Rolex question.
 

Does the second hand go tick-tick-tick or is it just a smooth sweep? I’ve heard that is one way to tell real from fake, but I can’t remember what way is real.

smooth sweep....if you really stare at it and see the individual ticks, but there are probably 5 or so per second so from a few inches away it appears as a smooth sweep. If it's tick - pause - tick - pause, it's a quartz.

OK, thanks. So it is a bit of both. The one I was looking at ticked, but like you said, it was 3-5 per second. Probably the real deal then...

I believe the current Rolex mechanical movements beat 28,800 per hour. So its 8 ticks per second will look more like a smooth sweep than will a quartz movement that ticks once per second.

That said, I suspect there are plenty of fake Rolexes out there with mechanical movements too so don't rely on this indicator alone to determine authenticity. Have an expert check it out to be sure.

Regards,

Markus

Some of the latest clones are so good that they have to be verified by Rolex themselves.

If the clone is that good...why buy a Rolex??

five mini ticks per sweep. i think. it should look smooth. and the salesman cannot be of any asian persuasion working out of a booth.

One thing to remember is that not all of the Rolex watches use a Rolex movement. Both my Daytona's have an ETA movement right out of the factory.

The newer version of the copies are very close. Was in Hong Kong recently and had my steel Daytona on and compared it with a copy there, and we could not tell the difference for a long time. Kept mine on my arm until I figured out one small difference between the two.

JoeA

The previous generation daytonas used a modified Zenith movement, the current ones are in house.

If it ticks once per second it is a Quartz movement. Mechanical movements all sweep, some smoother than others but none i know goes one tick per sec.

alf

Quality is hard to fake and most clones do not make the cut on that.

One thing to check, When you pull out the set knob to adjust the time, The second hand should STOP until you close the knob back down. I have never seen a fake that would do it and there are some nice mechanical fakes.. One final thing is the watch serial number will be stamped into the case inside the mounting lug where the band attaches. It will be on one end of the watch. I have not seen it on both ends.

The top-line Rolex replicas are VERY good, right down to serial numbers. The one model they continue to struggle with is the Daytona. The fake movements space the sub-dials out away from each other too far.

http://www.replicacenter.com/replica_frame.htm

Any tips on how to spot a Timex clone?

LOL, thanks for that.

I believe that you are mistaken. Rolex made a Quartz in the 70s for a short time but have since discontinued that line. They are all mechanical now.

real rolex do not give accurate time

They have CASIO written on them.
SmileWavy

and my $3000 Pathfinder is a better daily driver than my 911.

Alf, I think you've been staring at Rolex second hands too long. :)