Anybody willing to help me see?

[Flaxmoore]

I got as a gift from a friend a known, decent quality fake Submariner. To head off the question- he presented it as fake. We're both knife collectors as well, and a gift of a good quality fake is presented as a learning opportunity.

So, who can help me learn? I can snap some pics tonight.

[onkyo]

Hello,

I would not post the pictures here. Everyone here knows what a fake submariner looks like.

If you want to learn go here: http://www.qualitytyme.net/pages/rolex_or_replica.html

[springer]

Originally Posted by Flaxmoore

I got as a gift from a friend a known, decent quality fake Submariner. To head off the question- he presented it as fake. We're both knife collectors as well, and a gift of a good quality fake is presented as a learning opportunity.

So, who can help me learn? I can snap some pics tonight.

I usually suggest the hammer test. If it breaks, and you see Chinese parts inside, it is fake. If it breaks and you see Rolex parts inside, it was probably genuine, which means you shouldn't have given it the hammer test. This test works best on suspected fake watches.

Seriously, there are many source materials out there for purchase. Try the listed website as noted by another member or "The Rolex Report" which is a fairly well written book for beginners concerning counterfeit Rolexes.

[bodybump]

Originally Posted by onkyo

Hello,

I would not post the pictures here. Everyone here knows what a fake submariner looks like.

If you want to learn go here: http://www.qualitytyme.net/pages/rolex_or_replica.html

Hahahaha i agree..they will eat you alive here by posting a fake one...

[Flaxmoore]

Originally Posted by bodybump

Hahahaha i agree..they will eat you alive here by posting a fake one...

And that's fine. I intentionally buy copied and "restored" vintage pocketknives, simply because it's the only way to learn how to spot them. They get engraved "Counterfeit", then examined and carefully analyzed for ways to prove that fact. Sure, there are garbage fakes out there (Will & Finck, an old San Fran mark, seems to attract them), but it's by handling them that you learn how to spot them. Only by handling lots of pieces, real and counterfeit, can you tell the difference between an 1890s electro-etch and a modern acid etch. Books only go so far- a piece in the hand can do so much more.

So far I'm down to the bezel and the cyclops on this fake being dead wrong. Beyond that... guess I'll be reading.

[onkyo]

Originally Posted by Flaxmoore

And that's fine. I intentionally buy copied and "restored" vintage pocketknives, simply because it's the only way to learn how to spot them. They get engraved "Counterfeit", then examined and carefully analyzed for ways to prove that fact. Sure, there are garbage fakes out there (Will & Finck, an old San Fran mark, seems to attract them), but it's by handling them that you learn how to spot them. Only by handling lots of pieces, real and counterfeit, can you tell the difference between an 1890s electro-etch and a modern acid etch. Books only go so far- a piece in the hand can do so much more.

So far I'm down to the bezel and the cyclops on this fake being dead wrong. Beyond that... guess I'll be reading.

I understand what you are saying...... but the problem is by purchasing these fakes pieces your are supporting their unscrupulous actions.

[Flaxmoore]

Originally Posted by onkyo

I understand what you are saying...... but the problem is by purchasing these fakes pieces your are supporting their unscrupulous actions.

Understood. Beats me how he came by it.

As for the cutlery, most of my fakes in the collection are almost as old as the pieces they copy- I don't even bother with the modern Chinese copies. My oldest is a German copy of a English congress- it's 110 years old on its own.

[onkyo]

Originally Posted by Flaxmoore

Understood. Beats me how he came by it.

As for the cutlery, most of my fakes in the collection are almost as old as the pieces they copy- I don't even bother with the modern Chinese copies. My oldest is a German copy of a English congress- it's 110 years old on its own.

Wow, 110 year old!

I like knives also but I don't collect them (at least not yet).

[Flaxmoore]

Originally Posted by onkyo

Wow, 110 year old!

I like knives also but I don't collect them (at least not yet).

It can get in your blood. That German fake could only be pegged through the fact that it used steel pivot pins instead of nickel silver. That's a classic sign of a German piece, and it probably passed as real for most of its 110 years- the only way to tell was waiting for the steel to discolor.