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The weight, the serial number, and the date wheel are the best ways to tell a fake Rolex. Replica watches always have over 73% of their inscriptions being either too thick or too thin, while the genuine Rolex watches are always manufactured at precise specifications that no counterfeit watch can beat.
Let’s face it, Rolex‘s popularity is insane – when hearing the word “watch”, Rolex is pretty much the first brand that comes to mind for almost everyone.
Rolex has been around for a long time now, and you can even see their name in events like the Formula 1 races, where they are a big sponsor.
Collectors love Rolex watches because they always deliver the best quality and designs – you never see a Rolex product that’s poorly built.
The love and demand for Rolex’s watches are why you see lots of fake products on the market, and that’s why stories with fake watches come up every day.
Today, we’re here to teach you how to spot fake any fake Rolex watch. In fact, we’ve got a Rolex authentication library where we teach people how to set apart the real from the replica Rolex timepieces.
Right now, you’re browsing the tutorial on how to spot fake Rolex watches, so we’re going to present to you the best way to tell the following Rolexes: Submariner (116610LN), Hulk (116610LV), Datejust, Daytona, GMT-Master II, Day-Date, and the 2020 Submariner (126610).
If you’d like to see the tutorials on how to tell these fake watches, we’ve got you covered with our real vs fake Rolex guides, where we go in-depth on authenticating these wristwatches.
The serial number, the weight, and the inscriptions all-around a Rolex watch are the absolute best ways to tell a fake because clone watches tend to be too light, and their inscriptions are not correctly font-weighted.
Without any further ado, let’s go to the tutorial on how to tell any fake Rolex watch.
Before we being to explain the flaws of the fake Rolex Datejust, we are going to examine the real vs fake Rolex Datejust image in order to easily understand and visualise the flaws of the fake watch.
Read the full guide on how to tell fake Rolex Datejust watches (10 steps).
In the fake vs real Rolex Datejust image above, we have pointed out how the counterfeit Rolex watch has its text improperly positioned in the date window.
The placement flaw is the most visible by looking at the number “3” in this case, which is misaligned as it isn’t centred in the middle of the window.
Besides, it is also easily visible how the fake Rolex Datejust watch presents characters that are too bold, a difference which is especially visible when comparing the fake vs real Rolex Datejust watches.
Click on the video above to see our tutorial on how to authenticate a Rolex Datejust.
Now we’re going to jump into the best ways how to tell fake Rolex Submariner watches.
As you may know, there are multiple releases for this watch. Therefore, we’re going to cover the following Submariners:
In order to keep things clean, we’re going to start with the first watch – the Submariner 116610LN. Then, we’ll go to the rest of the models.
As for the next watch, we are going to check out the real vs fake Rolex Submariner watches for their date window.
As you may be used to already, we are first going to check out the Rolex Submariner real vs fake image in order to spot the flaws on the fake Rolex watch easier.
Read the full guide on how to tell fake Rolex Submariner 116610LN watches (11 steps).
In the fake vs real Rolex Submariner image above, we have pointed out how the genuine Rolex Submariner watch has its number which indicates the date looks different than the one on the authentic Rolex Watch, due to the placement.
Looking at the authentic Rolex Submariner watch, you can notice how the number “1” is placed evenly, in the middle of the box, while the fake watch has its “1” placed higher than the one met on the genuine watch, leaving too much blank space at the bottom.
Let’s also have a look at another date number Rolex Submariner real vs fake image for your reference, in order to learn how to spot fake Rolex Submariner watches.
Once again, in the fake vs real Rolex Submariner image above, we have pointed out how the number “5” found on the genuine Submariner watch is perfectly centred in the middle of the box, while the fake “5” is not.
In fact, if you take a close look at the number “5” on the fake Rolex Submariner watch in the fake vs real Submariner image above, you can notice how the “5” is misplaced, as it is placed too close to the right edge of the box.
You can always expect perfection from a genuine Rolex Submariner watch, taking into consideration its price and the highly precise Swiss craftsmanship! The devils are in the details so fake manufacturers, on the other hand, will always have flaws in their Rolex Submariner replica watch.
Click on the video above to see our tutorial on how to authenticate a Rolex Submariner (116610LN).
Destroying the fake Rolex Submariner by shooting it with a sniper rifle
We’ve also tried to test the building quality of the Submariner. To do so, we’ve actually shot it with a sniper rifle.
Click the link above for a little bit of entertainment. Shooting down the fake Rolex Submariner was a fun activity!
Up next, we’re going to learn how to spot fake Rolex Submariner Hulk watches, so we have to inspect the fake vs real Rolex Hulk watches for the sunburst dial effect.
Read the full guide on how to tell fake Rolex Hulk 11610LV watches (10 steps).
An authentic Rolex Hulk offers in a certain light and a certain angle, a sunburst effect on its dial, and this is one main detail that the fake Rolex Hulk manufacturers never manage to get correct, as the sunburst dial effect is too poor on the fake watches, because of the materials being used.
This is hard to replicate, so most of the counterfeit Rolex Submariner Hulk watches will not have this effect at all, because of the materials used. This being said, when having the real vs fake Rolex Hulk watches in the light, the flaw shall be easy to notice on the fake Hulk.
Click on the video above to see our tutorial on how to authenticate a Rolex Submariner (116610LN).
Train and Mercedes-Benz CLS vs FAKE Rolex Hulk – Destroying a fake watch
In order to see the quality of the Hulk’s replica, we also wanted to have a little bit of fun. So, what did we do? We ran over the fake Rolex Hulk with a pretty cool Mercedes-Benz CLS.
Then, we’ve also placed the fake Rolex Hulk watch on the rails, and we let a pretty heavy train go over the fake watch. Nobody can wear this watch now.
Click the video above to see how destroying the fake Rolex Hulk watch went down.
Starting with the first step of the guide on how to spot fake Rolex Submariner 126610 watches, we are going to check out the minute hand’s length.
The minute hand’s length is the best way to see real vs fake Rolex Submariner 126610 watches.
With this being said, below we’ve pasted the real vs fake Rolex Submariner 2020 comparison image with the minute hand’s length, so as to easily visualize the difference between the two watches.
Read the full guide on how to tell fake Rolex Submariner watches (8 steps).
In the image with the fake vs authentic Rolex Submariner 2020 watches above, we have pointed out how the replica item has its arm which indicates the current minute is too long.
In fact, looking closely at the real vs fake Rolex Submariner 2020 image above, we can notice how the fake watch has its arm almost overlapping the line that shows us what minute is it.
On the other hand, the authentic Rolex Submariner watch has its arm shorter, as it only points out what minute is it, but does not overlap with the minute’s painting line.
Keep in mind that the authentic watches must have their minute hand’s line placed close to the current minute’s line, but never overlap that little line.
Click on the video above to see our tutorial on how to authenticate a Rolex Submariner (116610LN).
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For the first step of the Rolex GMT-Master II authenticity check process, you will have to verify the fake vs real Rolex GMT watches for the order in which the hands are stacked.
As mentioned at the top of the article, the authentic Rolex GMT II watches always have a pattern to follow.
Also, the replica watches commonly mix the way that their hands are stacked, therefore giving us a flaw to differentiate between the fake vs real Rolex GMTs.
The reasons why the hands are not stacked in the same order for replica watches have to do exclusively with the mechanism.
Now, let’s have a quick look at the fake vs real Rolex GMT-Master II image below in order to spot the differences between the two watches.
Read the full guide on how to tell fake Rolex GMT-Master II watches (11 steps).
In the image with the fake vs real Rolex GMT-Master II watches above, we have pointed out each hand, showing you how the fake watch doesn’t have its hands properly attached.
The legitimate Rolex GMT-Master II watches must always have:
1. Their hour hand positioned first (so closest to the “ground”, or the dial of the watch);
2. Then the GMT hand stacked above;
3. Followed by the minutes hand and;
4. Lastly, the seconds hand.
Most of the time, the counterfeit-produced Rolex GMT-Master II watches have their hands mixed up and do not follow the right pattern.
The most common combination on the fake watches is having the hour GMT’s hand first, then the hour’s hand, followed by the minutes’ hand, and lastly, the seconds’ hand.
Keep in mind that such little details as the manner in which the hands were stacked above each other matter in the Rolex GMT-Master II authentication process, and we always recommend that you check this spot.
However, we have to point out that a watch with the correct hand stack is not automatically classified as an authentic watch. Some fake Rolex GMT Masters do get the hands correctly placed and get other tells wrong.
We’ve placed this tell at the top of the list as it’ll instantly weed out most replica Rolex GMT Masters that are not from the best batches. Regardless, we suggest reading further to make sure every tell on this list checks out before declaring your GMT Master authentic.
Now, let’s move on to the second step of the guide on how to spot fake Rolex GMT-Master II watches in order to find the next way on how to authenticate the Rolex GMT watch.
Click on the video above to see our tutorial on how to authenticate a Rolex GMT-Master II.
Moving further to authenticating the Daytona, we are going to have a look at the fake vs genuine Rolex Daytona watches for the sub-dials.
We spoke a bit about the sub-dials at the third step of the guide on how to spot a fake Rolex Daytona, and now, we will go a bit more into detail.
Read the full guide on how to tell fake Rolex Daytona watches (9 steps).
Now, as you can see in the highlighted fake vs real Rolex Daytona image above, the fake watch has its silver sub-dials looking too thick.
On the other hand, the authentic Daytona Rolex piece has its sub-dials looking thinner and less wide than the ones on the fake watch.
Another thing is that most of the manufacturers of replica Rolex Daytona watches produce the dials with shiny sub-dials, or at least shinier than those found on the authentic Rolex Daytona watch.
If this is a bit harder to compare, we suggest that you always refer to our real vs fake Rolex Daytona reference images, since it may be easier for you to authenticate your Rolex Daytona watch.
Click on the video above to see our tutorial on how to authenticate a Rolex Daytona.
On how to spot fake Rolex Day-Date watches, we are going to have a look at the real vs fake Rolex Day-Date pieces for the weekday’s inscription at the top of the dial, in the day window.
We consider the weekday’s text as the most reliable sign of authenticity, so we consider that you always look at the weekday’s text at the top of the dial.
Read the full guide on how to tell fake Rolex Day-Date watches (8 steps).
In the image with the fake vs real Rolex Day-Date items above, we have pointed out how the fake Day-Date’s text is improperly sized and font-weighted.
First of all, talking about the shape of the text, you can notice in the real vs fake Rolex Day-Date image above how the fake piece has its “MONDAY” text looking too big.
That’s because the fake watch has its text closer to the left and the right edges of the arched rectangle.
The authentic Rolex Day-Date watch has its “MONDAY” text looking smaller than the fake piece’s text, as the legit Day-Date has its text placed further away from the edges of the arched rectangle, and perfectly centred in the day window.
Then, speaking of the font-weight of the weekday’s text on the real vs fake Rolex Day-Date watches, we have pointed out in the image above how the fake watch has its text improperly font-weighted as well.
In fact, the fake Rolex Day-Date watch has its “MONDAY” text looking thicker than the inscription found on the genuine Day-Date watch.
As a consequence of the fake watch’s text being too thick, the kerning between the letters in the “MONDAY” text is also improper.
This flaw can be easily noticed if you look at the fake watch’s letter “A” in the fake vs real Rolex Day-Date image above, where you can notice how the “A” on the fake watch is too thick, especially on the top-right corner.
By that, we mean that since the text is too thick on the fake watch, the letters are placed too close to each other.
Talking about the genuine Rolex Day-Date, it is noticeable how it has its letter “A” looking thinner. You can also see how the genuine piece has its letters placed further away from each other, yet holding the same distance between the characters.
Speaking of which, in the case of worse-quality replicas, there might be a chance for the letters to have different amounts of space between their letters.
With this being said, please keep in mind that the letters on the authentic Day-Date Rolex’s text must have the same amount of space between all of the symbols on the dial and not only.
Let’s wrap up the first step of the guide on how to spot fake Rolex Day-Date watches and let’s move on to the second step on how to brief genuine vs replica Rolex Day-Date watches.
We know that Tudor isn’t the same as Rolex, but at the end of the day, we wanted to give this guide a little bonus by showing you how to also tell a fake Tudor watch. Let’s show some love for the Tudors as well!
We like to believe that the text seen on the dial of the Tudor watches is the very best, yet the easiest way to tell a fake watch.
The flaws regarding the thickness of the inscriptions on the dials happen on the best fakes out there. Surprisingly or not, such a flaw that is in plain sight can easily tell you the authenticity of a Tudor.
Read the full guide on how to tell fake Tudor watches (9 steps).
The image with the real vs fake Tudor watches above shows you how the fake watch has all five lines of text at the wrong thickness.
Starting with the beginning, you can notice how the “TUDOR” and how the “GENEVE” inscriptions look too thick, as the letters are too bulky and generally just too massive compared to the real deal.
Speaking of which, the authentic Tudor watch has its ‘TUDOR” and the “GENEVE” words thinner and slimmer than those found on the replica watches.
Going to the lower side of the dial, there we have to deal with the three little lines of text, and on the fake Tudor, all three of them look too thin.
This flaw can be noticed the best if you look at the word “CHRONOMETER”, as that word has all of its lines too tiny and too narrow.
On the other hand, looking at all of the letters seen on the real Tudor, you can observe how they are thicker and how they cover more surface on the dial, rather than the fake watch’s thinner characters.
Let’s have a quick recap of the best ways how to tell fake Rolex watches of the most popular models.
This guide is pretty much for those of you who are in a hurry, as you might need a 10-second Rolex watch authentication guide.
If you want to see the full ways how to tell popular watch brands and their products, have a look at our detailed library where we have thousands of words telling you how to verify the authenticity of a watch yourself.
This is one of the best services we offer. As we’ve mentioned at the onset of this Rolex authenticity check guide, our real vs fake Rolex comparison is out here to be free forever.
And we have made it so detailed, in such a way that you should not be finding it hard to have issues understanding it.
However, if for any reason, after going through this legit check guide, you are still having elements of doubt within yourself, then you can reach out to us.
We would be happy to offer a helping hand to verify the authenticity of your Rolex watch!
It’s a simple process after all; all you need to do is to send us a picture of the watch you want to confirm its authenticity, and we would reach back to you within 24 to 48 hours, and sometimes, even faster than this stipulated time.
Need our opinion in regards to the authenticity of your watch? It’s a service we provide.
Thank you for reading this,
Ch Alex
