Originally Posted by accountinquestion View Post
Originally Posted by MDawg View Post
Originally Posted by accountinquestion View Post
I'd bet a lot of watch experts can not tell the difference of a first rate fake vs the real deal off a phone pic snapped several feet away and not focusing totally on the watch.

Who knows. Don't think there is any way to test this.
Some stainless steel Rolexes are faked, as are other stainless watches.

Precious metal watches are almost never faked, because the enormous cost of making the case and band with precious metal far outweighs what anyone would be willing to pay for a fake. You can't fake gold or platinum because of its density, and even a cursory examination reveals whether a given watch is made out of a precious metal.

Fakes don't fool the buyers. No one pays the same price for a fake as for the real thing. Fakes are sold for a trifle, and the person buying it knows what he is getting. Anyone paying a large amount of money for a pre-owned watch gets it authenticated, and many of the selling outfits on the internet including ebay won't even allow a watch to be transferred from buyer to seller until it goes through an authentication process.

The only stainless watches I've ever posted pics of are of a few extremely rare vintage collectibles that are - as far as I know, never faked - and are worth far more than most precious metal watches.
Gold plating looks exactly like.. gold. I may or may not research this but I don't buy this argument for one second. I am not even arguing that your watches aren't real but I seriously doubt good fakes are that noticeably different. Gold plating costs nothing. I assume you can gold plate the various parts of a watch but it'd wear off on the wrist. Regardless it is real gold. The weight and density don't matter on your wrist or in a photo.
Gold plating does not look anything like solid gold. Anyone who knows may tell the difference even from a distance, just like anyone who knows may tell the difference between platinum and 18K white gold even from a distance.

The point is, this sort of thing is meaningful only within one's peer group. So the fact that the Wolf can't relate just affirms that he needs to get back to swilling the Cap'n and investigating Silver Sevens for his next scam, now that he's burned down Ellis Island.