Category Archives: Rolex

Rolex Replica Watches and the Effects of the Counterfeit and Replica Watch Market

The Swiss Customs Service estimates between 30 to 40 million counterfeit and replica watches are put into circulation annually. These counterfeit watches cause considerable damage to the watch industry, both financially due to potential lost sales and also brand degradation as a result of the market being flooded with counterfeit copies of the original watches.

The annual trade show of the watch industry known as BaselWorld attracts many attendees from China who spend their time photographing the latest models being displayed by the top luxury watch-making brands. The photos of these new and prototype watches then find their way back to manufacturers in China where they are quickly copied and made into replica watches. The counterfeit timepieces are then rushed to market, often in advance of the authentic watch.

It is estimated by Swiss Customs that 40% of replica watches originate in China, although counterfeits are also manufactured elsewhere, including the United States. In October of 2006 police in Florida arrested a woman who had been operating a counterfeit watch business that earned about $8 million in sales. It is estimated that counterfeit watch sales worldwide cost Swiss watch manufacturers more than $600 million per year in lost sales. Once these counterfeit watches have been confiscated, it is the obligation of the Swiss Customs Service to destroy them. Surprisingly, in Switzerland individuals are allowed to keep a maximum of one counterfeit watch per person, provided they personally import it into the country. In addition, the watch being imported must not include any forged precious-metal hallmarks.

Two Types of Counterfeit Watches

    Counterfeit watches are divided into two groups:

  • The first group is comprised of low-priced imitations of watches. A cheap counterfeit watch features the name of a prestigious brand, but lacks its design and functions.
  • The second group involves counterfeit watches designed to resemble the original authentic watch (a trade-dress violation). Some high-priced counterfeit watches are produced from better quality materials and have golden parts and leather straps.

Replica Rolex Watches

One of the more popular counterfeited watch models are the Rolex replica watches - which are illegally manufactured replicas of authentic Rolex watches. As with many of the expensive brand-name luxury watches on the market, Rolex watches can frequently be found being counterfeited and sold illegally on the internet and the street. The counterfeit Rolex watches are mostly produced in countries that include Taiwan, Korea, India and China (statistics from 2004 show that 54% of counterfeits seized originated in China) and can be found retailing for as little as $5 and as high as $1,000 or more for high-end replicas fabricated in gold, although the majority of counterfeit Rolexes use gold electroplating. The trade in replica Rolex watches has become sophisticated, complete with full-color glossy brochures and catalogues of counterfeited watches produced in China and offered for sale to retail vendors.

Characteristics of a Counterfeit Watch

You often hear that you can tell a counterfeit watch from an authentic one by the smooth movement of the second hand. This is a myth, due to the fact that many counterfeit watches use inexpensive quartz crystal engines which produce the telltale start/stop movement visible once per second of the sweep. If you observe closely you will see that even an authentic Rolex movement does not have a perfectly smooth second-hand sweep, but actually eight movements per second. The only watch mechanisms that had a second-hand with a true, uninterrupted sweep were the Seiko Spring-Drive and the Bulova tuning-fork movement. That being said, some of the better counterfeit watches on the market have automatic movements, and Rolex has produced a few models with quartz movements which produces the distinct quartz movement ticks.

Another trait of a replica Rolex watches is if it has a transparent case back allowing the movement to be seen. Rolex never made such a watch, an exception being some models from the 1930s which are extremely rare and the new Cellini Price models. You will never see an authentic Rolex watch with an engraved company logo, design or Rolex name on the outside of the caseback. Exceptions to this are a few of the lady’s models which have engraving on the case backs, and the Sea-Dweller models which say in black on the back, Rolex Oyster Original Gas Escape Valve, along with two Rolex logos. Other than that, authentic Rolex watches have a smooth caseback free of engravings.

Recently, Rolex has begun shipping recent models with a 3-dimensional hologram-encoded sticker on the caseback that has a floating Rolex crown logo to the top of the watch case’s reference number, which is printed in black. Most of the stickers on counterfeit Rolex watches are either solid green or a repetitious “Rolex” pattern, instead of a hologram. Some of the replica Rolex watches manufactured in Laos, Vietnam and China from 2006 on have a solid green hologram on the caseback. Prior to 2002 the reference number was printed in gold and the hologram did not have the Rolex crown logo. Today, counterfeiters are trying to more closely match the actual hologram sticker. Rolex stopped using the hologram around 2007 and new Rolex watches are not being shipped with it.

Another trait of an authentic Rolex watch is the almost invisible laser-etched crown logo on the inside of the crystal at the 6 o’clock position. A few replica Rolex watches have this etching, but it is often smaller and less distinct than on an authentic Rolex watch.

Also, an authentic Rolex has a date magnification 2.5 times normal size which should almost visibly fill the glass bubble. A few counterfeits have a larger font wheel to imitate the effect, although they don’t come close to appearance of the date on an authentic Rolex watch.

It is always best if you can examine a suspected counterfeit Rolex next to a genuine Rolex watch. Comparing them in this manner often reveals small color variations on the dial and watch-band, the laser printing on the face and any other variances that could identify an authentic Rolex from a counterfeit. In addition, all the edges on an authentic Rolex and its band are smooth, not sharp or coarse like many counterfeits.

Counterfeit watches are sometimes manufactured so well that even a specialist needs special equipment to verify its authenticity, according to Swiss Customs Service officials. An expensive price tag for a watch is also not a guarantee of quality, as even they can simply be very well done counterfeits. In addition, logos, seals and other proprietary markings can be forged to deceive the purchased into believing the watch is made with genuine solid gold, when in reality it’s a counterfeit that’s gold plated. Gold watches do not have to be made of solid gold to be authentic, as there are authentically manufactured watches that are gold plated. Counterfeits that are gold colored use much thinner gold plating, which will quickly begin to wear away.

Rolex Watch History and Innovations

Rolex Watches is a Swiss manufacturer of mostly mechanical wristwatches renowned for their dependability, prestige, and cost (from a few thousand to more than one hundred thousand U.S. dollars). Rolex watches are considered status symbols by many. Rolex is the largest single luxury watch brand by far, with estimated revenues of around US $3 billion (2003). BusinessWeek magazine ranks Rolex 71st on its 2007 annual list of the 100 most important global brands, top among all watchmakers.

Rolex History

Rolex SA was founded in 1905 by the German Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law, Alfred Davis. Contrary to popular belief, Hans Wilsdorf was neither Swiss, nor a watchmaker. Wilsdorf & Davis was the original name of what later became the Rolex Watch Company. They originally imported Hermann Aegler’s Swiss movements to England and placed them in quality cases made by Dennison and others. These early wristwatches were then sold to jewelers, who then put their own names on the dial. The earliest watches from the firm of Wilsdorf and Davis are usually marked “W&D” - inside the caseback only.

Hans Wilsdorf registered the trademark name “Rolex” in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland in 1908. The origin of the name is obscure. One story, which was never confirmed by Wilsdorf, is that the word “Rolex” came from the French phrase horlogerie exquise, meaning exquisite watch industry. Another is that the name was chosen to indicate movement when spoken in English.

The Wilsdorf & Davis company moved out of the United Kingdom in 1912. Wilsdorf wanted his watches to be affordable, but taxes and export duties on the case metals (silver and gold) were driving costs up. From that time to the present, Rolex has been headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, though the company owns facilities in other cities (Bienne, etc) and continents (North America, Asia, Australia, etc).

The company name Rolex was officially registered on 15 November, 1915. It is thought this change was part of a drive to popularize wristwatches, which at the time were still considered a novelty largely for women (pocket watches were more common). Wilsdorf was said to desire his watch brand’s name to be easily pronounceable in any language. The company name was officially changed to the Rolex Watch Company during 1919. It was later changed to Montres Rolex, SA and finally Rolex, SA.

Rolex SA is a foundation initiated and originally funded by Hans Wilsdorf and the Aegler family. According to foundation documentation, the Rolex SA company can never be sold, nor traded on any stock market.

Other Rolex Innovations

Among the company’s innovations are the first waterproof watch case; the first wristwatch with a date on the dial; the first watch to show two timezones at once; and most importantly the first watchmakers to earn the coveted chronometer certification for a wristwatch. To date, Rolex still holds the record for the most certified chronometer movements in the category of wristwatches.

Another little known fact is that Rolex participated in the development of the original quartz watch movements. Although Rolex has made very few quartz models for its Oyster line, the company’s engineers were instrumental in design and implementation of the technology during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1968, Rolex collaborated with a consortium of 16 Swiss watch manufacturers to develop the Beta 21 quartz movement used in their Rolex Quartz Date 5100. Consequently, after five years of research, design, and development, Rolex engineering efforts finally culminated in the “clean-slate” 5035/5055 movement that would eventually power the Rolex Oysterquartz - arguably the finest quartz movement that has ever been made.

The first self-winding Rolex watch was offered to the public in 1931, preceded to the market by Harwood which patented the design in 1923 and produced the first self-winding watch in 1928, powered by an internal mechanism that used the movement of the wearer’s arm. This not only made watch-winding unnecessary, but eliminated the problem of over-winding a watch and harming its mechanism. Rolex was also the first watch company to create a truly waterproof watch - another milestone from novelty to functional timepiece. Wilsdorf even went so far as to have a specially made Rolex watch attached to the side of the Trieste bathyscaphe, which went to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The watch survived and tested as having kept perfect time during its descent and ascent. This was confirmed by a telegram sent to Rolex the following day saying “Am happy to confirm that even at 11,000 meters your watch is as precise as on the surface. Best regards, Jacques Piccard”.

Rolex has also made a reputation in watches suitable for the extremes of deep-sea diving, aviation and mountain climbing. Early sports models included the Rolex submariner, Oyster Perpetual Sea Dweller 2000 (in 1971). This watch featured a helium release valve, co-invented with Swiss watchmaker Doxa, to release helium gas build-up during decompression. Another sports model is the Rolex GMT Master II, originally developed at the request of Pan Am Airways, to assist pilots in transcontinental flights. The Explorer and Explorer II were developed specifically for explorers who would navigate rough terrain - such as the world famous Everest Expeditions.

On the more glamorous side, Ian Fleming’s James Bond character wore a Rolex Oyster Perpetual in the series of spy novels. In the early EON production Bond films, Commander Bond wore a Rolex Submariner. However, for the Bond films starring Pierce Brosnan and the film with Daniel Craig, James Bond’s standard issue watch is a Omega Seamaster. This is due in part to Omega being open to jointly promote their association with the films’ producers.

In a famous murder case, the Rolex watch that the victim wore on his wrist eventually led to the arrest of his murderer. When a body was found in the English channel in 1996 by a fisherman who caught the body, and the 4.5 kilogram anchor attached to it through the victim’s belt, in his net about 10 kilometers from the English coast, a Rolex wristwatch was the only identifiable object on the body. Since the Rolex movement had a serial number and was engraved with special markings every time it was serviced, British police traced the service records from Rolex, and Ronald Joseph Platt was identified as the owner of the watch and the victim of the murder. In addition British police were able to determine the date of death by examining the date on the watch calendar and since the Rolex movement had a reserve of two to three days of operation when inactive and it was fully waterproof, they were able to determine the time of death within a small margin of error.

Rolex Watch models

Rolex SA has three watch lines: Oyster Perpetual, Professional and Cellini. Among modern Rolex Oyster watch models are the:

o Air-King

o Date

o Milgauss

o Datejust

o GMT Master II

o Explorer

o Explorer II

o Submariner

o Sea-Dweller

o Daytona Cosmograph

o Day-Date

o Oyster Perpetual

o Yacht-Master

o Yacht-Master II

o President

The stainless steel Rolex Daytona has become one of the most sought after watches of all time. Dealer waiting lists can run from three to seven years and there are reports of collectors paying up to $15,000 for the privilege of owning this exclusive watch, though it is not uncommon for jewellers to rake up the profits themselves by buying the watches and selling it on, hence it is rumored that Rolex has dropped the infamous waiting list.

The primary bracelets for the Rolex Oyster line are named Jubilee, Oyster and the President. Rolex “dressy” watches are from their Cellini line. The third brand in the Rolex family is the less expensive, but high quality, Tudor brand. It was established by Rolex founder, Hans Wilsdorf, in 1946. While still sold in Europe and the Far East, the Tudor line was discontinued in the United States as of 2004.

Rolex is the largest manufacturer of Swiss made certified chronometers. In 2005 more than half the annual production of COSC certified watches were Rolex.

Rolex counterfeits

Like many high-priced, brand-name watches, Rolex watches are one of the most counterfeited brands of watches available and can be found illegally being sold on the street and the internet. These fake Rolex watches are mainly produced in Asian countries such as India and mainland China (EU figures show that 54% of fakes seized in 2004 originated in China), and retail anywhere from $5 upwards to $1000 for high-end Rolex replica watches fabricated in gold. By some accounts, over 75% of all replica watches produced annually are copies of Rolex Oyster Perpetual designs. These fake watches have been nicknamed “Folex” or “Fauxlex”, or “Trolex” in Spain (trola means fake in Spanish).