countzero
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I suppose the levels of the present second-hand prices are making increasingly elaborate schemes worthwhile and profitable, unfortunately.
Not to mention the increase in unsophisticated buyers looking for a status symbol, which is fertile ground for these scams.
Something horrible you should know
In china, a lot of people decontruct some pp, remove their movements and for making fake nautilus and aquanaut. These fake watches are very difficult to spot because they have real movement. At the beginning, people only decontruct some old ref like 5117,...
ongoing trend
One of my relatives had a Datejust during the 90s and had the diamond indices plucked from the dial by shady watch repairer. This was in Shanghai, not the boonies... It's really hard to trust a nice watch in China, too many counterfeits out there...
Thanks for sharing this. Unfortunately (and unsurprisingly) criminals can be resourceful, hence if you buy from a secondary/non-authorized dealer, ascertaining authenticity of a watch and its accompanying documents is *always* of paramount importance.
I have suitably rotated and/or cropped the above pictures. Thanks again for sharing with the forum!
Me too
The same as Chronometer i never bought second hand watches. Why? I do not know, but i like if everything shines, glitters, and pops out. Buy new gives a start for a watch, and i have no message for the journeys a watch made on a wrist of a pre owner. Even...
I suppose the levels of the present second-hand prices are making increasingly elaborate schemes worthwhile and profitable, unfortunately.
Not to mention the increase in unsophisticated buyers looking for a status symbol, which is fertile ground for these scams.
Always ask for original papers or Extract from the Archives
Even when they produce these fakes with real movements, if the movement numbers were matched with the papers then may reveal true nature of the watch. I wonder if Patek has a service to confirm movement numbers via ADs? One method to thwart this would be ...
Thanks for the warning !
If one were buying not from an AD but paying dealer a “market” price, he/she should check the watch with a Patek service center before pulling the tigger.
