Spotting a fake Rolex in 2022 is easy for the experts, but what’s the best way for a beginner to spot the difference between a phoney and the real thing?
Pro tips on how to REALLY learn the difference between a f*ke and a genuine Rolex Watch. It’s not easy, it’s not simple, but here’s the TRUTH and the ONLY real way for you to start learning...
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There are watches with the same serial numbers as the originals, and only one company, called Ziarex, sells them.
I feel these are so underrated
Very underestimated
Before, there was only China selling replicas and manufacturing them, but now ZiaRex is the best in the world and operates from Europe.
Top, manda o pix! 🇧🇷💸
I was delusional before, thinking only China could make replicas, but now I know even Italy and Switzerland make them too, and ZiaRex is their representative.
What amazes me is that a fake can cost a few hundred and be this difficult to tell but yet Rolex gets tens of thousands. Makes you wonder how much it actually costs them and is it worth it.
It is commonly known that production costs of a normal rolex is about 900$
Top advice Paul as always. More reason to buy from an AD or a reputable grey market dealer this way you have peace of mind it’s been checked by a professional and if any issues you can go back.
I appreciate your video telling us to buy the dealer not the watch. I did my best to do as much research and found a reputable dealer here in South Florida. I would not be able to tell the difference so I bought from the guy who could. Thank you and thank’s to Delray Watch Co. and Federico 🤙🏽
Your accent being the same as Bricktop in Snatch made this video even more enjoyable 😁
The video does help the layman as a start for them to explore and have some initial knowledge of looking out for fakes, you are right that experience counts, but if you are willing to take the first baby steps and to carry on, then you will get more confident in yourself in looking out for any signs that raise your suspicion, instead of purchasing a Rolex blindly on the Grey Market so helpful advice Paul.
More great, straight-talking advice Paul, cheers. Have you got a preferred loop make/model you’d say in your experience is best? Cheers.
Very informative video as usual Paul! What brand is that eye glass please Paul?!
Awesome as usual Paul. Any suggestions of brands of eye glass to look for please?
Good watch as always Paulie.... I watched CRM Jewellers steam a day or 2 ago, they had real trouble on spotting a dodgy..thin it turned being genuine in the end 🤷🏼♂️
The new Superclone from Clean Factory is flawless. Technology has advanced and thousands are being sold daily. Some Genuine Rolex watches also have QC issues. Of course I would only wear a genuine.
Thanks to you a few years ago I bought a Datona and used a loop, the seller was very impressed, and it was legitimate thank god. Great video Paul. Dubai Dick 👍
Great video Paul, thanks for the very valuable advice. Did anything ever come of the emergency services discount you were working on ?
Sadly Gary, not a lot of interest to be honest, in the end it was proving to be bloody hard work!
No worries mate- thanks for trying. 👍
Dear Mr. Thorpe & Friends, Great video, as always. I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed your sharing this knowledge and expertise with us. Thank you very much! Sincerely, J. S. B.
The complexity of spotting a fake Rolex is akin to heart surgery 😂😂😂 funniest thing I've heard in years. I think that's pushing it ever so slightly
Another name for a fake is called Afro-Venders because they sell the fake for the price of the real thing. Afro-Vender Rolex = Fake that is sold for the price of the real thing online Genuine Rolex = Real Rolex An Afro-Venders Rolex is a fake Rolex remember and that is to sell the Fake Rolex online with the price tag of the real thing.
Depends super clones are very hard in the plan eye at least
@@alext2792 Their is a reason for Afro Venders to go to buy a bunch of fake Rolex watches to sell them online for the price of the real thing.
Paul Matt if you don't know your ass on my hole in the ground don't try to pretend that you do
@@alext2792 I agree for hundreds of pounds you can buy a rep without a jewelers loop youd need to take the bk off.But also agree it ain't heart surgery though 😷 😅 😂
love your stuff Paul!
Time to dig out my loupe and spend tomorrow examining and groping my watches!
Hi Paul I hope you and your family and friends are all keeping well and healthy and you are having a positive week so far another interesting video. You can always Learn in life if you are prepared to watch and listen. As life is a journey look forward to watching your next video God bless
This is the most accurate dodge video I’ve seen.Bravo Paul…👏👏👏
The heart surgen analogy craked me.up 😂😂😅
Very informative thanks. I’m in the market for My first pre owned Rolex , any tips where to locate a reputable fair priced dealer?
Is that a Lampe Berger I spot on the window ledge ? They are brilliant 😘🙏😎
Once again, awesome video Paul,thk you.
I purchased a GMT master II back in 2016 at my local AD. At the time of purchase the watchmaker was out of the office so the Sales associate said, "I will size the bracelet for you, no problem." Unfortunately, when sizing it they put Locktite on the screw threads and then inserted the screw into the bracelet causing the Locktite to get onto the interior of the female portion of the bracelet. When this dried naturally it seized up and the bracelet would bind at that link. I needed to take it to the NYC service center to remedy the problem. Although the drop method is a great method to help identify a dodgy watch my bracelet would have behaved like a fake if tested with the drop method after sizing at the AD.
thanks for the outlier story
I keep my Rolex in the safe as an investment and wear a £300 fake one. I’ve been in Rolex dealership and the sales guy thought it’s a genuine Rolex looking at it with a naked eye. It runs at +5 seconds a day. I can live with that.
Fantastic advice paul , Thank you 👏👏👏👏👏
Is checking the laser etched crown on the rolex glass a good guide? I've seen on KZhead the fakes have a poor etched crown
Not many resources out there with Paul's level of expertise to help us out. Thank you sir. And I love that Ploprof.
Great advise Paul. Over the years, I have got much better at appraising a watch, but where I (and I suspect most people) still would struggle, is once you take the back off. That's a whole other level of expertise, that I just don't have. Thanks for the info as always!
Great advice buy from a trusted source Someone with a premises is best more expensive but better to pay A Grand over Than buy a dodge.
It's awesome how you explain things. I have 2 that I wanted to see if they are. And the one place I went to here in Waco made me feel dumb as a stump. And still wouldn't help me by treating me like I had a brain. I am aware that I don't have money and yes most of the time I look it. Thank you for this video. It helped solve some of my curiosity
I really wouldn’t compare a heart surgeon to a watch dealer mate. Not the same level of complexity, at all.
Maybe a watchmaker, but not watchdealer.
I flew a Helicopter by watching a Video
unless you are both, you have no business commenting on it.
@@ZeeCaptainRon it’s 2023, it’s internet, I have every business in commenting on this. Stfu
A sure fire way to tell a fake is to take off the case back. Look through a jewelers loop at the movement. The crude machining is a dead give away every time.
True, but not easy for the layman who's not in the position to do so! But good advice.
Bearing in mind that removing the case back of a Rolex still in its warranty period will invalidate the warranty if not carried out by a Rolex approved technician.
Perhaps a surefire way to tell a fake is that someone allows you to take the case back off prior to you purchasing the watch.
Companies that specialise in copies will allways dodge something up, because if they busted they have a leg to stand on. Only 4 separators have to be changed for it to pass as not copy in some courts. Hands and loop has to be gold also. Ussually the hands will have a bit of roughage
Cheers Paul. I love your videos
Problem is Rolex has some defects like some dust on dial and sometimes metal particle on the dial or hands or markers, best is buy from trusted source with a second hand warranty and paper and box
If it has a free sprung balance you can be fairly confident it at least has a genuine movement. No replica Rolex movement has a free sprung balance. Also check case/bracelet finishing as replicas often have faint ripples in polished areas under certain angles. Check tolerances, measurements, and case thickness too - replicas are never the same thickness as genuines. I've owned many genuine and replica Rolexes over the years and this is what I've noticed.
Agreed my super clone is perfect in every way apart from the free sprung balance give it another 18 months and the super clones will have the free sprung
Can you please show us exactly how the Crown micro etching looks like vs a clone ?
Very wise words 👍🏾
Great video. Thank you.
Some of my deep sea was really sharp, ill take you with me Paul If I buy a RX, if they are available, if I'm in England and if I can buy one and if they have no waiting list, if I feel I can afford it!!!
I think a tel no poped up i couldn't see it
or simply get them tested for authenticity.... much easier and takes no expiriance
Nice plo prof Paul good video as usual
One I have noticed is take the watches in the dark, luminosity on the fakes is not good, where as a genuine Rolex glows
Paul thanks again for sharing your experience (knowledge) with us. Love and respect from India.
126610 and 116500 with 4130 and 3235 clones mouvement are terrible! Sincerely I have 30 years passion on luxury watches and I need to open and see the mouvement to spot them . 3D technology, machineries improvement have made the thing though now a days .
Good information
Hi. Can you help to look at my rolex if geniune or fake
A great informative video thanks paul for taking the time to make it
Great video
I’m glad it’s actually really difficult for anyone to tell my Rolex isn’t a real deal.
Just don't let anyone that knows what they're doing look at it!
So hard to spot, even Nico said he had trouble spotting one at London Watch show
How can this be even possible when someone is recycling the watch. 90% correct and 10 % butchered. And he is God tier professional!!! Watchsmiths should provide authentication service to help buyers.
Found a $500 Rolex watch at the thrift store and didn’t get it because I couldn’t authenticate it myself. Still wondering if it’s real or not, could potentially be worth thousands if it is.
Thank you, PT. Great work as always.
Yo this old dude has a sharp haircut 💇♂️
Paul, can you supply a link for that Loupe?
I bought this one from the last IWJG show in Miami Robert, but there are lots available similar on Ebay or Amazon. Cheers.
Any reason why you didn't mention the laser etched crown on more modern models on the sapphire crystal ?
Yes, because even the cheap fakes have them, older watches don't and its really no pointer at all to authenticity. A genuine watch can also have a non rolex replacement glass, which doesn't make the watch a fake, so all very complicated and not a good pointer at all for me.
I open the back to spot, fakes have trouble making the same color hair spring
Does wearing glasses affect the use of loupe? Do you need to take your glasses off?
No I leave mine on
Is the answer, "You actually find one for sale in a shop"?
I hate it when people buy replicas, thinking they are original, and end up losing their money. Thats why mega-clone sellers like ziarex need to be stopped.
It's all about the feel-
Skip to around 5:30. You're welcome.
Hi guys can anyone give me a link for a reputable seller of clean factory or vs Rolex
Its a well-known secret in the watch industry. There are watches out there with serial numbers identical to the originals. Only ziarex has the real deal, and thats no secret.
I've three Rolexes and everyone of them feels as smooth as silk to the touch. What we need to remember is even an very expensive fake is built down to a price, therefore corners have to be cut which means mistakes in build quality will be made.
Really? I have a friend who sells super fakes to grey dealers and only 10% of them catch the fake. He’s laughing to the bank.
Some super fakes come with genuine boxes and paperwork to further fool grey dealers or at least try too.
You might pay too much for a dodgy Rolex, yet if you bought one online the vendor might come from Africa and your watch from China and you pay your dodgy Rolex for the price of the genuine article online.
Sweep flawlessly?I had a fake when I was about 12yrs old it was quartz I didn't even know what an automatic watch ment and my fake ticked and that was the first thing I knew a real rolex didn't do.Fair enough if the other fake is an automatic but 30yrs ago the fakes were all quartz I saw but you can buy rep's for £300 + and would be hard to spot without a jewelers loop or taking off the bk.
Isn't there also a mini crown etched into the crystal at 6 o'clock that can only be seen with loupe?
There is still the risk that some counterfeiters will go to the trouble of fitting genuine Rolex parts like the crystal
Neil even the cheapest fakes often have that little crown, that is not in anyway a reliable method mate.
Very smart guy
The safe way is to build a relationship and buy from an authorized dealer
good luck with that
Huh - so much emotions 😂😂 Buy what you like is always right. Regarding Rolex - they build excellent watches and 1 million or so every year. That is much more as anyone else and still less than the demand. Looks like they do a good job 👍
Build a relationship.. I can’t hear this anymore. It’s for pure simps. Stop crawling up the ass of ad’s and get a life
Seriously !
a watch dealer is far more complex than a heart surgeon
Liked and subbed
In the end, a new era of watches has come. Some illegal company from EU started making mega clones called ziarex. Basically, what they are doing is buying original parts from workers in Rolex who flag that part as damaged and sell them. But thats not the
Paul, Here is the way you stop counterfeit and back door ADs, Blockchain! All Watch transactions are visible on the web back to the Rolex AD purchase, and original Rolex HQ manufact date if they wish. Think about it, tell us your opinion if it will work? T
What magnification is best?
20x
Thanks Paul
Why is BQ getting so much hate at the moment?
Ziarex must be stopped at all costs. People are losing money since their mega clone watches started to be sold as originals on the aftermarket.
I was handed down a datejust 1601 but the singer dial says day-date. Can this be an original misprint or just a botched job?
That’s the thing about Rolexes nowadays. if I see one i assume it’s fake more than not. Not the best look for the brand.
Mega-clone sellers like ziarex must be in jail because they sell watches with identical serial numbers as original watches, which is illegal.
The watch in that video cant hold a candle to a ziarex. ziarex sets the gold standard.
Oh and wind it, haven’t touched a fake that feels the same as the real thing
Avoid using the word fake but included it in the title
a folex, fauxlex, faulex?
Cancel ziarex and mega clone watches. They are destroying the whole community of original watches and becoming a threat to the economy and dignity of Rolex.
you’ll be shocked how many people are wearing fakes thinking they bought the real thing
Only if they were daft enough to buy one from a unproven source.
That is an AAA China watch. it cannot be compared to Ziarex watches because they sell real super clones, basically the same watches as the originals.
That is laughable when compared to ziarexs authentic super clones. You might as well be comparing a toy to original watch.
You have to handle a real Rolex and then a fake to feel the difference. There is no video that can teach you how to feel the difference.
I bought my watch from Ziarex, and the quality in this video is bad.
You don't spot a high end Rolex replica, it's easy as that. Those $500 clones are so good by now, you'd need to get really close to them to spot at any flaws at all. From more than like 2-3 feet away in a real life scenario? You're not gonna notice any differences, no chance.
I agree, but up close they still don't stand up.
@@PaulThorpeOfficial Indeed. But the best Submariner reps out there are arround $450 -$550, the build quality is still mind blowing for that money. It's a shame those rep companies don't build legit stuff, they'd be able to offer the best value watches out there.
@@kws4e actually they did. That’s how Ginault was made :)
With the watch I bought from SWISSAREX, I'm extremely happy. It looks fantastic and offers excellent value for the money. I'm sure I'll do business with them again in the future.
Video starts at 5:40 😜
I recently purchased a watch from SWISSAREX, and I'm very happy with my purchase. Their replica watches are incredibly realistic, and the prices are very reasonable.
Dude, your intro is so long bro
Sorry, but this doesn’t help at all in reliably weeding out good replicas. A replica Daytona for example, in 904 steel may fool the best. The click of the clasp may give it away to a serious pro. As far as feel goes, with permission, if you can wind the watch, he genuinely feels like it’s encased in heavy grease as compared to the hollow cheaper sound of a fake. With a loop, and often giveaway, is the hands not being finished properly. On ceramic dials you’ll find a substantial difference in comparing the numbers as they don’t use the quality platinum or gold infused product. Certainly, we could go on, but as replicas become far more sophisticated, The two tells you outline in this video are not reliable.
Isn’t this pretty much what I said? You can’t teach people how to spot a fake in a video? And you certainly can’t in the comments either.
To buy a masterpiece replica you get on the waiting list. There is only one guy who makes them.
🔥SWISSAREX🔥
I have ziarex replica watch, and when I see this video, I cant help but cringe. Theres no comparison to be made, its like a toy watch competing against a original.
One sure way to spot a dodgy Rolex: If the "dealer" is selling you the watch off a blanket set up on the sidewalk in Times Square, and he's only asking $25.00, there's a strong possibility that it's a fake.