Spot the Replica of your branded watch

In case you think you found at last the watch of you dream and that too of the brand you long crave for, think twice about the fact of watches and replica of watches co-existing in the market.

Without even talking about an in-depth review, just a few things that are obvious "tells" that will alert us we're looking at a replica watch. Here it has been listed in few points what are always dead give-aways whenever an expert look at a watch or a photo¬graph. Review these and apply these tests to a watch you are examining:

The original watch manufacturers such as Panerai, Zenith, Corum, Girard Perregaux and Breitling use a thin coating on the surface of the crystal to reduce the effects of reflections. So, be concerned if there are a large number of reflections from the crystal at varying angles. Modern high-end watches use an artificial sapphire almost as hard as diamond, which is very transparent with sharp refractions, for the crystal, as opposed to the treated glass that many low-end replica watches use. The surest way to test for sapphire is to take the watch to a reliable watch repair shop.

Another point where most replicas fall short is when the original watch has a see-through case back allowing the viewing of the movement. These watches tend to be hand-wound or automatic and have decorative effects such as polished gears and a Côtes de Geneve (wave-like patterns) finish on the movement. Most genuine manufacturers make their watch stand out with a truly beautiful presentation from this exhibition back. Replica watches, which rely on inexpensive unfinished Swiss or Asian movements, which have no decorations, are at a distinct disadvantage here.

Cheap replica watches have the logo actually glued to the end of the crown. These watches have so many other flaws that this won't be your first indication of problems. Make sure the crown shows no sign of glue or uneven edges. Also, the watch should wind smooth and free, without the feel of the movement moving in the case.

Some replicas emulate the engraving at the end of a crown with laser etching. Laser etching has no depth to it and is rarely used on genuine watches. Laser etching has a “frosted” appearance.

Watches come with either leather/rubber/carbon fibre straps or metal bands. Straps are easy to replace and customize to the owner's taste. That means a cheap department store strap takes 2 minutes to put on a genuine Patek Philippe if the owner wants it that way. Most counterfeit watches with metal bands fall into two categories: cheap and tinny, or fairly close. They are very light and are easily identifiable as not of the quality that a multi-thousand dollar watch should use.

And last but not the least, to differentiate between watches and the replica watches, replicas have fuzzy printing on their dials and dust as there is no quality control at replica factories mostly.

Hence choosing between watches and the replica watches, shoppers may easily keep the above mentioned points in mind.