it's just a quote.

[cyind]

Look very gen to me. Also you can trust the Japanese dealers in Nakano City and Ginza. they would never be caught selling fakes! The Japanese are too proud!

Regarding the white tag, I have not got one since my Rolex purchased in 2020 and I have 5 since then. The ADs simply don't give it out anymore. The dial code is always written on the purchase receipt though. You probably didn't get the original of that.

[0nly5iv3Digits]

Yep. Looks all gen from my perspective as well.

Agree with the sentiment that AD's don't know anything... watchmakers are the way to go. Macros look spot on here. Assuming there's a gen 3235 running inside, you're good!

[fliegenwulf]

It checks out.. but as others said, one of the best option is to send it to an RSC for a service quote.