Armed with these simple tips the professionals use can help with a quick decision for the next step before paying for it, all genuine sellers will either provide images or descriptions, those that dont, or wont, you can make up your mind about. After all a genuine Rolex is an extremely expensive piece, so being sure before handing over a great deal of money makes sense whereas getting conned is not going to contribute to your reputation as a success.
Examine the Rolex print under magnification and you will find that a genuine Rolex is superb and has a convex appearance with no bubbling and sharp corners. Fakes often exhibit bubbles and less defined edges. This includes the date magnified by the bubble.
Rolex Second Hands move smoothly without jerks. A jerky motion indicates an internal Quartz movement, and the only Rolex with a Quartz movement is an Oyster Quartz, therefore all other models should be display a smooth motion. The smooth movement comes from the 5 - 6 ticks a second of a Rolex, unless its one of the mechanical 1960s model or of course the OysterQuartz.
A Rolex date movement is sharp and occurs on the stroke of midnight without lag. The same engineering that goes into every part of the watch and as such in the case of the Submariners you should expect the same precision and attention to detail, this should move smoothly and freely with a feeling of quality rather than a jerky, lumpy hard touch to it.
MOVEMENT
Rolex movements have different coloured wheels and rotor. Fakes often do not go this far and movements are stamped ETA.
BRACELET
Rolex always number the head fixing bracelet end pieces and edges of the bracelets are always smoothed. Fakes do not have this attention to qualty.
SERIAL NUMBER
Rolex engraved numbering has a continuous smooth and crisp movement throughout each number or letter. Fakes exhibit evidence of multiple starts and stops under magnification. This is of course unique to the watch which any Rolex dealer can verify and additionally access its purchase and service history.
REFERENCE NUMBER
Engraved between the case lugs at the 12 oclock position. This 4, 5 or 6 digit number refers to the model which should correspond to the model of the watch.
Examples
16600 Sea Dweller SS
16610 Submariner SS
16613 Submariner SS and Gold
16570 Explorer II SS
16750 GMT Master II SS
16622 Yacht Master SS and Platinum
114270 Explorer I SS
116520 Daytona Cosmograph SS
CASE
Of all the current models, only the Sea Dweller has writing on the back.
GENERAL ADVICE
If you can open it up to see inside and if the seller does not allow this it is very likely to be a fake and they know what your decision will be if they do.
Feel all edges for smoothness both inside and outside, as Rolex pay particular attention to chamfering and smoothing everything including the screw heads.
Often overlooked are the boxes themselves, these are very expensive items and the box should reflect this attention to detail.