[Normy]

Back in 2005, I wound up in Hong Kong while flying 747's for Kalitta Air. I was there for four days, and got kind of bored.

Up to Mong Kok I go! Well, a colleague of mine went with me and....

1. Not only did he know where to find the latest bootleg software and videos....

2. But he knew were the PRIME fake Rolex watches were to be found.

And yes, I partook of both.

A year ago, I was climbing into my 928, and as I sat down, the fake Rolex I bought that day fell off my arm. There is a screw that secures the clamp to the wrist band. I put the watch away, after searching the car- it must have fallen off in the restaurant. Oh well-

Today I took my $250 US [I was told it is a Casio automatic movement with a real Rolex band in a fake body and face] watch to Mayor jewlers, a shop that is a Rolex authorized dealer at the Galeria Mall here in Fort Lauderdale. YES, I drove my 928 there. I walked in the door, and was greeted by a woman about 60 years old. I handed my watch to her, and she said that she needed to check if they had the screw I needed. She took it into a back room, and came out 4 minutes later:

"What does this mean on the back? "WINNER Rolex ad Daytona 1992 24"

I told her that the Porsche/Rolex team won the Daytona 24 hours race in 1992. She thought it meant I was one of the racers!

"Well, I fly airplanes for Fedex, and since we have strict medical requirements [NOT- fat guys abound our cockpits], we are all in shape.

:: sounds of puking ::

"We don't have the screw in stock. We will have to place an order with Rolex, it will be $49. We will need to hold the watch in our vault until the part comes in, and then we will call you when the watch is ready"

Ok, well, it is a really nice watch, and letting it sit in my drawer does nothing for me, so another $49 is probably not a waste.

"Ok" Says me. She starts filling out a form with my name and address and phone number.

Then she says "We are valuing this watch at $15,000......


OMG!

"WAIT...what are you talking about? $15,000? You know this watch is seriously aftermarket? That means it is fake?

3 seconds of the "Deer in the headlights look"

-SHE SAID IT FOLKS! SHE SAID IT WAS A $15,000 WATCH!

Gotcha!

Listen- I set her up. I DID NOT SAY that it was a fake watch. I just presented it and asked for a part. The Rolex dealer in question took the watch for four minutes, examined it, and then was about to roll it into their inventory. And the saleswoman, who had held the watch for 15 minutes, [and who sells Rolex watches every day] never figured it out! I NEVER told them it was fake, but I also NEVER said it was a real Rolex. I simply asked for a single screw. I was told the band was real Rolex.

Well, the long and short was that she told me that they couldn't help me. To their credit, they were definitely better than some Porsche dealerships, which will ask you to leave when you bring an '85 928S2 like mine into their shop. Some Porsche dealerships will tell you to leave FORCEFULLY if you bring a gray-market car into their shop, and this directive comes from Stuttgart.

I wonder how long it would have taken before I received a call:

"We need to talk to you about your Rolex watch"

So much for Mayor jewelers!

-There is one more high-end jeweler in FLL; I should try the same thing with them tomorrow just to see how far it will go!

N!