How to Spot a Fake Rolex, According to an Expert

Tip #1: Don’t buy a watch from the inside of a trench coat.

Published October 24, 2024

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You’ve decided to buy a Rolex. Congrats! Rolex is the most popular watch brand in the world for a reason: The brand makes excellent watches, with many of its models ranking among the most iconic watches ever made.

Because Rolex is so popular, it’s also the most faked watch brand in the world. And while the fake Rolexes of decades past were easy to spot — like when they were hanging from the liner of Times Square hustler’s trench coat — modern replicas are a bit more advanced.

So how can you prevent yourself from getting taken and buying a Rolex that isn’t what it seems? You’ve probably heard all of the obvious tips and tricks, like making sure the seconds hand sweeps instead of ticks (unless you’re buying an Oysterquartz, that is), but what are some more sophisticated techniques you can utilize to ensure the Rolex you’re buying is the real deal?

rolex explorer 40mm — With its untouchable name recognition, no other watch brand can match the allure of Rolex.

For advice, I turned to Mike Manjos. He’s the chief sales officer at The 1916 Company, one of the largest used watch retailers in the world, and he’s been buying and selling Rolexes since 1983.

“I remember when I started, $1,850 two-tone Datejusts were the hottest thing on the planet. They were like selling candy,” Manjos says.

Things have changed a lot since then, obviously, so here are Manjos’s tips on how you can protect yourself from buying a fake when it’s time to make your big Rolex investment.

If possible, see the watch in person

gold rolex watch and man's wrist — On the off-chance you’re buying a gold Deepsea, it should be pretty obvious if it’s real or not: The real one weighs about a thousand pounds.

Obviously, if you’re buying a watch sight unseen on eBay or another online platform, you’re not going to be able to see it in person. But if you’re out shopping and a Rolex catches your eye, getting hands-on with the watch is pretty valuable when it comes to determining its authenticity — especially if you’re dealing with a modern Rolex.

“A two-year-old Submariner you can put in your hand and you’ll have a pretty good idea that it’s genuine because nobody can manufacture to the quality and the feel that Rolex can,” Manjos says. “There is something about having a Rolex in your hand and it’s pretty easy to figure that out.”

Pay extra attention to “neo-vintage” watches

Things get trickier when you’re looking at watches that were produced in the transition period between vintage Rolex and modern Rolex when the brand began using sapphire crystals and making other improvements from the late 1970s into the 1990s. These watches may seem fake compared to modern Rolexes, but they could still be genuine.

rolex watch on display — Older models, like this Explorer II ref. 16550 from 1986, can be more difficult to authenticate compared to modern Rolex watches.

“Typically, where you run into issues is with what we tend to call neo-vintage,” Manjos says. “When you go back 25, 30 years, there were definitely different standards. There were different materials. And they do feel different. I mean, I had an experience where we brought in a 30-year-old watch and people were like, ‘Oh, it’s too light, that’s not a real Rolex.’

“I’m like, ‘No, this is what it was like in the early ’80s.’ The bracelets were definitely not solid links. They weren’t heavy. They didn’t quite have the same fit and finish they have today.”

Look for replaced parts

rolex watch dial closeup — On older models, examine closely for replacement parts by making sure that colors line up. For example, is the lume on the hands and indices equally faded?

“The biggest trick is trying to figure out if everything on the watch is original because, oftentimes, you’ll have a watch that is mostly original but may have had parts that were replaced, authentic or not, and that’s really where it gets a little bit more difficult, and you need to have a little more of expertise,” Manjos says.

How can you check for replaced parts? As Majos says, make sure the colors match. Are the indices and the hands all the same color with an equal amount of fading? Does their lume show an equal amount of patina? Is the date wheel as faded as other aspects of the dial or is it bright white? Is the bezel faded? What about the dial?

I want to make sure that nothing looks newer than anything else on the watch.
Mike Majos, The 1916 Company

“These things are 20, 30, 40 years old, they fade,” Manjos says. “But if you’ve got a nicely faded dial and hands that look brand new and sharp white, there’s something off. I also look at the dot that’s on the bezel because oftentimes those get replaced.”

Just because a Rolex has had parts replaced, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s fake. It used to be commonplace for Rolex to replace worn-out parts when performing a service, and that was also what most customers wanted. You just want to make sure that any parts that were replaced are disclosed in the sale because all-original Rolexes are generally more valuable.

rolex watch — Pay close attention to the bezel when shopping for an older Submariner.

“Typically, if someone bought in a watch in the ’70s or ’80s and 10 years later they brought it in for service, a lot of guys would change the dial or the hands or the bezel,” Manjos says. “And it’s not that they were trying to do anything nefarious; it was just what was done. It was a tool watch. It’s like, ‘Hey, you can read this dial. These new hands are clearer. You can read ’em better.'”

Check the wear and tear

In addition to checking for replacement parts by evaluating the evenness of color and fading on your prospective Rolex, you also want to make sure the watch is worn evenly. Polished watches, which have had scratches on their cases and bracelets buffed away by a watchmaker, tend to hold less value than unpolished watches. This also comes back to modern customers preferring all-original watches.

rolex watch on a nato strap — A vintage Rolex watch will likely show some wear and tear. The absence of any wear — or the presence of uneven wear — may be a red flag.

“Again, I want to make sure that nothing looks newer than anything else on the watch,” Manjos says. “Does it all look like it’s scratched about the same, or does the bracelet look like it was never touched and the case is trashed?”

Buy the seller before buying the watch

The most important tip Manjos shared, and this is one you may have heard before, is to buy the seller before you buy the watch. In other words, dealing with someone you know to be reputable is the best way to protect yourself from getting scammed. Last year, this became easier than ever to do thanks to Rolex’s new Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program, of which The 1916 Company is a part.

The relatively new program sees the authenticity of used Rolexes certified by the brand itself and includes a two-year guarantee, giving you no doubt that you’re purchasing the genuine article. But even if you’re not going the Rolex CPO route, you can still take some steps to protect yourself.

“The word is always caution, but also obviously deal with somebody who’s reputable,” Manjos says.

“If someone’s been in business for 50 years in the same spot and they’ll guarantee the watch in writing, if you’re getting a serial number on the receipt … I mean, all these little things make a big difference in giving me the confidence to say, yes, there are still times you will find an equivalent to a barn find in a small market somewhere that might not be a hundred percent vetted.

“But you have to really get the feel for the seller; that is the most important thing.”

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