Franken Watches

[juniorlawrence]

I have been a member here for a little bit and I am looking at eventually purchasing a used watch from a Trusted Seller here.

I see people posting is this watch real/fake/etc. But it actually could be a Franken Watch so no way to really know.

Is there ever any fear of buying a Franken Watch from a Trusted Seller??
thx

[GLADIATOR]

Hi
In my own personal opinion, a "Franken" watch is a "fake".

But 1st let me define, a "franken" watch versus a "marriage" watch.

A "Franken" watch is made up of parts that were never made or intended to be put together.
For example a Patek movement (usually from a pocket watch), custom dial and custom case.
Such a "specimen" never existed

VERSUS
"marriage" watch, put together from parts from the same manufacturer, so maybe a SEAMASTER dial on a omega movement of another model.


To me the "franken" is a fake, the "marriage" a rework.

Both made "possible" to deceive, hence counterfeit

Regards
adam

[freefly]

Originally Posted by juniorlawrence

I see people posting is this watch real/fake/etc. But it actually could be a Franken Watch so no way to really know.

Actually, the watches or parts that are determined to be fakes here are just that. Fake.
If someone has concerns about a watch, the keen members here will usually be able to break down what-is-what (counterfeit vs. aftermarket). In the specific context of Rolex watches and parts, I define "counterfeit" vs. "aftermarket" as follows:

Counterfeit: An item that was not originally produced by Rolex, but bears their name and/or logos. This is synonymous with "fake".
Aftermarket: An item that looks similar to a Rolex product/design, but does not bear their name and/or logo. This can be a "sterile" item with no branding at all, or an item with it's own branding/logos.

Counterfeit = not tolerated.
Aftermarket = tolerated, but not ideal.

You will often see the term "aftermarket" attributed to a counterfeit part. A bracelet labeled "aftermarket" by a seller, that has Rolex markings, is actually counterfeit.
However, there are some "grey-areas" here. For instance, an original Rolex dial can have "aftermarket" diamonds added. In that case the dial would still be genuine, but certainly not "original" any longer, and that is where "franken" watches come in to play IMO.


Others' definition may vary, but for me, a franken watch is something that is no longer original or "stock" and configured in a way that was never offered by the factory. It may contain aftermarket parts, but does NOT contain counterfeit parts.
For instance a genuine SS Submariner with a genuine SS/18k Submariner blue dial installed would be a franken watch.

All of these terms and labels get sort of confusing as there are several different combinations that can exist (genuine watches with fake or aftermarket parts, fake watches with genuine parts, etc.).

At the end of the day, for me, if it's not a genuine Rolex part, I don't want it on my watch.