How to spot and avoid counterfeit luxury watches

Collecting luxury watches is an expensive hobby. But collectors have to be careful — counterfeit watches are not only flooding the market, but they keep getting more and more convincing.

“The prices of counterfeit watches seem to be getting more expensive all the time,” Timothy Gordon, a generalist appraiser and a consulting expert for the global online marketplace Lofty, told Business Insider.

Gordon has been in the appraisal business for 25 years and runs his own company, Timothy Gordon Appraisers. Here are his tips for spotting and avoiding counterfeit luxury watches:

Do your research

“When you’re looking at potential counterfeit watches, you have to inform yourself as to what a real one is like,” Gordon says. “You need to know what it feels like, looks like, how much it weighs and what it sounds like.”



You can search online to get a feel for the watch. Another great resource is the records from top auction houses whose job is spotting fake watches.

Identify these five factors:

1. Material

The material, finishing and colour of counterfeit watches will sometimes be slightly off. Gold watches should also be hallmarked.

2. Weight

Counterfeit watches are usually made with cheaper materials and are lighter than the original.

3. Type faces and engravings

Engravings on fine watches are generally sharper and more distinct. Type faces can differ in size and shape, too, and the really bad counterfeit watches will have spelling errors.



4. Movement

No matter how good a counterfeit watch looks, it’s not going to have better movement than the real thing.

5. Sound

Most fine watches have extremely smooth mechanisms, which means there won’t be the ticking sound you expect with cheaper watches. If the watch ticks loudly, don’t buy it.

Know the seller

“Buying a watch from a reputable business that’s more expensive is always better than buying a cheaper version from an untrustworthy merchant.” At the end of the day, it’s the seller’s guarantee that matters.



Paperwork is important

“When watches don’t have paperwork, that could be because in the past buyers have separated the paperwork from the timepiece,” says Gordon. “But I always like to see watches with certificates, matching serial numbers and boxes.” Not only does the paperwork provide a tangible history of the piece, but it can quantify the value of the watch.

Learn the history

Every vintage watch has a history. If your seller doesn’t know the watch’s provenance (history of ownership), that’s a bad sign. “Ask who had it before, or where it was located. Every authentic vintage watch has a past.”

Final red flags

If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. “If a beautiful Cartier sold at an auction house for $100,000 and you’re being told $50,000, question why you’re getting such a good deal.” And, if a seller seems in a hurry, that’s a bad sign.