re: Help and advice with buying a Rolex online

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Have you personally bought from them? What was your experience?

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I have. Twice. Date Just and Submariner. Have sent both to Rolex for cleaning over the years. Legit and reasonable prices.

Ray Charles can spot a fake a mile away.

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Any red flags with this one?

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If that is what she wants, go for it.

Much better looking watches for that coin IMO.

But I know it has to say "Rolex"..

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Get a fake dude

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Don't know what more of a douche move...

Dudes obsessed with owning a fake/replica anything or dudes obsessed with calling other dudes out with a fake/replica anything.

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just scoop her one of the good fakes. she wont know the difference and you will save 4-5k.

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Same same as what i came here to post.. Go to MBK Center, 3rd floor, on ur next trip to Bangkok and get one of their “high copy” fakes for 1/50th the price you’d pay for a real one, and nobody but the most knowledgeable watch expert can tell the difference- and even they are sometimes fooled by these high quality fakes .

I am going to swim upstream. If she wants a 36mm Explorer just buy a new 124270 either from an AD (which may be hard) or unworn from a dealer like DavidSW. This all changes if she is looking for a Blackout which is a rare variation which was produced in 1991... but I am betting she doesn't know what that is or is REALLY set on a birth year watch.

There are 4 reasons I would suggest getting a new watch:

1. it is always fun to have a first luxury watch be "new" watching it come out of the coffin makes my blood pump. This is especially true with a gift watch.

2. the bracelet on the 6 digit Explorer is miles better than on the 4 and 5 digit versions. Something a blind man or woman can appreciate. Vintage Rolex lovers accept and pretend to love the janky nature of the old bracelets but it has to mean something to you to value them. Anyone else will prefer a "modern" bracelet. The 14270s all have folded/hollow endlinks something not acceptable on a $300 Chinese catalog special these days. Rolex now makes arguably the best bracelets in all watchdom at least in the mid-tier level.

3. The new watch will have an (easily) arguably better movement with the 3230 compared to the 3000. It will also likely be more accurate (almost certainly). It also has a longer service interval compared to the 3000 so over a long enough time you will actually come out ahead on cost to own or at least recoup a lot of the difference.

4. 5 year factory warranty on a 124270, peace of mind has to be worth something

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not the new super clones. The only way you’ll tell is with a jewelers loupe and a real one in the other hand.

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Take the caseback off and with my naked eye 2 feet away I could spot a fake 100% of the time in under 10 seconds as long as the rotor is out of the way and I can see the balance. Frankens are a different story.

Blindfolded and knowing the reference I can tell you which one is fake in under a minute, chronos are quicker but they are all easy, again Frankens are a different story if it has an actual Rolex movement in it.

The reality is people that wear fake watches (or any fake luxury goods) don't care about the watch itself, they only care about what other people think of them.

I'll 2nd Hardball31, Bob's is legit. I purchased from them about 10 years or more ago for wife. Real deal with Bob's, wife happy.

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I don't believe you can tell every watch just by looking at the open case without a gen right next to you and a loup because the movements on these super clones are really really good. Every tiny part matches piece for piece and you're even getting 72 hour power reserves.

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Show me a fake movement with a free-sprung balance that isn't a Franken and we can talk. If the movement is hacked* unless there is some hyper-fake I am unaware of even though they try to mask the regulator they don't have a free-sprung balance. If you know what you are looking for it is immediate. I don't need an authentic Rolex in hand or any other watch with a free-sprung balance to immediately recognize a fake movement with a regulator vs one with a free-sprung balance. It is like opening a hood and declaring it is a V6 or an I6 when you know it is impossible not to see immediately.


*if the movement is running I need a couple of extra seconds and a decent amount of light to confirm the free-sprung balance because the timing screws are harder to verify and like I said they try to mask the regulator.