Quote:
Originally Posted by LeeH
She took it to a Rolex dealer today and they confirmed the movement and face are original.
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If she (or the dealer) is claiming that the dial and bezel insert are original, they are wrong. They look to be genuine at first glance, but certainly not original to that case. If in fact the case is marked 16610, it is a stainless Submariner Date. The blue dial and bezel insert were only available on the two-tone and all gold models, and those pictured are from an older all-gold model (16808).
The fakes are getting ridiculously good these days though. Here are a few things you can do/check to help confirm if it's real or not:
* Unscrew the winding crown (counter-clockwise), and pull out to the last position to set the time. Along with a "hacking" second hand, the hour/minute hands should advance time forward when the crown is turned clockwise (most of the ETA/knock-off movements made to look like Rolex movements will only advance time forward when turned counter-clockwise)
* Remove the bracelet and look at the engravings between the lugs. Specifically look at the "E" in all of the words. The middle bar in all of them should be shorter than the tops and bottoms (magnification helps here). If not, it's fake.
* Gently shake the watch next to your ear. If you can hear and feel the rotor spinning, it's fake.
* If the bezel turns both ways, it's fake.
* The “T - <25” at the bottom of the dial indicates it’s an older tritium-lumed dial. It should not glow any longer (or be “charged” by light). If so, the dial is most likely fake (it could have been re-lumed at some point, but it’s not very likely).