How to best verify?

[seabreeze]

Hi All,

Newbie question again.

I know "buy the seller..." but my question is: What is the best way to verify that a watch is authentic including all the parts? the Rolex repair center or a local watch maker?

Lets say I find a nice 20 yr old watch. Should I send it straight away into rolex just for the peace of mind? That will take way longer than the 3 days most folks allow for returns.

Im out here on Marthas Vineyard but if anyone can recommend someone from the Boston area or a national rolex center that would be great.

I heard this horror story from an AD (but maybe its in their sales manual) of a guy who bought an almost new rolex, wore it for 5 years, brought it to them for service and when they cracked it it had a Seiko movement....guy was crushed and felt humiliated

[Vincent65]

If you've already bought it, it's kind of too late. I'd say buy from a good seller, and you have more peace of mind. No harm in taking to Rolex afterwards, unless you get bad news... Get many high-res photos of everything, including the movement.

[Tools]

Take the horror stories you hear with a grain of salt... many are myth..

As to knowing if every single part in your vintage is Rolex, the only way to "know" is to have it completely taken apart and each part verified.. If you are that concerned, send it in for a complete service to the RSC and when it comes back it will be 100% Rolex..

[slcbbrown]

There are two problems that vintage fans run into-- complete fakes and heavily altered watches. Almost any watch tech can verify that a Rolex is real in about one minute, so you can use most local guys for this. If you're buying a rare Rolex model, you'll need a much more specialized expert to insure parts are correct.

Keep in mind that a twenty year old Rolex shouldn't be a problem, unless someone is trying to pass off a 50 year old watch as a much newer one. Again, you don't have to be a Rolex expert to spot this kind of thing.