Fakes and Frankens

Fakes and Frankens

Auction house frankens and deception
The below examples of frankens are to make the point that you always need to do your own research, even when purchasing from well-known auction houses or dealers. I fully appreciate that auction houses have an incredibly difficult job in vetting every piece that comes in their door. And I don’t expect specialists at auction houses, or dealers, to have the depth of knowledge on every piece that you can find on forums. For specific pieces, absolutely, but it would be impossible for them to be as knowledgeable about every piece as the most knowledgeable community member (or group researching together) focused on that piece. Eric Wind, in a Waiting List podcast, said he “see[s] a lot of bad watches pass through auction houses – as in, watches that have been altered, have very distinct restoration that maybe the auction house is not aware of, remember the expertise at the auction houses in my opinion is not always the best as they are constrained by compensation… Some people feel a false sense of security that if you buy an auction from a big auction house you are safe, but many times the most sophisticated restoration that is undisclosed happens in watches that go through auction… If you think you can go to this auction house and spend millions of dollars and I’ll be okay, it’s equivalent to having a sign on your back that says ‘Rip Me Off.'” (Waiting List podcast, Episode #55 20:15) Swapped parts aren’t necessarily a bad thing, provided it is called out in the description of the piece. There can be some honest mistakes, but if you spend a lot of time reading watch descriptions, you’ll find that an inordinate amount of the time the seller and/or auction house description is clearly intentionally ambiguous or untruthful. As examples I would recommend forum discussions around an Omega 2913 FAP, a fake Dayona “Solo”, fake Rolex papers, and following perezcope on instagram to learn what to watch for around Panerais (you may not be a Panerai collector, but it will open your eyes to the world of fakes). What I believe is required listening for EVERYONE as perspectives of value: – Dialed In, EP 34: What is The Cost of Truth?: King Flum (@kingflum on instagram) – Dialed In, EP 20: The Dark Reality Behind the Watch Industry: Jose Pereztroika (@perezcope on instagram) If you have additional examples beyond the below, feel free to drop me a line. On with the examples of bad pieces and/or misleading descriptions (in alphabetical order). Antiquorum: Auctionata (no more): Bonhams: Christie’s: Phillips: Patrizzi (no more): Sotheby’s:
Dealer frankens and deception

You might expect that auction houses, under serious time pressure, would be where bad watches slip by. But we can’t leave dealers out. On the below, I am not implying that in all cases the dealer knew that they were selling fakes, of course. But good dealers (and this applies to really any online seller) have turned bad, some have sold known fakes, some have simply stolen goods.

Everyone: please do your homework before buying (Google dealers, find references, see if they have been banned from forums, search their past…)! Even better if the dealer has a permanent storefront you can visit. If there are alarm bells in your head going off, step away. Pay with a credit card. Always. No wires. Use an escrow service. Don’t send money using PayPal to “friends and family”. Buy safe!

Perezcope: in-depth franken research

Amazing research comes from Jose Pereztroika. Read more on his Perezcope website; and also follow him on instagram @perezcope.

The below summarizes some of Jose’s key articles on fakes, with links to his site. Amazingly thoroughly researched work.

How to tell if a Rolex is fake

How to tell if a Rolex is fake? Good question… First off: I could probably never tell.

If you already own the Rolex (modern), the easiest way is to have it serviced by Rolex, which essentially provides a seal of approval. Also review articles and videos (see bottom) on the best clones and how to identify – for me the key items are the finishing of the movement, and the use of a regulated balance instead of free sprung. Otherwise, if I didn’t have a legit and fake Rolex side-by-side…I’m not sure I could tell.

If you are talking about vintage Rolexes, then doubly beware. You should probably throw away the whole ‘Buy the Seller’ since there are so many fakes about with dealers selling them as well. Provenance is key. And anytime it passes through a dealers hands…even for a moment…well…it’s not an original owner piece, and presumably even more review is warranted.

Some examples of vintage Rolex fakes and frankens that have been for sale:

Frankenwatch examples

This section links to reporting of frankenwatches (watches that are made up of pieces from different watches, but presented as otherwise). I try to limit links below to those to articles and information that contain enough supporting evidence that I believe the community would accept the accusations as credible.

The below articles, to start from @perezcope (Jose Pereztroika), are the most detailed articles on frankenwatches that we see available. It is unfortunately rare for frankens to be called out – both unfortunate in that people simply don’t do it although they may know of these bad watches, and of course also as there are the bad actors that make these often so hard to detect. Props to those that put in the time and are willing to provide the information to the community.

Perezcope

  • Phillips Caught Doctoring Engravings With Photoshop, May 11, 2023
  • ‘Tropical’ Speedmaster 2915-1 – A Record-Breaking OmeGaga At Phillips, April 9, 2023
  • Rolex Daytona Ref. 16520 With Fake ‘Beyer’ Print, January 30, 2023
  • Rolex Daytona 6265 – The “Unicorn” Frankenstein Plot, December 31, 2022
  • Trash Cartier Crash London At Phillips New York?, December 9, 2022
  • Rolex Daytona 6240 Paul Newman “Neanderthal” – A Myth Goes Extinct, November 3, 2022
  • A Mediocre Patek Philippe 1518 Supercharged By “King Farouk” Hot Air, September 15, 2022
  • A Curious Rolex Daytona 6264 “Paul Newman” At Antiquorum Geneva, May 6, 2022
  • A Questionable Patek Philippe 2481 At Christie’s Hong Kong, Hidden Case Numbers And The Bigger Picture, January 8, 2022
  • Franken/Fake Oyster “Sotto” Daytona (RCO) At Christie’s Hong Kong, September 23, 2023
  • Escape From The Planet Of The Fakes: The French Foreign Legion Explorer, June 1, 2021
  • Return To The Planet Of The Fakes: “Albino” Daytona Made In Tuscany, April 30, 2021
  • Planet Of The Fakes: A Rinaldi “Big Crown” 5510 At Antiquorum Hong Kong, April 13, 2021
  • Rolex Daytona 16520 Or Converted 16523 Two Tone?, March 23, 2021
  • Fake Rolex Stamps On Anonymous Rolex-Panerai Ref. 3646 Watches, March 14, 2021
  • Monochrome Promoting a Fake Rolex Single Red Sea-Dweller, January 23, 2021
  • Vintage Panerai 2533 “Frankenstein”, August 2, 2019
  • Vintage Daytona Scandal in Monaco, July 16, 2019
  • Fake Rolex Panerai 3646 on Chrono24, December 17, 2018
  • Caution! More fake and made-up stuff from Antiquorum, December 11, 2018
  • Fake Rolex Daytona 6263 YG, 3300740, October 5, 2018
  • The Garibaldi Chronicles – Part One, August 13, 2018
  • Fake Panerai GPF 2/56 at Antiquorum, August 4, 2018
  • Vintage Rolex Daytonas from Hell at Antiquorum, July 17, 2018
  • Caution! Fake Pre Vendôme Galore at Sotheby’s, May 24, 2018
  • The Mysterious Case of a Vintage Panerai 6154 sold at Sotheby’s in 2013, May 4, 2018
  • Caution! 5218-207/A Slytech at Sotheby’s, December 7, 2016
  • Manipulated Vintage Panerai Dials
  • Early Panerai 3646 on ebay
  • Vintage Panerai – Entering the grey zone
  • Panerai 6152/1 on ebay