Many sites advise you about tip and trick to identify if your watch is real or not. They make a guide that is supposed to be foolproof, but base their advice on the worst kind of counterfeit you can find.

So here’s the top 6 lies that they pass you as truth

1.      Second hand on best “Swiss grade” replica skips and is jerky.

Fact is, Asian watches factory has come a long way and reverse engineered best in class watch movements. They have their own copy of ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse (ETA SA Swiss Watch Manufacturer) movements that tick 28800 times by hours, just like most genuine high-end watches.

2.      Replicas has cheap feel, are made of aluminum instead of stainless steel.

Even if it was true years ago, best replica watches are forged in solid stainless steel just like the real ones. They can even be made from ceramic or solid carbon. Weight and proportion are often the same too. 

3.      Only genuine watches as serial number.

They might not be real, but most of counterfeits has a serial number engraved just like their counterpart. While most have a single number, which could be easy to “black list”, some use creativity and change serial number from watch to watch, making it impossible to know if the #276 out of 1000 is a fake.

4.      Only genuine watch use sapphire crystal (the glass face of the watch)

Sapphire crystal is great. They are virtually impossible to scratch unless you have a diamond around. But even if it’s a premium material to have on watches, replicas has them too. The actual cost of a sapphire crystal is so low that they use them on their copy, adding even some anti-reflective coating to it just like the real ones.

5.      Fake Rolex uses transparent back, showing a cheap movement.

With the evolution of counterfeit, attention to details is now better than ever. While there’s always small things that betray a fake watch, such a huge mistake as using the wrong caseback is not an assurance anymore.

6.      Cyclopes lens or magnifier on the face of the true watch will magnify the date and is centered to the date window.

That could actually be a nice tells for the worst replica, but that is not true anymore. Technologies evolved so much in Asia that what was impossible to do 10 years ago are now a walk in the pack. Quality of magnifier are not up par to genuine watches and are not a proof of authenticity.