Why Fake Rolexes Hurt Dealers In The $20 Billion Used Watch Industry | Insider Business

Identifying a

fake

Rolex can be tricky, you know how a person who has been dealing with this stuff for years when it doesn't say Swiss, you know something is wrong. John Buckley is a veteran

watch

dealer who buys, sells and repairs

used

Rolexes and are sometimes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, it is perfectly made, today

watch

es can sell for up to three times their retail price, it is estimated that the market is worth 20

billion

dollars and growing rapidly, everyone started buying watches because they are good. way to store money between 2011 and 2021 Rolex has outperformed the real estate and gold stock market, but even experienced sellers like John have to be careful because there are

fake

s.

US customs showed us how they seize up to 150,000 Rolex watches a year. The interior is simply wrapped in bubble wrap and Rolex would never put their watches in small Ziploc bags, but spotting a fake isn't always so obvious. If merchants like John are left with a counterfeit, the effects can be not only financially disastrous, but also destructive. reputation New Young Bucks that come into the

business

get stuck there pretty quickly and their reputation is burned when they can't make good on a sale Factory Bezel Factory Dial We follow John through Manhattan's famous Diamond District Does he always make deals ?

In such a competitive market he's 13-3 no he's not that bad of course he's not that bad why do you think I'm offering him to you? Yes, this section of 47th Street is home to more than 2,600

business

es selling luxury jewelry and watches. John buys and sells about a dozen watches a week here to shops and other collectors. Today he is visiting two of his usual places. The little lady has a meadow that she needs. Hopefully I can buy it and I'll show you a couple of pieces. that I have first I have to find it oh that's good, the good thing about this watch, it comes completely complete, look at the condition, you have everything, yes, John already has a client lined up for this rare Patek Philippe.

I really like this watch, what's the date? in the papers I'm curious, not that it matters, expect to get it for less than forty thousand dollars. Listen, I know it's a nice watch. I'm not, I'm not here to be cut. You know, I need it. 36,000. I thought. It was pretty good at 35.37,000 that's my final price I think it's fair you can think about it. I don't have to think about muscle, no problem, thanks. This watch will sell for 40 40 000 change, so I'll make Three thousand dollars on the watch, which is not bad on the street John has his eye on a gold Rolex with a date and diamonds on the bezel or on the ring that surrounds the glass.

How much does this twenty-one thousand dollar watch cost? Twenty-five thousand yes, two, three, five, you. so, let's do it, it's Factor, diamond dial, factory diamond bezel, 235, the deal, but I'll do it for you. Obviously I'm going to say yes, but it really is beautiful. John normally has around 30 watches in his collection and most of them already have buyers lined up. Upstairs we like the cash flow I write a check I want to know that you know I'm going to get that money back. I'll get my winnings and move on to the next one. It's like the Holy Grail here.

I did not do it. Even if you think they're still making them, you don't want to risk being stuck with something that might not sell even if you love it, like this diamond-encrusted Rolex from Qatar that starts at $175k if you check these out what they do on the street and you compare it to something like this. I mean, it's a different world. I don't have a home for it despite the high prices. John says he rarely makes more than a few thousand dollars per watch, sometimes it's only a few hundred, there are very few home runs in this game.

I mean, I don't know what's considered a home run. Win 10 grand with a watch. It's like that doesn't happen. Thank you so much. In fact, he makes even more money selling obscure things. Parts other than the real watches, these are interesting, they are called color changing or tropical and for years you know that guys would never keep these things, but now, since they are unique, they keep them and ask a lot of money for them, these are Daytona. dials that are actually cool this is just tons of stuff wallets duffle bags and hats Rolex we have it everything we do he's been accumulating these Rolex pieces in his workshop for 25 years we're here in the lab this is where I can practice my watchmaking skills Gorilla you have to have a very specific piece for a very specific watch so that it can reach a very high price.

John has seen demand for Rolex parts and watches skyrocket after 2017. That's when a Rolex Daytona worn by actor Paul appeared. Newman broke a record selling for 15.5 million plus fees officially selling at 15 million five hundred thousand thanks for your patience Natalie, it's history now 15 minutes thousand what happened after that was a huge bull run and I hate using stock market terminology but that It was like everyone started buying watches in 2021. Rolex's retail sales were estimated to be higher than the next five brands combined, so why are they in such demand? Firstly, due to their reputation for quality, they are handcrafted from materials such as 18K gold. platinum and stainless steel, and there are not many new ones entering the market.

Brands like Patek Philippe and old Mark Piguet each make fewer than 100,000 watches a year. Rolex makes approximately 1 million a year and that is still not enough to meet the demand for most people, the only way to get one is to get one second hand, which in many cases results in more available demand. . Offer that causes prices to rise. Rolexes also last and can withstand all types of extreme conditions, in fact, they started as a sports brand in the early 20th century, they began making highly functional watches designed for sailing underwater, on top of mountains and on jet planes. , and these were professional quality watches for people who needed precise measurements.

These weren't collectible watches back in the day, okay? Look at some of these watches that you already know, which are six and seven figure watches that sold for maybe a hundred dollars on a military PX or something Adam and Hillary, one of the first to summon the Everest or a Rolex Oyster Perpetual during their expedition in 1953. In the 1960s, Rolex began sponsoring tennis matches, car races and a series of high-end luxury events. Rolex also began to appear on movie screens a lot more. Actor Sean Connery wore one as James Bond, Marlon Brando, one and two Rolexes in the 1980s.

The most sought after collectibles today, a Rolex Daytona model is so popular that it is almost impossible to get on a waiting list. I'm still on a waiting list from 1996 just to give you an idea, but buyers are willing to spend a lot to skip the line, which is why

used

Rolexes can sell for two or three times their retail cost and bespoke As demand increases, watch

dealers

like John have to be even more wary of the larger pitfall of the counterfeit trade. Customs officer Steve Nethersall showed us how they detect and confiscate counterfeit watches at JFK.

Airport before a package lands in the US. CBP gathers intelligence on the container and the sender's aircraft. You will start by looking at the box. Well, I'm looking because I don't have my glasses on, so I'm fooling the first one when he arrives. comes is the country of origin Louis Vuitton come from France the watches come from Switzerland when it comes from China Bing that is their number one red flag Rolex would never put their watches in small Ziploc bags they do not put them inside the silica gel Rolex does not promote individuals in the United States, they only sent to their retail stores over 90 of all the counterfeit products we receive are from China, you know sometimes you can't tell with the naked eye, but sometimes it's so bad that you can, but you look and You can see the scratches and how it's not machined properly to achieve a good finish, so when Steve finds a counterfeit product, he confiscates it and then calculates the MSRP of the item using the brand's website and CBP's internal website. database, this one here would cost about eleven thousand dollars, that's the MSRP, what the manufacturer would lose if it were genuine, they are usually on the internet for about two hundred dollars at his shop, John is finding out if this Rolex is fake after 25 years. in the

industry

he usually knows what to look for.

I mean, I'm looking at the color of the box. This piece is not the same color. This is 18 karat gold. We always have to check because I can't risk it. on paying for it first or selling it to someone else if I'm not sure what are the most reliable ways to test gold Rolex pieces is a scratch test on a black stone made of quartz and then add a few drops of nitric acid which dissolves any material let it not be gold and there you have it, wow, the acid didn't dissolve the gold here, the acid dissolved in the gold, it's not authentic, but most of the time you can spot a fake with the naked eye, we can usually spot it. these are just based on the symmetry of the case, they don't have that nice Rolex slope.

The other thing, I mean, it's kind of obvious, if you look at the amount of space between the face and the glass, you'll see that it's very high. It probably has an extra millimeter and a half. John also has his son James help me with fraud detection and I review hundreds of listings and select the 10 that are fake. The threat of counterfeits has not stopped sellers or buyers, although Rolex is one too. enter the second-hand market launch its own program to sell used Rolexes Younger generations are driving this new demand It arises and they are discovering these vintage watches on Tick Tock I saw this watch, it is 36 millimeters white gold with a dial of factory diamonds, can you take it off?

John's son and his friend Tyler McCorski have helped him build a huge social network by following Buck was with us today, let's get to it, the bread and butter is negotiations, you know people like to see them, so We want to give people what they want, but another thing we really do well is more educational content. Today we will show you how to change the battery of a quartz watch. John teaches the audience the same lessons about Tick Tock that he showed Tyler when he was still a child the first time I sold a watch for Buckley.

I was eight years old and it was a rubber exchange. He remembers those rubber Swatch watches and he says I need five dollars for each one. Go sell them anywhere. School anywhere. keep whatever is left after five in terms of all the hustle and bustle and all the routine. I've got that Wimbledon for you if you want it. I really enjoy the aspect of going out and trying to make money in this business despite all these new players. Don's not You're not worried about the competition, you're up against these guys who imagine themselves. You know, look at Specialists and they've been doing this for a year or two.

You know that everyone is a specialist or expert. Okay, listen, I'm a fucking expert. I have been trying. With these things hand in hand I have the trash to prove it McCorski actually left a cup of coffee here Did he really do that That's just rude That's very rude