A used watch is easy prey for unsavory sellers. Buyers want to know: What’s real and what’s fake? “The devil is in the details,” warns Avi Dayan, an international expert on pre-owned timepieces. He offers 10 tips for telling a real one from a fake.
Used Rolexes are easy for unsavory sellers. What’s real and what’s fake? That’s what buyers need to know. “The question is simple but the answer is seldom easy,” says Avi. “Trickery and deceit is the hallmark of those who peddle phony Rolex.”

“When the pros inspect a watch their attention is always focused on the little things most people would never notice.”

10 Tips That Tell a Real Rolex From a Fake

1.They have never manufactured a watch with a see-through case. If you see a glass-back case on a watch, move on. You’re not looking at a Rolex.

2.Rolex has never fabricated a case or a band with even the smallest amount of rubber. You know it’s a fake if you feel rubber.

3.Skeleton dials display the moving parts of a timepiece. They have never made a skeleton dial.

4.Oyster Perpetual watches always have a screwed-back case – never a pop-up.

5.Oysters are fabricated of steel, gold or platinum. Chrome or chrome-plate is never used.

6.Only men’s full-size watches have day and date features.

7.The case of a President is platinum, 18-karat yellow or white gold – never steel or two-tone stainless and gold.

8.Rolex watches are not gold-plated – ever. When it comes to gold, a Rolex is either 14 or 18-karat gold.

9.Surprise, surprise. Rolexx does indeed, make a quartz movement watch — the perpetual Oyster. But, be careful before you buy. Quartz movement comprise fewer than 10% of all Perpetual Oysters. The other 90% are conventional automatic Rolex movements.

10.They are a Swiss company that has in years past manufactured watches in various other countries including the U.S, Mexico, Italy and Venezuela – but never China. A “Chinese-made Rolex” is a genuine fake