How to authenticate IWC watches

    IWC hails from Switzerland, boasting a watchmaking history of 130 years to date, founded in Schaffhausen in 1868. For such luxury watches, some internet users choose to look for online personal shoppers, while others feel it is more cost-effective to buy abroad when travelling overseas. However, for those who have purchased watches through personal shoppers, do you know how to tell if an IWC watch is genuine? Here we share how to authenticate IWC watches.

Identification of watch exteriors

    The trademarks and brand lettering on the dial and case back of genuine watches are clear and complete; the number of jewels indicated on the dial matches the actual number of jewels within the movement; the material indicated on the case back matches the material used for the case; the watch glass is clear and bright; the outer edges and corners of the case components have no sharp feel; and the plating is free of bubbles and does not peel off. The trademarks and brand lettering on the dial and case back of counterfeit watches are blurred; the number of jewels indicated on the dial does not match the actual number of jewels in the movement; the outer edges of the case components are rough, with phenomena such as bubbling plating, peeling, or broken parts.

Movement identification

    Looking at the movement, the bridges or oscillating weight within a genuine watch movement are marked with the corresponding trademark lettering; the movement is secured firmly within the case components; and the interior of the movement is clean. Counterfeit watch movements lack trademark lettering on the bridges or oscillating weight, or the trademark lettering is rough, blurred, or crooked, or simply pasted with a small copper sheet; the interior of the movement is unclean, with copper shavings, hairs, fingerprints, etc., found inside some movements.

Identification of retail prices

    Imported watch prices remain stable over a given period. For Japanese brand watches, prices are generally around 2500-3000; for Swiss brand watches, some prestigious name-brand watches reach tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands. Generally speaking, imported watches priced below the aforementioned levels, barring special reasons, may be suspected as counterfeit imported watches or watches of dubious origin.