The replica watch industry has been on the upswing for the last 15 years due to an increase in interest of vintage models luxury watches such as Rolex, giving watch appraisers a new lease on life. Watch appraisers will usually look over a vintage or replica watch to assess the average market value range of the watch based on current sales and auction prices, the market trend of collectability and value of the watch, and in the specific case of a replica watch, the average cost of maintenance and repair. A client will usually approach an appraiser with the intention to sell their watch. Sometimes, a vintage replica watch, like a fake Rolex watch, will be of such good quality, that even a professional appraiser will have difficulty distinguishing it from and original model.
Teacher's Rolex Watch: a Replica?
In the case of one appraiser in small town New Hampshire, the recent developments in the replica watch industry were compromising to say the least. In January, a simple, middle class school teacher (who will remain unnamed) had come across what she believed to be a vintage Rolex watch in a pawnshop for the incredibly cheap price of $25. After sending an online appraiser the information required about the Rolex - the make, color, running condition and material of the case and the band of the watch - the teacher received an excited email from the watch appraiser saying that she may have found a $2100 Rolex watch. The appraiser asked her to send the watch to his shop in Rochester, so that he would be able to examine the finer points of the watch, such as the case name, marks on the inside and back covers, model and/or serial numbers and the minutiae of the working condition. Intrigued by the appraisal process, and a little skeptical of the return of her newfound treasure, the school teacher decided to drive to New York and find out if her Rolex watch was a fake or not.
From Real to Fake: Rolex too Good to be True
The teacher arrived to find a quaint shop in Rochester, exactly as you would picture a watch repairman in a Charles Dickens’s novel. Rare, one-of-a-kind pocket-watch displays in the front window, beside hand-painted signs telling the passers by how to distinguish a replica watch from the real thing, lent the place an air of credibility and classic appeal. After picking up a French, signed, Depose Acier Garant pocket-watch, a rare find at $400, she let the appraiser know that she was the one who had driven all the way from New Hampshire to find out the status of the vintage Rolex watch. The appraiser was so excited to see the watch, that he neglected to note some very important design details, such as an incorrect model number, marking the Rolex as a fake luxury watch. In the end, he appraised what was actually a Rolex watch replica, worth about $100 as a $2 100 vintage Rolex. The teacher returned to New Hampshire, where she tried to sold the Rolex watch replica on e-Bay for the appraised price, and was notified by the buyer that the watch was a fake. Fortunately, she had not spent the money, and the buyer was informed of the appraisers error and promptly refunded the money. The teacher was not refunded her appraisal fee, however, the apologetic, and embarrassed appraiser gave her a rare, one-of-a-kind Elgin pocket watch, circa 1870, in perfect working condition, with a key winding mechanism, signed by F.R. Polack-York, a known craftsman at the time. The value of this watch was (independently!) appraised at $6 500. She was satisfied with this gift, and still intends to keep up her interest in vintage watches. This teacher did, however, learn a lesson or two: a good fake Rolex can fool even an expert!
