Counterfeit watch

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A counterfeit watch is an illegal copy of an authentic timepiece bearing the name of a prestigious brand, often a Swiss brand. According to estimates by the Swiss Customs Service, there are some 30 to 40 million counterfeit watches put into circulation each year. ^[1]. For example, the number and value of Customs’ seizures rose from CHF400,000 and 18 seizures in 1995 to CHF10,300,000 and 572 seizures in 2005. ^[2] Counterfeits cause considerable losses to watch making industry. ^[3] Today the counterfeit watch business - a criminal activity has spread worldwide. Counterfeit watches can be found through illicit on-line shops, and other less reputable retail shops. The Swiss Federal Customs Administration is obliged to confiscate and destroy such goods and counterfeit jewelry is confiscated in all cases. Notwithstanding all of the above, within the borders of Switzerland, private persons are allowed to keep one counterfeit watch per person, provided they import it personally into the country. However, the counterfeit watch may not bear any forged precious-metal hallmark. ^[4]

Some replica watch producers organize special departments to fight counterfeit watch business in an attempt to protect their rights according to the trademark law. The counterfeit watches impinge on both the legitimate makers trademark/name and trade dress/registered designs. A counterfeit watch business can deliver significant profits. It is estimated that one dollar invested in the business brings about a ten-dollar return.

The BaselWorld annual watch trade show attracts paparazzi from China who take photos of new watch models presented by prestigious brands. ^{[citation needed]} As a result, a counterfeit version of a new or prototypical watch is sometimes launched on the market in advance of the authentic timepiece.^{[citation needed]}

Swiss Customs estimates that 40% of counterfeit watches come from China^[5], but there are also cases of counterfeits produced elsewhere, such as the USA. In October, 2006 the police arrested a woman in Florida who held a counterfeit watch business that brought about $ 8 million retail value. ^[6]

Trademark violations: Counterfeit watches are divided into two groups. The first group comprises low-priced timekeeping imitations. A cheap counterfeit watch features the name of a prestigious brand (a trademark violation). But the design and functions of the timepiece do not correspond to the functions of the authentic model.

File:Bvlgarifake.jpg

Trade-dress or Design Violations: The second group involves counterfeit watches designed to resemble the original (a trade dress violation). Some high-priced counterfeit watches are produced from better materials and have golden parts and leather straps. ^[7]

The targets of the counterfeiters: Counterfeit watches producers first of all concentrate their attention upon well-established and highly in-demand watch brands. Rolex, Bvlgari, Cartier, and other luxury brands are the most counterfeited.

Rolex counterfeits are illegally manufactured replicas of Rolex watches. Like many high-priced, luxury brand-name accessories, Rolex watches are often counterfeited and illegally sold on the street and the internet. These fakes are mainly produced in Asian countries such as India, Taiwan and mainland China (EU figures show that 54% of fakes seized in 2004 originated in China),^[8] and retail anywhere from $5 upwards to $1000 – for high end replicas fabricated in solid gold. These watches have been nicknamed "Foolex" or "Fauxlex.^[9]

A common myth states that a genuine watch can be discerned from a fake by the fluid movement of the sweep hand. This is due to the fact that most counterfeited watches use automatic or mechanical movement, which produces the appearance of a fluid sweep. Observed closely, there are actually several tiny "ticks" over the course of a second. This is a trait shared by all mechanical watch movements, regardless of price or quality. The only watch mechanism to have a second hand that moved across the dial in a truly uninterrupted sweep was the Bulova tuning fork movement and the Seiko Spring Drive. Nonetheless, some of the better counterfeits have automatic movements, and Rolex has produced a few models with quartz movement, the Oysterquartz which produces the distinct quartz movement "ticks".

Another common giveaway is a transparent case back which allows the movement to be seen; Rolex has never produced such a watch, with the exception of some extremely rare models from the 1930s. Rolex watches never have a manufacturer engraving of a logo, hallmark, design or Rolex name on the outside of the caseback, except for the Sea-Dweller, which says (on the back, in black) Rolex Oyster Original Gas Escape Valve, along with two Rolex logos. Genuine Rolex models have a smooth caseback free of engravings. Recent Rolex models are shipped new from the factory with a Hologram-encoded (3 dimensional) sticker on the caseback with a floating Rolex crown positioned above the watch's case reference number, which is now printed in black. Most counterfeit stickers are a solid green color or are actually a repetitious "Rolex" pattern, not a hologram.Some watches from the China,Laos and Vietnam border manufactured from 2006 onwards possess a solid green hologram on the back.Before 2002, the reference number was printed in gold and the hologram did not possess the crown logo. Some counterfeiters are attempting to match the actual hologram sticker more closely. Also inside the crystal of a genuine Rolex is an almost invisible etched Crown Logo located at the 6:00 position. Some replicas have this etching, but it is often smaller and less distinct than that found on a genuine Rolex.

The date magnification of a Rolex is 2.5 the normal size. The date should fill up the the glass bubble. Some fake watches have a larger font wheel to imitate this effect, but do not come close to the real appearance of the date. It is always best to examine a suspected Rolex replica next to a genuine watch. A side-by side comparison will often reveal subtle differences in the laser printing on the face, color differences on the dial and band, and other defects which can help identify a Rolex as authentic or a replica. Also all edges on a Rolex and its band are smoothed off and not at all sharp or scratchy.^[10]

According to the Swiss Customs Service, counterfeit watches can be so well made that even a specialist needs special equipment to confirm authenticity. A high price is not a guarantee of quality. Even an expensive piece can be an extremely well done forgery. Moreover, indications of fineness do not necessarily mean that the goods are authentic. Hallmarks can be forged and may induce a buyer to believe a piece is real gold when it may be only a plated counterfeit.^{[11] [12]} A gold watch may not be solid gold and still be authentic; gold plated and gold caped watches are legitimately produced. Golden colored counterfeits use a much thinner gold plate, and that plating will quickly begin to rub off.

• Watch
• Replica
• Horology
• Counterfeit
• List of watch manufacturers
• Timepiece
• Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH

• Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH
• Is a fake watch a joke?
• Counterfeiting and Piracy - A major problem for the Swiss Economy
• Fake Rolex Facts
• NAWCC The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, Inc. (United States)