Genuine or Replica? 

5 Things To Look For When Buying A Rolex

by Jack Brooks

You are a man among men.  You command respect.  People admire you for the things you do. A man that desires and gets nothing but the best should have the best timepiece ever made.

That timepiece would be a Rolex. And you deserve the real thing and not some good lookin’ fake that you picked up for about $700. 

With all the hype about Rolex watches, there has been a surge in the replica Rolex industry. In fact, there aren’t many days that go by without a few spam emails in my inbox trying to get me to buy a fake Rolex or other Swiss-made replica luxury watch. 

This article was written to help guys like you purchase the Rolex watch that you’ve been wanting and just haven’t had the time to research enough to know you’re not getting scammed. Rolex dealers, master watchmakers, and yes, fake makers, have provided us some helpful tips that could save you both big bucks and big heartaches.

1. Only an authorized dealer can sell a brand new Rolex watch with a factory warranty. There are no exceptions to this! 

2. Straight bands are good bands and kinked bands are bad. 

• First off, if the bracelet doesn’t obviously match the watch, move on down to the next dealer. 
• The bracelet can tell you whether that watch is real or a fake. 
• Pick up the watch and hold it over a soft surface with the watch facing down. 
• Look at the links in the bracelet. 
• Are they hanging nice and smooth or are they all kinked up? 
• Those bracelet links may stretch a bit over time, but they just don’t kink.
• If the bracelet is kinked, it’s probably a fake. 

3. One of the most telling aspects of Rolex fakes is that the second hand “ticks” second by second around the dial instead of running smoothly as it would on a real Rolex watch.

4. Another notable feature of a genuine Rolex is the bubble-like date window that magnifies the date on the GMT, Submariner and other models. If either the date  number appearing in that window or the magnifying bubble itself is crooked or a little off center, you’re looking at a fake.ÂÂ

5. Most genuine Rolex timepieces have a Hologram-encoded sticker on the back of the watch. There is reference number unique to the watch and above is a hologram Rolex crown logo. While fake Rolexes might have stickers on the back, they’re usually not true holograms and don’t change appearance when rotated or viewed from different angles.

If you want to order a used Rolex online, avoid being swindled and read these tips: 

Check the website’s address and make sure it ends in .com or something else familiar. Also make sure that the website isn’t hosted by a free domain company like Geocities or Tripod.

When buying from EBay, always check that sellers rating and read some of their most recent feedback. Send multiple emails with questions about the item:-

• Where did it come from?
• What is the serial number?
• When was it last serviced?
• Is it keeping good time? 

If they don’t respond, they are not your seller. There will always be another seller with another used Rolex that will work perfectly for you.