Counterfeit watch

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A fake Rolex Daytona bought on the streets in New York City.

A counterfeit watch is an illegal copy of an authentic watch. According to estimates by the Swiss Customs Service, there are some 30 to 40 million counterfeit watches put into circulation each year. [1]. For example, the number and value of Customs’ seizures rose from CHF 400,000 and 18 seizures in 1995 to CHF 10,300,000 and 572 seizures in 2005. [2] Counterfeits cause considerable losses to watch making industry. [3]

Contents

[edit] Infringers

Swiss Customs estimates that 40% of counterfeit watches come from China[4], but counterfeits are produced elsewhere, even in the USA. The Swiss Customs Service is obligated to confiscate and destroy such goods. While there are some exceptions, counterfeit jewellery is confiscated in all cases.[5]

[edit] Types of counterfeits

Trademark violations: Infringing on the rightfully owned Trade Marks, Hallmarks, Symbol and any other disctinctive sign of a reputed Swiss Watch Brand, with or without complete Trade-dress or Design Violation. This extends to other false indications(s) and / or marking(s), in violation of any Law, official Agreements & Norms: e.g. "Swiss Made", "water-resistant", "shock-resistant", false precious metal or any other "noble" material indication, etc.

Trade-dress or Design Violations: The second group involves counterfeit watches designed to resemble the original (a trade dress violation). Some high-priced counterfeit watches are produced from better materials and have golden parts and leather straps. [6]

[edit] Counterfeit Rolex watches

Rolex counterfeits are illegally manufactured replicas of Rolex watches. Like many high-priced, luxury brand-name watches (Cartier, Bvlgari), Rolex watches are frequently counterfeited and illegally sold on the street and the Internet. These counterfeits are mainly produced in Asia (EU figures show that 54% of fakes seized in 2004 originated in China),[7] and retail anywhere from $5 upwards to $1,000, the latter for high-end replicas with portions fabricated from solid karat gold [although most gold Rolex fakes will utilize gold electroplating]. Such watches have been nicknamed "Foolex," "Bolex," "Frolex," "Folex," or "Fauxlex."[8] The fake Rolex trade, in fact, has become segmented and sophisticatedly marketed replete with glossy, full-color brochures and catalogues of counterfeited wares produced in China and offered for sale to retail vendors throughout Asia.

[edit] Counterfeit characteristics

A counterfeit Patek Phillipe watch. The hand on the left sub-dial has fallen off.

A common myth states that a genuine watch can be discerned from a fake by the fluid movement of the sweep hand. This is because many counterfeited watches use inexpensive crystal quartz engines which produces the start/stop once per second sweep. Observed closely, one will see that even a true Rolex movement is not a perfectly smooth sweep but is actually eight movements per second (or 28,800 per hour). The only mechanical watch to have a second hand that moved across the dial in a truly uninterrupted sweep were the Bulova tuning fork movement and the Seiko Spring Drive. Nonetheless, some of the counterfeits have automatic movements, and Rolex has produced a few models with quartz movement, the Oysterquartz which produces the distinct quartz movement "ticks". [9]

[edit] Hallmarks

According to the Swiss Customs Service, counterfeit watches can be made in such a manner as to require special equipment to confirm authenticity. A high price is not a guarantee of authenticity. Indications of fineness do not necessarily indicate authenticity. Hallmarks can be forged and may induce a buyer to believe a piece is real gold when it may be only a plated counterfeit.[10] [11] However, a gold watch may not be solid gold and still be authentic; gold plated and gold caped watches are legitimately produced. Golden colored counterfeits use a much thinner gold plate, and that plating will quickly begin to rub off.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Faits et chiffres, Swiss Customs Service 2005
  2. ^ Faits et chiffres, Swiss Customs Service 2005
  3. ^ Faits et chiffres, Swiss Customs Service 2005
  4. ^ Faits et chiffres, Swiss Customs Service 2006 at page 32
  5. ^ Importation de bijoux et de montres pour usage en propre, Info Douane, Administration fédérale des douanes, Berne, Jan. 2005, at page 1.
  6. ^ See Esercizio v. Roberts, 944 F.2d 1235, 1245 (6th Cir. 1991); Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc.112 S.Ct. 3020 (1992)cert. denied; Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc. v. Canner, 645 F. Supp. 484, 492 (S.D. Fla. 1986); Louis Vuitton S.A. v. Lee, 875 F.2d 584 (7th Cir. 1989); Polaroid Corp. v. Polarad Elec. Corp., 287 F.2d 492 (2d. Cir. 1961), cert. denied, 368 U.S. 820.
  7. ^ Cost of Piracy, manufacturingtalk.com, 2007-02-06, Retrieved 2007-02-27.
  8. ^ Case Studies, Fake Rolex Facts, Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
  9. ^ The Rolex Report, 4th ed.
  10. ^ Montres, bijouteries, métaux précieux
  11. ^ See also, Swiss Hallmarks on Gold Watchcases, NAWCC Bulletin, ISSN 1527-1609 , Dec. 2005, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 686-699 [14 pages].

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

  • [1] Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH Definition of Swiss Made
  • [2] Is a fake watch a joke?
  • [3] Federal Department of Justice and Police: Counterfeiting and Piracy - A major problem for the Swiss Economy
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