Things to look out for when buying/authenticating Pre-own

[Darkangel]

My got no T<25 leh..

[ohlins]

My got no T<25 leh..

then shine more light on the dial..............luminova needs to be "charged" with light energy for it to work.....

[Darkangel]

But super luminova means no need to relume 1 rite?

Btw...I tried charging it with UV light...wah seh man...the watch become super charged la...damn powerful and in the day also so powerful. Of course it lasts for awhile only

[ohlins]

yes, no need to relume

[Wisingapore]

All preowned shops are obliged to open the watch for you to inspect prior to buying the watch. They'll show you the serial number engraved between the lugs, and they will open up the case and explain to you by pointing out why the watch can't be a fake (eg red gears, sweeping hand, etc)

Oh its not true, alot of them refused to do so...

Maybe the salesman was lazy

[clean]

yes, mine has a T<25 mark at the bottom. mine totally dun glow at all.

[nottinghill]

here some info courtesy of osyterworld if i remembered correctly...cheers...

[ohlins]

yes, mine has a T<25 mark at the bottom. mine totally dun glow at all.

yeah......tritium markers dim very much after half-life....either u live with it or u can opt to change dial and hands to luminova.....

[Passions]

I'm not trying to do sales talk here but believe me, we're in a new age of forgery.

Recently, I had the opportunity to inspect a client's group of watches from Vietnam. Now, these aren't those cheap stuff but nice desirable ones like 1016 Explorer 1, 70's Speedmaster Moonwatch & a rare Blancpain Aqualung. All highly collectible.

Unfortunately to my alarm they were 100% faked inside out. If I had not spent more time, I would be duped into taking them as genuine. I don't believe the Viets have the skills, money & technology to do this, most likely from China or HK.

The Explorer 1 had a re-con dial, a pro quality on that but upon very close inspection using not 10x but a 45x loupe I found that the entire Ca.1570 is faked & I have to use an original to compare gear by gear, screws by screws to tell them apart. Then, the case, hands & bracelet can't make it either which needs to be disassembled.

The Speedmaster was also completely faked. A full working Lemania calibre with working chronograph, signed on case, dial, movement. Even the plastic lens had the Omega hallmark but not as refined.

The Blancpain was a tough one. I spent 2 days researching through books & forums before deciding it's also faked & the gave-away clue was they never actually used the particular fonts for the bezel insert!

So beware, next time when you see a nice collector's item, triple check it & have a buy-back guarantee from the seller & make sure he doesn't do a Houdini!

These new generation fakes are done by professionals who have knowledge of the originals & I'm not surprised many are shipped & sold in Europe & US where people there don't have knowledge & access to proper inspection.

BTW, these watches also passed the inspection of the local service centres but they did not disassemble them. So imagine if you've sent the watch in for inspection which cleared & you paid up then few weeks later, the service centre calls you up to say you've got a fake.....or maybe they wouldn't discover it since the entire movement has been duplicated.

[Darkangel]

http://www.horologist.com/rolex_fakes.htm

Found this nice webby. I think Louis copied some stuff from here...

[sngricky]

Things to look out for when buying/authenticating Pre-own

From my own humble experiences, when buying pre-own, it may sometimes make more sense to buy from a REPUTABLE pre-own shop, at least you can go back to them if the watch has problems later or if you need something to be fixed.

Pre-own shops

Most shops will also provide the box to you free of charge for the watch that you buy. (Links for SS oysters are normally below 50, boxes for recent models are about 50-60 dollars)

Also on watch links, most of the guys who sell you pre-own watches except for the shops will not provide additional links to you even if your wrist is too big for the shop so it will be good when comparing prices to also take into account your wrist size and additional links required.

Some shops will take into account the amount of links they have to provide to you and charge accordingly if you exceed their definition of standard size (12-13 links) for sports models.

Anything missing or incomplete (may be specific coloured bezel/dial/link that they owe you) and the fact that it is a 100% authentic Rolex watch should be written on the receipt at all times.

Never be afraid to point out even minor scratches, imperfections and things as they can polish and rectify it before you purchase it. I had my TT watches polished and the gold band done before money changed hands.

Its also good, even if you trust the pre-own shop, to go and verify the watch at RSC, one good thing about the verification service is they will also tell you if the watch is in good shape, if anything needs to be replaced/serviced and if its having the original bezel, bracelet, clasp etc. When buying pre-own from a shop, i would recommend on buying from shops which provide you with in house warranty for at least a year.

Authentication

Recently I brought a few watches and me and my dad went with 5 watches to RSC to authenticate, all checked out fine.

One GMT 2 though needs checking on the movement as it was "loud" by the technician's definition and the daytona tt had a tiny hairline crack in the sapphire, both were fixed when i went back to the shop and i learnt from this experience to just pay the 75 SGD for peace of mind.

I found that Diamond bezels that are sold by most shops are usually not original Rolex and will need to be taken out and replaced with original bezel just before sending to Rolex for servicing/authentication as they will only service 100% authentic Rolex watches.

Words from the shops like: Customized/aftermarket/modified/third-party/oem means its a non-original Rolex part.

Waiting time at RSC for authentication is usually 20-30 minutes for a datejust and about 25-40 minutes or longer for a sports model. Be prepared for curt, very rude and unprofessional treatment from the receptionist folks even if all the watches you bring in are real and you are paying cash for their "services" or when bringing in for servicing. (Credit card accepted there too)

Of course, it also helps that after verification, your name, address and even NRIC number(this part is optional) will be recorded, in Rolex's database so you are officially the "owner" now and in the event that you lose the watch,(and reported it) some goondo thief brings your watch for verification/servicing, it will be held by Rolex and hopefully returned to you.

[guru]

Papers or no papers

Went to check out the pre-owned market for rolex recently. The shop owner was telling me that without papers, the price will be a $100 bucks cheaper. Is it necessary to have the papers when getting the pre-owned? Or wun it be better sending the pre-owned piece to RSC for authentication?

He said papers are not realli tt impt. Not too sure whether to believe him. Perhaps he was trying to smoke me and con me into buying a lemon? haha

[triton]

Went to check out the pre-owned market for rolex recently. The shop owner was telling me that without papers, the price will be a $100 bucks cheaper. Is it necessary to have the papers when getting the pre-owned? Or wun it be better sending the pre-owned piece to RSC for authentication?

He said papers are not realli tt impt. Not too sure whether to believe him. Perhaps he was trying to smoke me and con me into buying a lemon? haha

so does that mean that he got say 2 explorer II of same series and similar condition, one with papers and one without papers? if this is the case, then i will take the one without papers but not before bargaining another 200 off.

just like when u want to sell away your car, you must produce the 'log-papers' where it states your car engine number, chasis number and other bits and relevant informaiton. having papers is just like further authenticate that the watch is the real mccoy. however, without it, one can still go to RSC to get the authentication papers @ a min cost of 75.

as pointed out before, with papers and box, it makes the watch a whole COMPLETE package.

[schumi]

Normally, a watch with paper and box can fetch a higher price than a watch without paper and box. If you consider to purchase the watch without paper/box then you should bargain for another $300 or so provided both are around the same series and condition. If the shop only quoted $100 less then it makes more sense to purchase the watch with paper/box.

Another consideration is, do you intend to sell this watch in future. If your answer is Yes, then it will make sense to purchase the watch with paper/box as you will be able to fetch more as compared to a watch without paper/box.

Just my two cents worth...

[Darkangel]

Went to check out the pre-owned market for rolex recently. The shop owner was telling me that without papers, the price will be a $100 bucks cheaper. Is it necessary to have the papers when getting the pre-owned? Or wun it be better sending the pre-owned piece to RSC for authentication?

He said papers are not realli tt impt. Not too sure whether to believe him. Perhaps he was trying to smoke me and con me into buying a lemon? haha

For papers,I think personally not necessary if the watch is after warrenty already. For me I dun really care 1...box more impt than papers. BUt hey thats me.