'Rolex replica watches dominate half of the global counterfeit watch market'

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Ngày cập nhật gần nhất: 15/4/2026

That's the assertion made by Arjen van de Vall, CEO of the pre-owned watch marketplace Watchfinder & Co in an interview with Bloomberg. The CEO revealed that last year, approximately 10% of Watchfinder users registered accounts to sell discovered watches, including replicas from counterfeit workshops, not genuine products. Among them, Rolex replicas make up the largest share.

“The demand for Rolex worldwide is very high, and the brand value also makes many people crave it, so it is the most counterfeited brand,' CEO van de Vall stated. The worrying thing is that a few years ago, about 80% of counterfeit watch cases could be detected with the naked eye for fraud, due to the level of detail in hands and dials, especially the printed details on the dial that cannot be compared to genuine products.

Nowadays, most manufacturing workshops, primarily located in China, have reached a level of counterfeiting Rolex that is incredibly difficult to detect. Currently, the detection rate for fake items is only about 20%. To accurately identify them, one must send them back to the brand to check if the serial number on the case matches the serial number of the mechanical movement. Another solution is to apply some tricks based on experience, such as the number of rotations to open the case back, or which direction the case back rotates...

It's not just Rolex; in reality, almost every famous brand can be counterfeited to meet market demand. This situation is true except for very rare cases, such as A. Lange & Sohne and Grand Seiko, with very exquisite craftsmanship. Even if a replica watch looks authentic, it may not yield much profit, not to mention that the market demand is not as high as Rolex, Patek Philippe, or Omega.

Lastly, here's a puzzle for you all. In the cover image, there are two 116500LN watches, one genuine and the other a replica. Can you differentiate them without resorting to Google search to find the image source?

According to Insider

Frequently Asked Questions

How has the detection rate for counterfeit watches changed?

The detection rate for counterfeit watches has significantly decreased; currently, only about 20% can be detected with the naked eye, compared to 80% in previous years.

What should you do to verify a watch's authenticity?

To verify a watch's authenticity, send it back to the brand to check if the serial number matches that of the mechanical movement, or use experience-based tricks to inspect details.

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