Surge In Counterfeit Watches
Watch manufacturers are rightly concerned about the damage that’superfakes’ do to their reputation. The quality of the counterfeits is so good that even experts struggle to distinguish them from genuine items. The result is that watches which have been stolen or found on the second-hand market can be passed off to unwitting buyers as genuine luxury time pieces. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that fake documents, boxes and guarantee cards can be easily created using online tools or even AI generated data. Indeed, last year 10% of the alerts issued by The Watch Register database were for’superfakes’ sold with the documentation and box included which would have otherwise been flagged as a lost or stolen watch. More info https://finance.yahoo.com/news/super-clone-watches-superluxuryreps-com-191500016.html
In addition, there are concerns that counterfeits can depress the prices of genuine watches and create a stigma around wearing one. This is particularly true of new, high-value models, where the’superfakes’ are so close to and often indistinguishable from the genuine article that they damage the exclusivity and brand value.
Replica Watch Market Grows: Should Luxury Brands Be Concerned?
In recent months, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport intercepted 145 shipments of watches that they believed to be counterfeit Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe, Omega and Audemars Piguet. The watches, with a combined Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of over $9.22 million, were all from Hong Kong and China. The shipments were seized at the International Mail Facility, Express Consignment Operations hub and Cargo Examination Stations.