So, long story short: I was on the subway and I saw a guy with an interesting watch. His watch looked a lot like a ceramic Daytona, but on a brown crocostrap. I was intrigued: is he one of the lucky few who could get their hands on a ceramic Daytona? And why is it on a brown leather strap? I wanted to know more, so I started talking to the guy!
He was a chill, everyday guy. We chatted for a while, but when I asked him about his watch, he tried to avoid the subject. Interesting.
When I took a closer look, the horror became clear. A terrible fake Daytona with a horrible, horrible plastic alligator strap. Oh boy, this is going to be fun.
At first, I acted like I had no clue on what he was wearing, to comfort him. He told me he ‘got it from his grandpa some years ago’. I snapped a picture, and once I got the shot, I decided to test him.
Mmhhh, some years ago? Didn’t the ceramic Daytona got released in 2016? The waitlist on this 116500 is about 4 years, right?
He knew he was busted, and after some awkward stutter, he tried wrapping it up quickly, because he ‘had to get out on this stop’. Saved by the Subway.
But why is it a bad fake, and how can you spot the difference? Lets place the fake one and the real one next to each other.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room, inside the red circle. There is a piece of plastic hanging inside the watch. If you pay 11k for the real deal, pieces of plastic don’t just float around.
A second dead giveaway is the blue circle. The Rolex crown is blown up like a balloon. A big red flag.
Another obvious sign can be found inside the yellow circle. The writing and markers are different than the original, all over the watch.
Last but not least, the white circle. The hands are way off. This might be easy to miss at first, but is an important detail.
Son, you got busted. Silly kid
