Antique store find - NOT!

[TonyD]

I spent a few hours out and about yesterday with my wife just shopping and having fun. There's a local antique coop near us. Its a giant warehouse sectioned off into small dealer booths. The place is HUGE, a good 2 football fields of stuff.

There's one main cashier so you buy what you want and they pay the dealer later, I guess each tag has a dealer booth number on it.

Its mostly garage sale junk and I was pretty bored. In one case I spy a gold Rolex day date, the one with the full day at 12. It looks ok from a few inches away and the tag says $1200 which is of course a fraction of the melt price of the gold.

With very low expectations I ask to see it. I figure I can ask for a 3 day return and have it checked by my local watchmaker. Who knows, maybe its hidden treasure among all the junk right?

The guy opens the case and I reach in to pick it up... the thing weighs about 7 grams... Must have been made from gold painted aluminum. I only lifted it an inch and then put it down.

The guy looked at me funny because I didn't even look at it. I just touched it for 3 seconds. I told him for sure it was not real, not even a good replica. He didn't seem interested and I tried to get him to pull it. No sense trying to sell it. 99% of people would laugh at it but I hate to see some poor guy pay good money for such garbage. The guy just said it was not his problem and that he wasn't the dealer. He just rents the space and doesn't care what people are selling.

Not much to do but laugh and walk away. I hope nobody falls for that one!

[Lion]

It always is...buyer beware!!!

[azguy]

Caveat emptor

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by azguy

caveat emptor

x2

[RolexSA]

Fakes are everywhere and sometimes in places you least expect them . In the mid eighties I was engaged to a girl which belonged to a very well off family . On day I joined her and her mother shopping in town . The mother decided to have her worn leather bracelet of a Cartier watch changed at the official dealer . You can imagine her embarrassment when she was told the watch was a counterfeit especially that it was given to her by the husband .
Ironie of the story : I shortly after broke the engagement off as I found out that the girl was a bit on the fake side too . LOL

[mrbill2mrbill2]

One must be cautious as there is junk everywhere.

[GradyPhilpott]

Originally Posted by RolexSA

I shortly after broke the engagement off as I found out that the girl was a bit on the fake side too .

I don't even want to think about the possibilities.

[RolexSA]

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

I don't even want to think about the possibilities.

Let's put it this way : All parts were factory originals but she wasn't running within COSC