Counterfeit watch

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A fake Rolex Daytona bought on the streets in New York City.
A fake Rolex Daytona bought on the streets in New York City.

A counterfeit watch is an illegal copy of an authentic watch bearing the name of its brand. According to estimates by the Swiss Customs Service, there are some 30 to 40 million counterfeit watches put into circulation each year. [1]. For example, the number and value of Customs’ seizures rose from CHF400,000 and 18 seizures in 1995 to CHF10,300,000 and 572 seizures in 2005. [2] Counterfeits cause considerable losses to watch making industry. [3]

Contents

[edit] Alleged infringers

The BaselWorld annual watch trade show attracts people from China whose job it is to take photos of new watch models presented by prestigious brands.[citation needed] As a result, a counterfeit version of a new or prototypical watch is sometimes launched on the market in advance of the authentic timepiece.[citation needed]

Swiss Customs estimates that 40% of counterfeit watches come from China[4], but counterfeits are produced elsewhere, even in the USA. In October 2006, police arrested a woman in Florida who operated a counterfeit watch business that brought in about $8 million of retail value. [5] Globally, counterfeit watches are estimated to cost the Swiss watch industry more than $600 million per year. [6] The Swiss Customs Service is obligated to confiscate and destroy such goods. Somewhat surprisingly, private persons are allowed to keep one counterfeit watch per person at the most, provided they import it personally into Switzerland. Furthermore, the watch must not bear any forged precious-metal hallmark. Counterfeit jewellery is confiscated in all cases.[7]

[edit] Types of counterfeits

Trademark violations: Counterfeit watches are divided into two groups. The first group comprises low-priced timekeeping imitations. A cheap counterfeit watch features the name of a prestigious brand, but lacks its design and functions.

Trade-dress or Design Violations: The second group involves counterfeit watches designed to resemble the original (a trade dress violation). Some high-priced counterfeit watches are produced from better materials and have golden parts and leather straps. [8]

[edit] Counterfeit Rolex watches

Rolex counterfeits are illegally manufactured replicas of Rolex watches. Like many high-priced, luxury brand-name watches (Cartier, Bvlgari), Rolex watches are frequently counterfeited and illegally sold on the street and the Internet. These counterfeits are mainly produced in Asian countries like India, Taiwan, Korea and mainland China (EU figures show that 54% of fakes seized in 2004 originated in China),[9] and retail anywhere from $5 upwards to $1,000, the latter for high-end replicas with portions fabricated from solid karat gold [although most gold Rolex fakes will utilize gold electroplating]. Such watches have been nicknamed "Foolex," "Frolex" or "Fauxlex.[10] The fake Rolex trade, in fact, has become segmented and sophisticatedly marketed replete with glossy, full-color brochures and catalogues of counterfeited wares produced in China and offered for sale to retail vendors throughout Asia.

[edit] Counterfeit characteristics

A common myth states that a genuine watch can be discerned from a fake by the fluid movement of the sweep hand. This is due to the fact that many counterfeited watches use inexpensive crystal quartz engines which produces the start/stop once per second sweep. Observed closely, one will see that even a Rolex movement is not a perfectly smooth sweep but is actually eight movements per second or 28,800 per hour. The only watch mechanism to have a second hand that moved across the dial in a truly uninterrupted sweep were the Bulova tuning fork movement and the Seiko Spring Drive. Nonetheless, some of the better counterfeits have automatic movements, and Rolex has produced a few models with quartz movement, the Oysterquartz which produces the distinct quartz movement "ticks".

Another common giveaway is a transparent case back which allows the movement to be seen; Rolex has never produced such a watch, with the exception of some extremely rare models from the 1930s and some very new Cellini Prince models. Rolex watches never have a manufacturer engraving of a logo, design or Rolex name on the outside of the caseback, except for the Sea-Dweller, which says (on the back, in black) Rolex Oyster Original Gas Escape Valve, along with two Rolex logos. Genuine Rolex models have a smooth caseback free of engravings. Some lady's models have engraving on the case backs as well. More recent Rolex models were shipped new from the factory with a Hologram-encoded (3 dimensional) sticker on the caseback with a floating Rolex crown positioned above the watch's case reference number, which is now printed in black. Most counterfeit stickers are a solid green color or are actually a repetitious "Rolex" pattern, not a hologram. Some watches from the China, Laos and Vietnam border manufactured from 2006 onwards possess a solid green hologram on the back. Before 2002, the reference number was printed in gold and the hologram did not possess the crown logo. Some counterfeiters are attempting to match the actual hologram sticker more closely. In or about 2007, Rolex stopped using the hologram and new watches are not being shipped with them. Also inside the crystal of a genuine Rolex is an almost invisible laser etched Crown Logo located at the 6:00 position. Some replicas have this etching, but it is often smaller and less distinct than that found on a genuine Rolex.

The date magnification of a Rolex is 2.5 the normal size. The date should fill up the glass bubble. Some fake watches have a larger font wheel to imitate this effect, but do not come close to the real appearance of the date. It is always best to examine a suspected Rolex replica next to a genuine watch. A side-by side comparison will often reveal subtle differences in the laser printing on the face, color differences on the dial and band, and other defects which can help identify a Rolex as authentic or a replica. Also all edges on a Rolex and its band are smoothed off and not at all sharp or scratchy.[11]

[edit] Hallmarks

According to the Swiss Customs Service, counterfeit watches can be so well made that even a specialist needs special equipment to confirm authenticity. A high price is not a guarantee of quality. Even an expensive piece can be an extremely well done forgery. Moreover, indications of fineness do not necessarily mean that the goods are authentic. Hallmarks can be forged and may induce a buyer to believe a piece is real gold when it may be only a plated counterfeit.[12] [13] A gold watch may not be solid gold and still be authentic; gold plated and gold caped watches are legitimately produced. Golden colored counterfeits use a much thinner gold plate, and that plating will quickly begin to rub off.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Faits et chiffres, Swiss Customs Service 2005
  2. ^ Faits et chiffres, Swiss Customs Service 2005
  3. ^ Faits et chiffres, Swiss Customs Service 2005
  4. ^ Faits et chiffres, Swiss Customs Service 2006 at page 32
  5. ^ Jewelry Insurance Issues - December 2006 - Counterfeit Watches
  6. ^ Counterfeit Watches
  7. ^ Importation de bijoux et de montres pour usage en propre, Info Douane, Administration fédérale des douanes, Berne, Jan. 2005, at page 1.
  8. ^ See Esercizio v. Roberts, 944 F.2d 1235, 1245 (6th Cir. 1991); Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc.112 S.Ct. 3020 (1992)cert. denied; Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc. v. Canner, 645 F. Supp. 484, 492 (S.D. Fla. 1986); Louis Vuitton S.A. v. Lee, 875 F.2d 584 (7th Cir. 1989); Polaroid Corp. v. Polarad Elec. Corp., 287 F.2d 492 (2d. Cir. 1961), cert. denied, 368 U.S. 820.
  9. ^ Cost of Piracy, manufacturingtalk.com, 2007-02-06, Retrieved 2007-02-27.
  10. ^ Case Studies, Fake Rolex Facts, Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
  11. ^ The Rolex Report, 4th ed.
  12. ^ Montres, bijouteries, métaux précieux
  13. ^ See also, Swiss Hallmarks on Gold Watchcases, NAWCC Bulletin, ISSN 1527-1609 , Dec. 2005, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 686-699 [14 pages].

[edit] See also

[edit] External links