How to buy genuine watches and tips to spot fake watches

    In today's world, where mobile phones are ubiquitous, watches are no longer used simply for telling the time. Instead, they serve more as an accessory. We all believe that a good watch can better reflect the wearer's character and poise. So, how can one buy a genuine watch?

    True luxury timepieces never leave buyers with any regrets; every detail, from the exterior to the movement, is finished so exquisitely that it is touching. As a result, luxury watches truly achieve value for money.

    The feature that fake watches most easily expose is the logo, especially the one on the dial. You can examine its workmanship closely using a 4x loupe. If it is a metal logo, a genuine watch is generally bright as new, whereas a fake logo has rough edges and some irregularities; if it is painted lettering, the edges on a genuine watch are smooth without burrs, while a fake has slightly blurred edges and inconsistent depth in the lettering.

    Luxury watches generally use sapphire crystals. With technological advancement, replica watches have also begun to imitate this. Fake watches using sapphire crystals are usually easy to spot because, to cut costs, they do not apply an anti-reflective coating to the crystal, let alone a double-layer coating. Consequently, they reflect light severely; even though water beads up on them, simply shining a ultraviolet light reveals extreme reflection. Genuine watches, thanks to their anti-reflective coating, show minimal reflection under strong light and display a purple or blue glare.

    Nowadays, replica watches, particularly Rolex, in order to ensure a high degree of simulation, use lead rings inside to match the weight of the genuine article. However, you can test the weight of other parts, such as the bracelet, which will feel comparatively much lighter. At the same time, general replica watches are relatively light, and even with a lead ring used for "ballasting", the feel in the hand remains unusual.

    The crown of a replica watch is the easiest part to give it away. Replica crowns typically employ a uniform manufacturing process with uneven polished plating; whether chrome-plated or gold-plated, there are always areas of varying depth, and close observation can even reveal exposed base metal. If the case is made well enough not to be easily detected, you can inspect the crown section closely. Furthermore, many luxury watch crowns have their own specific dimensions, whereas replica crowns are almost identical across the board, which is easily spotted by simply looking at more genuine watches.

    The case backs of replica watches are not made according to the luxury watch specifications; some (such as Omega, AP, etc.) turn the original screw-down back into a snap-on back, which interested friends might want to notice themselves. Some watch case backs are octagonal or have multiple screws; to save costs, replica watches produce an awkward snap-on back styled to look like a screw-down version. The dial can easily reveal handwritten traces using a 8x loupe.

    Luxury watchmakers all have their own fixed numbering rules and individual serial numbers. Based on this number, one can look up the watch's specification, model, manufacturing date, and place of sale, whereas replica watches only use a single number or even no number at all, making them easy to distinguish. The serial number on certain genuine watches appears in different locations on the watch, whereas fakes only show it on the case back.

    If hand-finished traces are clearly visible in the workmanship of the bracelet, it is bound to be a replica. Although the straps of some replica watches with butterfly clasps are made relatively delicately, they feature rough, unpolished details at the moving corners, which you can spot with careful attention.

    When fake watch hands are observed carefully through a loupe, tiny marks can be found, which are tweezer impressions left during assembly; genuine watches will never show similar marks. The shape of the hands differs noticeably from genuine ones. Even on replica watches I have seen that look very genuine, issues can still be spotted with the second hand. Replica second hands are crudely made and relatively short, which is the biggest flaw; genuine second hands are generally longer than or equal to the length of the minute hand. I have also personally seen fake blued steel hands, which are generally just coated with pigment and have a somewhat translucent feel, whereas genuine blued steel is a blue colour produced by thermal metal processing, looking much deeper with lower light refraction.

    Sound: Generally, apart from replica watches with Swiss 2824 movements and 2836, other movements operate at a 21600 frequency. You simply need to hold it to your ear, and almost all of them produce a slower ticking sound. Nowadays, most genuine watches operate at a frequency above 28800, though many genuine watches also feature a slow beat, so this is only one point of reference.

    Finishing: This requires no elaboration; replica watches generally lack finishing. However, many replica movements with finishing have appeared on the market today, though the crudeness of their machining can easily be discovered with a loupe.